Cocos coconut kefir review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Cocos coconut kefir. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition, use and flavour of this vegan kefir. We’ll also compare some health factors against a popular dairy kefir.
This kefir is available in Waitrose supermarkets and some other food stores in the UK.
You might also be interested in reading our article on the best probiotics in the UK if you want to add more healthy microbes to your diet.
About kefir
The most common type of kefir is a fermented dairy drink made from milk (either cow or goat milk). However, there are other versions of kefir like this coconut one and also water kefirs.
All of these types of kefir are traditionally made by adding kefir grains - full of different strains of bacteria and yeast - to the base liquid to ferment the sugars in it.
The result is a tangy drink with a lot of microbial diversity.
Read more about the benefits of kefir (and how the dairy version differs to yoghurt).
Ingredients of Cocos coconut kefir
This is an organic, vegan kefir which includes coconut milk (97%) (filtered water, coconut), tapioca starch and live cultures.
The tapioca starch is included as a thickener to try to give it a creamier, yoghurt-like texture - whether it achieves this is another story.
In summary, it’s a clean, natural product.
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Read more about the best gut health products in the UK.
Benefits of Cocos coconut kefir
This main benefit of this kefir is the probiotics it includes. For context, we’ll compare a few key health factors against Yeo Valley kefir which is a popular dairy kefir.
Probiotics
Probiotics are live, beneficial microorganisms that have been proven to support health. They are a specific type of live culture.
Cocos states it includes ‘live vegan kefir cultures including Bifidobacterium’. However, the only strain they specify is the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12. This is a very extensively studied probiotic which has been shown to:
improve bowel regularity and stool consistency
support a balanced gut microbiota
enhance immune function by strengthening antibody responses and reducing the risk and duration of some respiratory and gastrointestinal infections
In comparison, Yeo Valley kefir includes 14 strains of live cultures but they don’t specify which strains are included.
In terms of the actual amount of bacteria present (usually expressed as colony forming units), both brands don’t give any specific information on this.
Learn more about the benefits of probiotics.
Other health measures
It’s important to note that coconut kefir has a very different (and mostly worse) health profile to dairy kefir due to the different base ingredients. Here we’ll compare a few factors against Yeo Valley dairy kefir for context.
Fat: Cocos has very high levels of fat for a kefir at 6.5%, which is triple that of Yeo Valley dairy kefir (1.9%).
Protein: This kefir has low protein levels at 1.6%. Yeo Valley is more than double that at 4%.
Sugar: Its sugar content is very low at 0.5%, which is far less than Yeo Valley at 5.7%.
Calcium: Cocos doesn’t state its calcium level but it would be negligible given the ingredients. In contrast, Yeo Valley has a moderate level of calcium of 126mg per 100ml.
Appearance
As the picture below shows, it appears like a bleached white, frothed milk. You can tell it poured out lumpy by the splash up the glass.
Texture
The texture is certainly thicker than coconut milk, given the added tapioca starch. But I find this generally gives it an grainy, unnatural thickness, rather than the creamy thickness of dairy kefir. And considering this kefir is high in fat, you might expect the creaminess to be higher - but this is common with coconut kefir.
Flavour
The aroma is straight up coconut - just like a packet of flaked coconut.
The taste is really not much to speak of - just of coconut with a moderate acidity.
Overall, the taste is fine enough but underwhelming. The texture really is lacking compared to a dairy kefir.
Use
This kefir could be had on its own or added to smoothies.
Cost of Cocos coconut kefir
You can buy a 500ml bottle from Waitrose for £3.75 - which places it at the expensive end of the market.
Summary
Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
Verdict: Cocos coconut kefir is vegan kefir with an okay taste but underwhelming texture. Like other coconut kefir, the health factors in general don’t measure up well against dairy kefir.
Pros
vegan (if that is important to you)
organic, fairly simple ingredients
very low in sugar
Cons
very high in fat for a kefir
low protein levels
underwhelming texture
negligible calcium levels
needs more information on the strains of live cultures present (as they currently only specify one strain)
needs more information on the actual number of bacteria present (ie colony forming unit count)
Now read about the best kefir in the UK!
Other health benefits of kefir
Along with the specific benefits of this kefir mentioned above, kefir in general is good for our health in the following ways.
Probiotics
These are the beneficial living microbes you are ingesting when you drink kefir. And kefir in general usually has a lot more different strains of probiotics than yoghurt or kombucha does.
Probiotics offer many health benefits including:
better digestive health
better immune function
reduced inflammation
reduced allergies
better nutrient absorption
Postbiotics
Postbiotics are essentially beneficial things probiotics produce during fermentation. These include healthy short-chain fatty acids which nourish our gut lining and may help reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Our favourite gut health products in the UK
YourBiology Gut+ probiotic not only offers 10 strains of probiotics, but also includes two types of prebiotics, three digestive enzymes and vitamin D for gut health support. All this means it offers a lot more benefits for gut health and general health than most probiotic supplements do
Healthpath gut health test is the UK’s most comprehensive gut health test. It tests over 100 biomarkers, checks your digestion and immune response, analyses leaky gut and provides a clear and understandable report on your microbiome
YourBiology SuperGreens+ is a superfood and greens supplement which makes it very easy to get a huge amount of nutrition - vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fibre, polyphenols and more - in one glass. Great for supporting gut health, skin health, energy, mental clarity and immunity.
Read more about the best gut health products in the UK.
Your reviewer
This hands-on review was written by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut-health enthusiast, science nerd and passionate kombucha maker of over 10 years!
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