The secret is to peel away at the "cap" of the coconut where it connects to the tree with the tool. There is a light fleshy meat under the cap and the tool slides right into it no brawn required! We live in Florida and have green coconuts in our yard this makes them so easy to drink and coconut water is so good for you!
No matter what you call it, this is a great item for getting at coconut water from green and white coconuts. The coconut knife is meant for Whole green coconuts or fresh coconuts, with these coconuts it is recommended to go thru the side. Young coconuts, Thai coconuts and White coconuts: set the coconut on its flat side and tap the coconut thru the cone shaped top. Insert a straw and enjoy! I like to keep coconuts from my tree in the fridge and drink chilled. The husk acts as a natural insulation keeping it cold and is 100% recyclable! Once the coconut water is consumed you can use a large cleaver to split the coconut for the jelly inside. I make several holes in the coconut with the coconut tap to make this easier.
This tool was not designed for Brown ripe and white RIPE coconuts. You can find the soft eye of the three on the top and pierce that eye, but you risk damaging the coconut tap. Get a hammer and an ice pick for those hard nuts. Although these type of coconuts do contain coconut water, it is not of the same quality or taste as a young coconut. Generally these coconuts are used or their meat inside. The Coconut tap is NOT intended for use on unhusked or brown ripe coconuts.
The coconut tap comes with a cap over the sharp end that also serves as a knock out tool for the coconut core left in the tap after opening. An old fashioned ice pick also does the job cleaning out the tool.
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This is a great little tool. Well-built; works well. Arrived in a timely fashion, although the seller didn't think so. They sent me a peronsalized e-mail advising me of a delay due to increased holiday business. That's great customer service.
My first experience of drinking coconut water on a regular basis (I think many call it "milk" here in the U.S.) was when I lived in Puerto Rico. Vendors in areas where coconut palms grew would harvest them and keep them in salvaged-from-the-junkyard, 30-year old electric soda pop coolers on the roadside in front of their humble house, to sell to thirsty travelers.
Some locals would mix it with Scotch whiskey, or rum. Pretty tasty, but it definitely cancels out some of the health benefits of the unadulterated coconut water.
With about four skillfully-placed strokes, (coconut in one hand, the other wielding the machete, (scary until you got used to seeing it), the vendor would chop out an opening in the end of the coconut to open it up, stick a straw in it, and hand it to the customer. Delicious, cool, mineral-packed, sweet but not too sweet refreshment!
Later, when I lived in Brazil, many of the food stands on the beaches in Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere offfered this natural liquid delight. They would normally use a tool similar to the one here, but wider in diameter.
Then I started to see franchised kiosks in shopping centers, where the sale of fresh coconut water was semi-automated, the nut being perforated by a manually operated punch, and the water emptied out and stored for ready delivery to the customer in containers ranging from a six-ounce plastic cup to a liter container.
Nowadays, we see coconut water in stores here in the U.S., packaged in liter boxes, and probably filtered, pasteurized, and who knows what else, in order to be able to ship it 5000 miles and meet sanitary requirements for imported foods. You don't need a tool to get into those packages, but the taste of the water does not compare the real thing.
Long story short, (or already too long, perhaps), if you or a friend are lucky enough to have coconut palms in your yard, as I am, or you love coconut water and have the $$$ to buy coconuts in the grocery store, you need a tool like this one! I was throwing out coconuts because it was too difficult to get at their liquid treasure. No longer. This coconut knife makes it safer, faster, easier to get at the water, even if you are dealing with the husked nut from the grocery store.
The only thing I would suggest is that this tool should have a bigger diameter, about twice its current size. As it is, I have to make three holes in order to be able to pour the water of several coconuts into a container for a couple of day's supply. It's fine for sipping one coconut's water with a straw, but not for pouring.
It's also a minor challenge to get the piece of coconut husk, shell and meat out of the knife after each use. A larger tool would make that easier.
Read Best Reviews of Haidragon Coconut Knife Here
Love this product! Ignore what others say about difficult to clean. Of course it's difficult! It's physics, people! You are compressing a substance into a restricted space. Get over it. If you want a self-cleaning coconut drill, have someone else do the work...
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This tool makes opening coconuts way easier than cutting them open... plus you don't lose any of the precious coconut water! It took a second to clean it, though, I wish the cap wasn't as flimsy because I used it to push the pulp out and it bent slightly. But it's still an amazing product!
I LOVE THESE KNIVES!! I grew up with these in my house and thought they were a normal utensil in every home. My mom had even stocked me up when I moved into my own place 8 years ago. I only learned they were unique when I asked my mom to get me more, and she advised me she had given all her extra ones away. Apparently these knives have been a popular gift from my mom that all her friends have loved and even requested from her. My mom had actually been searching for these, but could not locate anymore. I ordered some for her and some for me. I am very very grateful that these are available online. I use these knives FOR ALMOST EVERYTHING!!!
