At Shop Naturally, if there's one category that's painstakingly hand curated, it's the coconut oil category. Why? My first experience with coconut oil was a horrid one, and for 8 months, it put me off ever wanting to try it again. I don't want that happening for our customers.

All the organic coconut oils in our store have been taste tested, used for frying and also in raw food slices and bars. For every brand we accept, at least half a dozen get rejected. There is a fairly reasonable price difference in the oils in the store. Price is a reasonable indication of the taste & quality, which is why you don't see virgin organic coconut oil in our store that's only $15 for a litre. Every one we tried gave the sniff test and the taste test to was just horrid. We do have a budget friendly deodorised oil from Honest To Goodness that has been filtered to strip the majority of the coconut oil taste and smell, but that's it.

It's the worst kept secret that my favourite is Coconut Magic. For a virgin oil, it has a really mild taste & scent and a smooth texture. When the weather heats up, it's always the last one to melt. Today, I'm adding a second favourite. I'm allowed to have more than one!! When I had a visit from a sales rep a few weeks ago, he pulled out a 1 litre jar of the Nakula coconut oil. I grabbed a spoon and ripped the lid off and dove in. The Nakula has a really rich, thick and strong coconut flavour. It's just divine. If you're going to use it for frying, there's a chance it may overpower the taste of some foods, but where this one really shines is to use it in raw slices, goodie balls etc. where you want the coconut flavour to carry.