Water Coconut

Water coconuts! (No, not giant canepas!)

The Attraction

I watch a lot of survival / outdoor shows like Dual Survival, Survivorman, and Alaskan Bush People, so while on a recent trip to the supermarket when I saw a water coconut, I was hypnotized and knew what I had to do; try to imagine myself as a survivalist and extract coconut water from it.....from the comfort of my very home.

The Review:
I was excited to bring this baby home, although I had no idea how I was going to crack this thing open. On the many shows I watch, two methods come to mind; 1. find a fallen branch and sharpen the end of one and impale the coconut on it and use that to peel away at the shell of it or 2. take a machete and hack off the top of it and drink it like you are Indiana Jones.

Be it that I didn't have an branches in my house and /or didn't feel like breaking one off of a tree and then having to sharpen it, I opted to try plan B. Granted I don't own a machete, but being Asian, I did own a Chinese butcher knife. I know, not exactly the same, but it could be equally effective. Now to figure out how to do this without lopping off any parts I might need. (More mine than the coconut's)

Gilligan!!!

For my safety, I opted to place the coconut on my kitchen counter. I said a quick prayer and went to it. I swung my knife into the coconut and it dug right in, but what next? You can't just hack it in half because all of coconut water will just pour out. How would I survive on a dessert island if that was my technique? I've trying to get the water into my mouth, not onto the counter top.

Next I decided that my second hack into the coconut would be about 4-5 inches apart from the first one. I was going to try to get a "V" shape cut in there.

Doesn't look too exciting

After hacking away and pulling some of the husk off for about 5 minutes, I began to see some moisture trickle through. I knew I was close! I swung my knife one more time and I could feel the shell of the coconut crack and give way. I grab a glass and begin to pull where I could feel the crack. Coconut water starts to gush out and into my glass. Take that survivalist! (Don't ask me where I would have found a glass in the wilderness)

After getting all the water out, I hack into it a few more times to the point of where I could "open" the coconut shell to see what was going on it there. Sure enough there was some coconut jelly on the interior of the coconut. I went ahead and scraped it off the sides and scooped it into my glass.

Finally, the time had come to taste the spoils after such a herculean effort.

I bring the glass and take a sip. If you have never had coconut water before, it's remarkable how much water is in it. It's really light in comparison to many other fruit "juices" It more comparable to fruit infused water, where there is an essence of fruit flavor in the water. The flavor is more subtle and the density of the drink itself is much lighter than juice. I can see why many people would enjoy it, as did I.

For those that have had coconut water before (as many have in recent years with all it's supposed health benefits), the fresh coconut water taste identical to me to the bottles of coconut water you can purchase at the store. I guess that's good news for people buying the commercial products, but bad news for people that were hoping the fresh variety would taste much better. I can't vouch for if it's better for you having it straight from the source like I did.

The Sweet:
Fun experience.

The Bitter:
Not easy to find. Takes some time and energy to get to.

Just like store bought!

Conclusion:
Is it worth the trouble to hack into your own personal coconut to get to the water? Well, that depends on what you are looking to get out of it.

If you just want the freshest coconut water possible, yeah, you can say you can't do much better than this, but truthfully, it's indecipherable from the stuff you get from a good quality coconut water manufacturer. For me, the extracting and opening of the coconut was the fun journey I had getting to the destination.

Have you every done some work around your house or apartment? Paint it, lay some tile down, hang the kitchen cabinets? By doing it yourself, you gain a different level of appreciation for the said task.

That's the way this water coconut extraction was for me. Even though I think it's the same thing as what you can find in bottles, the water I got from that coconut I hand opened that day never tasted quite so good.

Video of the Week

Take thee to a water park!

When I'm not working, watching my kid, or extracting water from large cumbersome objects, I like to go on vacations. Maybe the next time I'm at a tropical location with a water slide, I'll try this trick. (note to self: check if health insurance is current before going away) 

Chocolates Exoticos de Colombia (Coconut, Coffee Bean, Goldenberry)

 The Colombian trifecta of chocolate!

The Attraction

As a fellow co-worker returns from yet another exotic vacation, she was kind enough to share some of her spoils of her trip. In this case, her trip was to Columbia and the spoils being chocolate!

The Review:
The packaging had me intrigued cause it was so exotic and interesting looking, although upon looking at the various flavors, I was a little less sure. Of the three flavors I had (coconut, coffee bean and goldenberry) I was most interested in coconut the most. In addition to not being a fan of dark chocolate in general, I am also not a coffee person, so that may spell for a bad combination for that flavor. As for goldenberry...I just had no clue what a goldenberry is. I'm guessing maybe something like a raisin? If so, that could be the winner of the bunch. Who doesn't love Raisinets?

There's coconut in there somewhere

First up, coconut or "Coco" as the packaging suggests. I open the bag and smell the hint of dark chocolate. I go ahead and pop one in my mouth and sure enough, the bitterness of the coated dark chocolate candy hits first. Then after several chews, there is a change in texture. Something almost fruit like. I guess it's the coconut, although flavor-wise, there is no indication that is what I'm chewing on. The coconut is almost nougat-like in texture, but the coconut flavor I was so anticipating was a no-show. OK, maybe coffee bean can avenge this lackluster first act.

Coffee bean for those that can't

get their caffeine fix fast enough

I repeat the steps with the coffee bean flavor and in this case, I was greeted with the grit and bitterness of coffee bean. Perhaps if I were a coffee fan I may have felt differently, but the flavor combinations were too harsh for my standards. First the bitterness of the dark chocolate only to be followed by the super bitterness of pieces of coffee bean was too much for me. What I will say is that I think it was a good idea to have bits of coffee bean vs a whole bean to help try to mellow out the bitterness flavor combination. I did really like the contrast texture-wise of the coffee bean and chocolate. It was similiar to having bits of Oreo in a chocolate ball (minus the pleasant Oreo flavor).

..and goldenberry. Cause that's what we all need.

More snacks made with goldenberry

Lastly, it now was all riding on the goldenberry flavor to potentially redeem his snack siblings. I repeat the process a third time, but this time to my surprise....the goldenberry was tart.....very tart. So, not bitter like the coffee bean and lost in the dark chocolate flavor like the coconut, but rather tart. Super tart. Dare I say almost lemon like tartness, but with none of it's charm. It would seem that goldenberry too was not in for a good day.

The Sweet:
The dark chocolate tries it's best to save the day.

The Bitter:
With the exception of the coconut flavor, the ingredients are so strong that it's difficult to consume.

Conclusion:
It was already an ominous start with all three snacks being made of dark chocolate, but little did I know that was probably the best part of these items. Of the three, coconut was the best, but when I say best, I mean the least nastiest. I wouldn't plunk down any money to purchase anymore of these. Well, lets take it a step further and say if they were free again, I would not even take more in that scenario. Surprisingly, coffee bean was next least nastiest. All in all, it was a trifecta of terror. They were all so strong in flavor, I literally forgot that these were considered a "candy".

I see how the brand was trying to offer snackers a "taste of Columbia" by creating snacks that highlights the country's natural riches. Unfortunately, none of these three items does a good job of capturing snacks from Columbia that I would love to have more of. It's actually quite the contrary.

Video of the Week

Super Hero Dad for the win

I've seen some videos in my day, but this one was pretty amazing. Here is a seemingly regular Dad working on his scooter. Next thing you know something is happening out of frame and his children is in the middle of the action. He doesn't miss a beat and does what we would all hope to be able to do if ever needed.

Royce Baton Cookies Coconut

What is a "baton cookie" exactly?

The Attraction

This week I was invited to the opening of the new Toto showroom in NYC. In case you aren't familiar with Toto, they are the Japanese manufacturers of cool toilets, washlets, sinks and faucets. In addition to having a showroom full of cool bathroom stuff, they also had some Japanese treats for visitors to enjoy...one being these Royce Baton Cookies. 

The Review:
I didn't really think anything was special about these cookies when I first saw them laid out on a plate inside a mock bathroom in the Toto showroom, but then two of my colleagues ran over and said,  "Royce!? These must be good!" Apparently after some research, it turned out that Royce is a pretty well known and respected confectionery originally from Hokkaido, Japan.

OK, so now I really have to try one.

I open an individually sealed cookie and immediately catch a whiff of the coconut portion of the baton cookie. It's pretty coconut smelling. Personally, I have a very complicated relationship with coconuts; I enjoy the flavor and bits of  coconut here and there, but I've never been a fan of any cake or pastry that highlights a lot of coconut shavings. It was just too coconut-ty for me...so when I smelled the coconut from the cookie...I was a bit apprehensive.

My under carriage hides a chocolate delight 

As I slide the cookie out of it's plastic wrapper, I notice the chocolate coating on the bottom of the cookie. That is a good sign as I previously had some Royce chocolate and it was very smooth. I had no doubt that the chocolate on these cookies would be equally as good.

I take a bite and as I go several chews into the snack, I realize how clever Royce was to dip the underside in it's delicious chocolate. It serves as the gateway flavor to the cookie itself, but more importantly it helps the snacker gently ease into the coconut flavor within the cookie itself. The Baton Cookie strikes a nice balance between the chocolate side and the coconut essence throughout the rest of the snack, but even with that....it redlines my coconut meter.

"Oh, don't forget my coconut flavor, baby!"

The Sweet:
Royce chocolate is tasty!

The Bitter:
...but you still got to like coconut

Conclusion:
There's no doubt that Royce put some care and thought into these cookies. They are well made and the chocolate that is partnered with the coconut is very smooth and delicious, but for me, it's still more coconut than I care for.

If you are a fan of Almond Joy or Mounds (both contain shredded coconut), this might be right up your alley, but as the guy that avoids those mini bars in a mixed Halloween bag like the plague, my love for Royce Baton Cookies Coconut was never meant to be.

Video of the Week

Can you transform the poop that just

formed in my pants into something cool?

In the future when these things try take over the world and wipe us off the face of the earth, we now have another kind of robot that we can use to protect us and save human kind....but it would help tremendously if they could transform a little faster and actually do something useful other than change from one thing to another.

Rum Coconut Patties

Did someone say rum?!

The Attraction:
I've seen these dang things around for years, mainly around the airports and souvenir shops around Florida. I've never bought any for anyone nor for myself cause although I like coconut, I've never been able to commit myself to giving someone something in which I've never tried or had a better idea of what it tastes like. Well, when a co-coworker recently returned from a trip from the Sunshine State with these and the Key Lime version in tow, this was the perfect time to sample these little buggers.

How many of these would I need
to eat to get a buzz, from rum, that is

The Review
Anastasia Confections makes these patties with assorted varieties and each of the two flavors I have on-hand, rum and key lime, come with 12 individually wrapped patties. I opt to try the rum version first. Let the party begin!

I tear open the clear cellophane wrapping and the smell of rum is quite clear. "Gee, I hope the rum flavor isn't too strong", I think to myself, and thankfully after my first bite, it's clear that the rum flavor isn't over-powering. The sweetness, on the other hand, whoa!

It's what you would imagine a rum-coconut patty might taste like. The addition of the rum does do a great job of maintaining the moisture of the patty itself. The chocolate also adds a nice contrast both textually as well as add some dimension flavor-wise.I take another bite.....sure enough....it's still dang sweet....too much so.

Looks like a slice of miniature cake with a chocolate frosting, no?

The Sweet:
The moisture is perfect in these patties. I really dislike dry coconut, but these patties hit it right on the money. The rum works! The partial chocolate coating is also a seemingly small detail, but overall nets a huge gain as it works wonders both on your taste buds and the sensation in your mouth as you chew into one of these patties.

The Bitter:
Its really sweet. Perhaps almost about 20%-40% too much so. It's the type of sweetness that makes you stop wanting to have an additional piece after you polish one patty off.  Perhaps even stop wanting sweets in general for a bit.

The room started to spin...from the sugar high!

Conclusion:
Although these rum coconut patties do a wonderful job of maintaining a nice balance of moistness and an ideal ratio of chocolate to patty, the overwhelming sweetness makes this product difficult to recommend. With that said, this probably is an ideal souvenir; most folks will just grab one, feel satisfied, and not wish to have another one again for some time.

Perhaps the key lime version will rate more favorably? Hmm....we'll have to wait and see.

Video of the Week
Something a bit different this week. I know Christmas just passed, but here's a feel-good clip about a lad named Patrick that was unable to communicate for much of his young life. He was born deaf and his village didn't have a school that taught sign-language, so he sat in silence, until recently.

Happy Patrick!