Side by Side Comparison of: Taste Nirvana vs C2O vs Harmless Harvest

Truly a wonderful drink. When chilled, Nirvanahas a lightly sweetened taste that easily quenches thirst better than any tea or soda. And I love the crunchy bits of coconut at the bottom of the drink. Its drawback is a natural sugar content of 19g--pretty high for those of us avoiding carbs. But for these baking-hot Texas afternoons, it's great!Every can arrived intact--all contained the same quality of coconut water.

This is the best coconut water hands down. Legit tastes like you're drinking from a fresh coconut bought by a street vendor in the tropics. It is not too sugary or fake tasting like some of the other brands out there. And it does not taste like plastic or metal like some of the other brands containers. Some brands taste almost like a cane sugar, and not coconut sweet. This brand nails it.

This is my second most favorite coconut water! Next time I will order without pulp...the coconut pulp is little square "bits" and I take my coconut water to work in my water bottles and the boys got stuck in the straw. Haha.

This has to be the best coconut water I have ever had. It is so sweet, nothing bitter. This water is from a grove in Thailand that grows a variety that is naturally sweeter and it is harvested before it is fully mature when the bitter taste comes in. There are 19 grams of sugar in each can but it is the sugar from the coconut. No refined sugar is added. Amazing stuff. I add it to cran-cherry juice and blackberry Izzi. It is yummy that way.

Update after finishing 12 cans: I'm now upgrading this product to 5 stars. I really enjoyed it after I got used to it, and tried 2 other brands as well. I guess you have to adjust your taste buds when you switch from one to another.Update after drinking 2 more cans: my first can must have been from a different batch, because the next 2 were good, much sweeter, and the pulp was very soft. My remaining objections and reason for the 3 stars is the high price, higher calories, and I don't really like that it comes in a large can. If these are not big issues for you, you will like it.Original review, 1 star: I bought this product due to glowing reviews. I don't know why this coconut water has more grams of sugar (19) and calories (60 per 8 oz) than my regular brand that contains 60 calories in 11.1 oz and has some added "fruit sugar". Nirvana is not sweet to my taste, as I expected because of the caloric content and the makers' claim to use the sweetest of Thai coconuts. It might be 2 stars, but I have to deduct for the premium price, which for me is so not worth it. And BTW the pulp is actually chunks - don't expect pulp like in orange juice. The chunks are big!

A little while back I was given a box of 12 whole young coconuts to enjoy. After a bit of practice I perfected the art of chopping the top open with a butcher's cleaver to insert a straw and suckle the sweet nectar contained within. As much fun as that was, whole coconuts take up too much space in the fridge and I'm always concerned that they must use some kind of chemicals on them to keep the "fresh" from their home in Thailand to my grocer's refrigerators.Without knowing really anything about the whole packaged coconut water game, I assumed very incorrectly that I could just select a container of any random brand off a store shelf and it would taste as immaculate as the perfect juice from a fresh-cracked coconut.I could not have been more wrong.I first tried Vita Coco because it seems to be the most common brand really everywhere. It was even at Costco, so I bought their handy 12-pack expecting to delight in the treat. I got the tetra-pak all nice and chilled before taking my first sip, and when I did I was furious. "How can they call this coconut water?!" I exclaimed. It tastes kind of like diluted, sour, used, soapy dish water that leaves a funky wang in your mouth and does nothing toward quenching your thirst. It seemed to make me thirsty for some plain old water. Yuck!At first I thought maybe I got a bad batch, but then I headed online for some reviews and I found I was not alone. How unfortunate. However, I also found lots of reviews of some other brands that people seemed to love. "Yay! There's still hope!" I thought to myself.The confusing part was that for every brand for which I found good reviews, there seemed to be countless other reviewers disgusted by each one. I read a review comparing Zico, O.N.E., and Vita Coco to one another, and it ranked the former two far above the latter. I went ahead and bought a bottle of each Zico and O.N.E. and determined they are swill, especially Zico, which tastes like tap water that was spit into by someone who just ate a rotten coconut.I continued reading reviews and found several stating that Amy & Brian is really great, but that some find it overly sweet. I am not a fan of sugary sweetness in my coconut water, but I thought I'd give it a try anyway. The results? Meh. It's really not sweet at all, and although there is more flavor, it still doesn't taste like fresh coconut water. Yet another review stated that Nature Factor was a close second behind Amy & Brian, so I gave that a shot. It's definitely a little worse than Amy & Brian, but it is very similar and doesn't taste like a real coconut.I was just about to give up hope when one of the small ~9 oz. bottles with pulp of Taste Nirvana landed in my hands. I presumed it was going to be more funky wang sauce, but I took my first sip and whoa-ho-hoooo what have we here? A miracle in a bottle? A fresh coconut shaped like a bottle? Nay, it was really bottle coconut water that really tasted like coconut water! In fact it tastes even better than fresh coconut water because there's a subtle sort of butteriness to the flavor. I thought it had to be a fluke, but I took another sip (and about finished the bottle), and every drop went down as unbelievably delicious as the first.I immediately hopped onto Amazon and started a subscribe & save subscription. My first case of these 16 oz. tall cans sans pulp arrived today and after a quick 1 hour in the freezer, I just tried my first can. Son of a biscuit, it almost brings me to tears to tell you this, but it was possibly the best canned beverage I've ever guzzled. I tried so hard to make it last, but I almost chugged the darned thing because the deliciousness was so unstoppable.In short, if you're looking for some good coconut water and don't want to deal with cleaving real coconuts, save yourself a lot of time and heartache; don't try anything but Taste Nirvana. You won't regret it. I just wish I had someone else giving me this advice at the start of my misadventures in coco-hunting.=== Update April 2013 ===After commenter Anita suggested another brand, C2O, I found some at my local grocery store and gave it a shot. If you're still on the fence about which coconut water try, that's the only other brand I've enjoyed just about as much as Taste Nirvana. Depending on your personal preference, you may like that one even more than Taste Nirvana; Anita does.If you are able to, you should definitely sample the different brands one can at a time before buying a case on Amazon, but if you aren't able to, I think you won't go wrong with either of the above two brands. Enjoy!=== Update May 2013 ===Commenter Jamie suggested a brand called Harmless Harvest that's apparently only available at Whole Foods. If you have a Whole Foods near you that carries it, stop whatever else you're doing (don't even finish reading this) and go buy some of that coconut water. That is truly what I never thought possible: raw, fresh young coconut juice *exactly* as if drinking it directly out of a coconut. It's not heat treated nor pasteurized, and it is naturally organic which means it tastes flawless and it has a shelf life of at least a month due to a new high-pressure process in which they put thousands of pounds of pressure on each bottle to prevent the growth of flora.As you might imagine, it's quite pricey, but oh so worth it. I've seen a smaller bottle for under $3 and a larger bottle for over $5. There's just no comparing Harmless Harvest to any canned coconut water, but if you feel this stuff is too expensive, I'd recommend sticking with some canned stuff but occasionally supplementing your coconut high with a nice, slowly-sipped bottle of raw, organic, pure, untreated coconut water. Yummy!(Check out their website for all their awesome details and where you can find their product near you: harmlesscoconut.com)

delicious and healthy. a bit pricey but worth it over other coconut waters. we are on auto ship and get a case every month, and its usually gone within the first week. love it. bought it cause its rated as one of the best, and made from real whole coconuts, not scraps off the floor.

Due to the many health benefits I wanted to make coconut water a regularly consumed item in my pantry and went about investigating and taste trying the various brands. After the dust (or coconut shavings) settled this is the brand I settled on.Considerations included taste, purity, manufacturing process, product source or origination, added sugar and of course cost.There was only one other brand that made the final cut (starts with "H") but was over twice as much with everything else being equal.

It's OK, prefer vita coco due to no after taste. Taste nirvana leaves an after taste that I'm not a fan of

Very delish! Maybe it's just me, but I can taste a bit of a difference between the one in the glass bottle vs the can (and I prefer the former). However, this is a refreshing way to hydrate and heal the gut, thanks to the combo of coconut and aloe!Oh, and the shipping was great! No dented cans, which can be a problem (my local stores seem to have issues with dented cans, so I was hesitant to buy on Amazon thinking I might incur the same, but not a dent in sight for me!)

Like the flavor of this coconut water, and the fact that they do not use high heat pasteurization, which retains the nutrients. However, the coconut pulp taste is not my favorite, and the texture is kind of firmer than I would expect. It's a million times better than Zico or Coco Vita.

I love, love, LOVE coco aloe! I used to hate coconut water (and still dislike other brands) but I love this one. The little aloe bits are awesome and provide great texture. The only thing is that this can packaging gives it a slight metallic tang, especially for the last few sips. I much prefer the little glass bottles, but the pricing is ridiculous! Why is the larger 16oz 12-pack half the price of the 9.5oz 12-pack?! I hope Amazon gets a supplier that can sell the 9.5oz bottles at a decent price, with Subscribe and Save, 'cuz I'd be all over that.

Hmmm--second time I've ordered a 12 pack of Taste Nirvana with Subscribe and Save, and honestly I'm a bit let down. Maybe my expectations were too high from all the stellar reviews? I love the more fragrant, sort of floral quality of Taste Nirvana compared to other coconut waters. In terms of the intensity of flavor and overall sweetness though, it's more inconsistent that C2O or Amy & Brian's. The two batches seemed quite different from one another, with the second definitely better, but not as strong a coconut flavor as C2O. I also notice that the cans are quite different from other 16 oz cans on the market--they're a much lighter aluminum, and I wonder if it doesn't do as good a job of protecting the flavor? When I've had 12 oz cans from other producers which were thinnner, the taste was very compromised.The cans are also a problem in shipping--the first batch came so severely dented that three of the cans were completely empty. They'd been punctured somehow. A couple other cans were only partially full. I also notice when I open a can of Taste Nirvana there's a bit of a carbonation-like mist? Don't know what that's about. But it seems like quality control is lacking with this brand, and in addition it doesn't say whether the containers are BPA-free.It's possible I've just gotten a couple of "off" batches, and there's nothing wrong with the coconut water per se (other than the empty cans in the first batch), but to my taste I don't enjoy it as much as other unsweetened coconut waters and won't continue to order. Pretty overrated and not worth the extra cost for me, at least the version sold in the 16 oz aluminum can, but for someone who likes a significantly less sweet and milder taste, this may be a good choice. Coconut water seems to react very very differently to whatever packaging is used, so I may try their glass bottles in hopes of finding the coconut nirvana everyone claims this brand displays.

Some of the best coconut water out there but the prices have become obnoxious. Im switching products

I started drinking Taste Nirvana Coconut Water (without pulp) to get better from food poisoning I got at McD's. I was buying it in the glass bottles in the grocery store. I decided to order the cans from Amazon because they were cheaper and though I'd try it with pulp. Overall, not a fan of the pulp. It's too chunky and not young enough coconut.I'd give the Taste Nirvana without pulp in the glass bottles 5 stars. This canned and with pulp just doesn't taste as good. Next month I'm going to try the cans without pulp (to compare to the glass bottles) and will update then.

The price of this is great, about half the cost of my favorite brand, but the taste is nowhere as good, and the delivery system, in a can that can't be closed, is also not as good. I wasn't a fan of coconut water but I stumbled on Harmless Harvest brand a few months ago and it bowled me over. It's exactly the taste as if I were pouring it from a fresh coconut that my father had opened for us when I was a kid. I keep expecting the pit to hit my nose when I'm drinking it. I was hoping for a similar taste here but I was disappointed. The taste of this is weak in comparison. Also, Harmless Harvest is in a container that can be closed, so you don't have to finish it immediately. My space is crowded and a few times the can was tipped over. Not good, as you can imagine. With the Harmless Harvest brand, since the bottle can be closed, an accidental fall doesn't cause the water to be lost. Taste Nirvana isn't bad; it's a good taste but a relatively weak taste. It's not a great taste like Harmless Harvest. So I don't crave it the way I do the other. And I wouldn't order it again. I keep hoping that Amazon would start to carry Harmless Harvest but they don't and I have to buy it from Whole Foods by the case. VERY expensive, almost twice the cost of Taste Nirvana delivered free from Amazon, but even though it's hard for me to pay for Harmless Harvest because I like it so much more that I actually crave it. I never bought any brand till I tried one bottle of Harmless Harvest a few months ago and now I want to drink at least one bottle a day. I hoped that Taste Nirvana would be a less expensive replacement, with the convenience of Amazon delivery to boot, but it isn't nearly as good as Harmless Harvest. I only wish it were.

Taste not what I was expecting. I have been to Brazil a few times and spent several days on the beaches. Where fresh coconuts were drinks of choice among the group I was with. While I have never been a fan of the coconut flavor, I do take coconut water to tennis competitions to drink between change overs and have been able to deal with the taste to get the benefits from ice cold coconut water over plan water (I'm not a fan of sports drinks). Maybe because its not 100 degrees outside on the court right now, the taste was pretty bad. Shipping and packaging were as expected, but the taste is not one that I can deal with. Even a Brazilian teammate did not like it, but a few others said it wasn't too bad. Yet, no one was willing to buy the extras from me.It is nice to add to a fresh smoothie, where other fruits can mask the taste.My suggestion to those looking to purchase would be to try to find some local first and try one. If I would have, I would not have purchased.Update:A gave one to a friends wife who does not really care for other brands of coconut water and really enjoyed it enough she bought the remaining cans from me.

Besides this I've had Nature Factor organic, Amy & Brian, Blue Monkey, and Naked coconut waters and actual coconut water from the coconuts growing in my front yard (years ago). Based on flavor alone this one tasted like it was processed too long, a one-note sweetness and not much else. For me what was missing is the fresh, enzyme-y, multi-note flavors Amy & Brian or other brands capture that is similar to raw coconut water. On the plus side: no tin can off-flavors like I've experienced with Blue Monkey or an occasional can of Amy & Brian's and the price is tolerable. Amazon delivered in excellent condition on time. Taste Nirvana coconut water - just not the right taste for me.

I know it healthy and hardly anything artificial in it. Didn't really like the taste much. Slightly burnt coconut taste.

For almost a year this CW was the only thing I had, having received bad foul smelling water only once. Now, that has become more frequent. The water has been a big hit with high ratings and the manufacturer/distributor took notice. They increased the price and reduced the quality. Sadly, now I have to look elsewhere.

This is my favorite tasting coconut water that i've tried so far but... This brand does not seem to protect their shipments very well. As a result, 3 of the 12 cans were undrinkable. One can was completely empty due to a hole in the bottom. The other two had dents which allowed air to get in through the seams at the top. these almost made me vomit when i tasted them. They were full of foul tasting slimy liquid that i noticed when i dumped them down the sink drain. This was very disappointing since the "good" cans were very tasty. In conclusion i would give this product 5 out of 5 stars based on the good cans and -5 based on the bad ones.

Maybe I got a bad batch of coconut water. The last batch was fine. When I opened the can, it was fizzy. I thought hmmm the other cans weren't fizzy. There was a horrible smell emitting from the can. I took a sip and it was sour. Obviously this is poor quality control. Hopefully the rest of the case isn't like this as this drink is not cheap.

One of the cans in my latest order leaked so that the box it was plastic wrapped in was wet. I threw out the bottle and refrigerated the rest. However, when I opened another bottle, a rancid, vomit-like odor came from the coconut water. I opened a second one that was not as vile smelling but something was off with the taste. There was something severely wrong with this shipment.This is my favorite coconut water but this is the second time I have received a batch that was undrinkable. They have severe quality control issues.

I've been getting Taste Nirvana Real Coconut Water without the pulp for a few months and really like it. It was out of stock the last time I ordered so I got it with the pulp and it just doesn't taste the same. Not as flavorful or as sweet. I won't get it again.

This tastes better in the store than when shipped.

I just received my product and was looking forward to drinking this. It's a hot 85 out and thought i would chill and crack a can open. This product tasted really bad. The liquid was yellow and the coconut pulp was very brown and old looking. I might have gotten a bad batch, its definitely possible. It tasted like old coconut water that's been sitting in the barrel to long. It was a bitter taste. This is my first purchase of the large can and it's my last. The Taste Nirvana in the glass bottle is the way to go, the liquid is clear white with white coconut pulp. Very sweet tasting, the way its suppose to be. Down side is you get less coconut water, but worth it. I shouldn't have switched up to the larger can. I got to greedy, after all why put too much of a good thing in a large can. I opened all the cans and were exactly the same, so i dumped them out in the sink.

When this product arrived, the coconut water was yellow and not clear. Avoid.

Not sure if it was the distributor or manufacturer but the coconut water tasted aged and the pulp was not white but brownish. Again, it could've been the coconut itself was aged or the distributor had issues in storing the cans in the appropriate temperature before shipping. Not sure who to blame. I will give it another try considering I've been ordering Taste Nirvana for a year and a half with only 1 instance of less than 100% satisfaction.

Water used to be clearish/white with almost no smell. Past few shipments, water was yellow/brongish tinged and sickly sweet smell. I've cancelled my subscription until quality improves again.

When I first discovered this coconut water a few years ago I loved it. That being said, quality control has continued to go down the past two years and I've found lumps in several (mold?). I can not recommend it's purchase to anyone.