Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

PROS 1. The company states that this product is USDA Certified organic. 2. The product label indicates the product contains no ingredients other than organic coconut milk powder. 3. Coconut milk is naturally vegan. 4. The taste is excellent. 5. The powder blends well into water. 6. Similar to every other coconut milk powder I have used, it works as well, and in some cases better than, canned coconut milk, which always seems to have additives (such as the thickener guar gum). 7. Does not come in a plastic container. 8. The price is excellent. CONS 1. The company is not listed with the Better Business Bureau. 2. The company is not listed with Dun & Bradstreet. 3. Zoom Info states that the company is small, with less than 25 employees, and its annual revenue is just under $5 Million per year. The following statement from the company is on Zoom Info, but not on their website: “Micro Ingredients is a premier raw and pure nutrition ingredients supplier in California. Carrying more than 200 raw ingredients, we are proud to provide our customers the most premium, original, and pure ingredients powder which is used by other supplements manufactures to make tablets and capsules. Our pure, high concentration powder is FREE of fillers, additives, preservatives, binders, or any artificial colors or flavors. All our ingredients come with USA lab test reports. You are welcome to request free digital copies of any lab reports. All Micro Ingredients products are packed in FDA registered manufacturing facility.” 4. The Micro Ingredient’s website has sparse information about the company. It gives an address in California, a phone number, and an ability to email the company, but no information as to where the ingredients for their products are sourced from, who has certified their products as USDA Certified organic, and where their products are processed and packaged. I emailed the company the following: “Please provide me with a Certificate of Analysis for your organic coconut powder, which I have purchased through Amazon. I would also like to know which organic certifier has certified this product as USDA Certified organic (e.g. PJRFSI), and the Certificate Number of the batch it is derived from. What is the source of your coconut powder, and where is it processed and packaged? Thank you.” I have not heard back. 5. The company offers a 30-day refund policy, but you have to mail the product back to them at your expense, the cost of which can pretty much wipe out most of your potential refund. The only places they currently sell their products are through their own online store, through Amazon and through Walmart, though Walmart does not offer this particular product. MY EXPERIENCE WITH THIS PRODUCT The typical can of coconut milk is around 13.6 ounces. That is 1-2/3 cup of coconut milk. Canned coconut milk is typically quite thick because almost all brands add thickeners, such as guar gum. If I wish to replicate the thickness of canned coconut milk, it is less expensive and more effective to do so by adding my own thickener, such as cornstarch, tapioca flour or arrowroot, to my reconstituted coconut milk rather than adding excessive amounts of coconut milk powder. When I make vegan ice cream or pudding, I successfully use only 1 tablespoon of this coconut milk powder + 1 cup of water for every cup of the coconut milk that my recipe calls for. If I am adding coconut milk to a large, 16-cup recipe for a coconut-based curry dish (such as korma), I do it in the following manner, as a substitute for a full 13.6 ounce can of coconut milk: 1. In a separate bowl, I whisk together 3 tablespoons of coconut milk powder + 3 tablespoons tapioca starch + all of the powdered spices of my recipe until they are all fully blended. 2. I gradually add in, 1 tablespoon at a time, 1 cup of water, whisking briskly after every addition of water, in order to prevent the formation of lumps. Then I stir this mixture into the vegetables and/or tofu that I am using for my korma. This makes a thick, delicious, coconut gravy.