"Buko Juice, Anyone?"

“What in the world is ‘buko juice?” you are probably wondering. Well, before we came to the Philippines, we wondered the same thing.:-) Our Filipino friends were surprised when we told them why we had not heard of “buko juice” previously. “Since coconut trees don’t thrive where we live in Texas, we never had the chance to see a real coconut tree,” we tried to explain. However, now that we live in a tropical country where coconut trees are always in abundant supply, this “buko juice” has become one of our new favorite drinks.


Filipinos call a young (or green) coconut “buko,” and the clear watery substance inside of the young coconut “buko juice” (sometimes known as coconut water). The younger coconuts contain more buko juice, while the older coconuts contain less juice and more meat inside. (Also, we learned that coconut milk is obtained through a process using water and the dried meat of the mature coconut.)

The first time we ever tried buko juice, we thought it tasted… different. Now we have come to love it! This clear drink is very refreshing on a hot, humid day. Not only that, but also buko juice is an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes.

In case you are wondering, we do not purchase our buko juice from the store. Actually, we buy it fresh from the market. The fresher the better!

Every week we go to our same vendor (Poley) at the public market for our buko purchase, which is about 8-10 bukos a week. Now, Mom just texts Poley her buko order ahead of time.:-)

By the time mom arrives to the market, Poley has already prepared and bagged the bukos. :-) All she does is literally drive up to Poley’s stall (which sits along the road) and pick up her purchase. “Thank you, Ma’am! See you next week!” Poley says when he hands over the young coconuts. We like being one of his regular customers.:-)


After mom brings the buko juice home, she washes them and drains out the clear liquid from inside the young coconut. (Each buko holds about 3-4 cups of liquid) She does this by poking a hole on the top of the buko. Since much of the tough skin has already been cut away on the top, Mom can easily puncture the thin layer covering the inside of the coconut in order to extract the juice.


When finished, only the white buko meat remains inside the coconut. Compared to the firm meat of older coconuts, the meat of a young coconut is soft and jelly-like. Of course, this also contains many nutrients, and we make use of it as well! After scraping the meat off the sides of the coconut, we either eat it fresh or blend it in smoothies. (Here in the Philippines, we have heard of some well-known buko pie recipes that we hope to bake someday:->)

Now that we are hooked on buko juice, we will miss it when we go back to the States! It’s the perfect drink for a hot, summer day (which is almost all the time over here for us;->) to boost our energy. So, next time you happen to visit a tropical location, try some buko juice! It just may become one of your favorite drinks too.:-)