Drinks · Philippines

How Many Calories in Buko Juice?

Also known as Fresh Buko Juice, Young Coconut Juice, Buko Juice with Sugar.

Young coconut water served with strips of soft buko meat, usually with sugar syrup and a lot of ice. From a 25 peso cup at a stand to a whole coconut with a straw at the beach.

160kcal / 1 cup (350ml, with buko strips and sugar)
A regular 350ml cup of buko juice from a stand is about 160 calories: about 60 from the coconut water, 40 from the buko strips and 60 from the sugar syrup the vendor adds. A whole young coconut with its meat and no added sugar is about 100 calories.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 cup (350ml, with buko strips and sugar) (350g)AmountPer 100g
Calories160 kcal46 kcal
Protein2 g1 g
Carbs34 g10 g
Fat2 g1 g

Where the calories come from

Young coconut water280g
55 kcal
Young coconut meat strips50g
40 kcal
Sugar syrup20g
65 kcal

The real talk

Coconut water alone is light. About 19 calories per 100ml, so the 300ml in a cup is 57 calories. The soft young buko meat is about 80 calories per 100g, and a cup gets 50g of strips for 40 calories. That is the honest coconut, about 100 calories. Then the stand adds simple syrup, usually 15 to 20g of sugar, because plain buko water tastes flat to people used to soft drinks. That is another 60 to 80 calories.

The 'buko juice' in a plastic cup at a mall or a Buko Nation type stall is often not straight from a coconut. It is diluted coconut water with sugar, sometimes condensed milk, and more buko strips, and a large cup can hit 250 calories. The bottled versions at the supermarket run 60 to 90 calories per 330ml, which is less than soft drinks but still 15 to 20g of sugar.

Buko juice is a good replacement for Coke (140 calories) and an even better one if you ask for 'walang asukal' (no sugar), which vendors will do. It is not a free drink though. Two cups of the sweetened kind in an afternoon is 320 calories, which people do not count because it is 'just coconut'. The potassium claim is real, about 250mg per 100ml, useful after a hot day.

How the portions compare

100 kcal
Regular cup, no sugar
160 kcal
Regular cup with sugar
240 kcal
Large cup with sugar

Buko Juice variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Coconut water only, 300ml57 kcalNo meat, no sugar
Whole young coconut, water and meat100 kcalBeach vendor
Buko juice, regular cup with sugar160 kcalStreet stand
Buko juice with condensed milk, regular220 kcalMall stall
Buko pandan drink, regular280 kcalCream, gulaman, sugar

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

Is buko juice good for weight loss?
Compared to soft drinks, yes. Without sugar it is about 100 calories per cup with potassium and some fibre from the strips. With the vendor's syrup it is 160, which is close to a Coke.
How much sugar is in buko juice?
About 8g naturally from the coconut water and meat, plus 15 to 20g of added syrup at a stand. Ask for no sugar and it is under 10g.
Is buko juice the same as coconut water?
Buko juice is coconut water plus strips of young coconut meat, and usually sugar. Plain coconut water is 19 calories per 100ml; the meat and syrup add the rest.
How many calories in a whole buko?
About 100 calories for a typical young coconut: 300ml of water at 57 calories and about 50g of soft meat at 40. A very meaty older buko can reach 150.

Related foods

See all Drinks calories, ranked ›

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical carinderia or restaurant serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

How many calories do you actually need?

Free TDEE calculator. Thirty seconds, no sign up.

Use the calculator