Coconut is one of the most coveted health foods on the market and for good reason. They’re a great source of dietary fiber (mostly found in coconut meat), potassium (found in coconut water), fat (found in the oils) and vitamin B, iron, and minerals like magnesium and zinc.
Beyond their health benefits, coconuts are one of the most versatile fruits-nuts-seeds (yes technically they’re all three) out there with a little something to give for everyone. The hungover early twenty-something pounding coconut water to relieve their headache. The gluten-free eater using coconut flour to replace regular flour. The beach vacationer sipping a pina colada. The surfer eating an Acai bowl blended with coconut milk topped with shredded coconut. The list goes on.
For Brave, coconut is one of the most satisfying ingredients to work with because it adds a subtle sweetness, a light nutty flavor and a unique texture to each bite. Toasted Coconut Mango is a great example of what coconut can add for flavor and texture to a product.
Most of the world's coconut production comes from India and Southeast Asia. For obvious reasons, sourcing directly from farms in these countries is logistically quite complicated. So, we sought out to find a trusted partner in the US who sources from farms using organic soil and farmer health best practices.
Brave’s organic coconut comes from a number of Sri Lankan farms that follow organic farming best principles:
- Compost made from coconut husks and leaves is used as mulch around the crops which helps improve water holding capacity of the soil and to increase biodiversity of the land.
- Cover crops such as purple bean and butterfly pea are used to reincorporate healthy nutrients to the soil.
- Additional cash crops such as black pepper are planted to provide extra income sources and increase biodiversity of the soil.
- Animal grazing is used to increase soil diversity.
- Farmers are given good prices for their products to sustain a healthy living.
We’re really happy to have found a partner here in the States that shares our same values and is able to source delicious organic coconut directly from farmers in Sri Lanka.
Note: coconut contains both healthy (HDL) and unhealthy (LDL) cholestrol.
