Product Review: Tropical Traditions Coconut Oils

I've been cooking away with my Tropical Traditions coconut oil and wanted to do a more lengthy post, but as I saw they are having a sale on some products and a free shipping offer until October 22, 2012, I decided to get a quick post up so if any one of you is so inclined, you can take advantage of it.

I will be.

Special Price! - 2 Quarts - 32 oz. Organic Expeller-Pressed Coconut Oil - BUY 1 GET 1 FREE!








Last month, I had the fun experience of hosting a Tropical Traditions giveaway here.  Thank you again to everyone who participated.  At that time, Tropical Traditions sent me a quart size jar of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil for free to review.  A friend congratulated me on becoming a real blogger as I had gotten something for free though the blog.  Score!

Virgin Coconut Oil, Gold Label - 1 quart











Since adopting a paleo diet, I've read numerous times that virgin coconut oil is the healthiest version of the oil, so of course, I bought a store brand virgin coconut oil.  I didn't like it.  Virgin coconut oil still has coconut odor and flavor.  For me personally, I don't like all of my food to taste like coconut.  I was curious how much coconut flavor the Tropical Traditions oil would have.

Knowing my personal preference against having the coconut taste, I ordered and paid for a jar of the Tropical Traditions Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil so that I could review Tropical Traditions in general rather than just the virgin oil.  Expeller Pressed coconut oil does not have coconut odor or flavor.  The link above goes to their current buy one get one free offer on the organic version of the expeller pressed.  As organic wasn't on sale when I purchased I got the non-organic version.  I also ordered some of their coconut flour, flaked coconut and shredded coconut as at the time it was on sale.

The first thing I cooked with my Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil was a fried egg.  There was a noticeable coconut flavor.  I don't believe the flavor was any more or less noticeable than the store bough virgin oil I had tried before.  Of course, when I fried the egg with the Expeller Pressed there was no flavor.  I have since been cooking with both oils on anything I cook including shallow frying some fish sticks with the expeller pressed oil.  I only use the virgin oil in dishes where the coconut flavor will complement the dish.

The Paleo Review:  Thumps Up!  I believe that Tropical Traditions produces a quality oil that has met my expectations when it comes to a cooking oil.  Can I say that I notice a difference in the performance of the Tropical Traditions oil over other store bought oils I've used? No, not so far.

Regardless, I've decided that I will purchase Tropical Traditions coconut oil and products in the future when they are on sale with free shipping.  Why?

I like that Tropical Traditions has posted extensive information about its manufacturing process and where its coconut products come from.  I don't get that when I buy an oil at the store.  When a food manufacturer is open about their manufacturing process, this implies better quality to me.  Also, if you watch for when they have a sale, and especially free shipping,  their oil is can actually cheaper than buying it in the store.

For example, the usual size jar of oil at the grocery store I see is 16 ounces.  A common price for the 16 ounce jar of store oil I've seen is $8.99.  So your paying 56 cents per ounce.  Just for example, if you took advantage of the 2 for 1 Quart offer on  organic expeller pressed coconut oil, you'd pay only 39 cents per ounce.

This may be pennies, but if I can get a better quality product for less delivered to my door, I'm going to do it.  The easiest way to to keep up with their sales, is to get Tropical Traditions into your preferred social media feeds (facebook, twitter, pinterest, and google+).  On twitter, they have an account dedicated to advertising deals: @ttspecialdeals 

As for the other coconut products, I've only used the shredded coconut so far in a recipe I've not yet posted on the blog.  Again, for the price and quality  I was satisfied with the product.  I'm really curious if I will find a difference with respect to the coconut flour I purchased.  If I do, I will certainly let everyone know.

One additional thing I will point out, is that if you have any concerns from a shipping stand point of product fragility (glass jars), I was really impressed with the shipping/packing.

Here is how my review jar of oil arrived.

And here is how my order of oil and coconut products arrived.

The jars I ordered were enclosed in zip top plastic bags and snugly nestled in thick cardboard.  Tropical Traditions obviously has pride in their product at every step: manufacturing through delivery.  As I post recipes where I've used the oils, I'll provide some additional commentary regarding my experience if I have any.  

As you'll see from the disclosure at the bottom of the page, if anyone actually purchases tropical traditions products through the links I've included on this post, I'd receive a discount coupon for the referral.  As of the date of this post, October 19, 2012, I've not received any coupons.  If I did, it'd only mean more yummy posts for all, so if you consider purchasing from Tropical Traditions, please also consider using my referral links.  Please and thank you.