Coco Lopez

Coco Lopez is a Puerto Rican coconut product which is used in many popular drinks.

The original "Coco Lopez" was invented by Ramon Lopez Irizarry, who was an agricultural professor for the University of Puerto Rico. With funds from the government, he worked on his idea inside a small laboratory that he owned. He discovered that by mixing sugarcane sugar with coconut cream, he could prepare the beverage.

Irizarry soon left the University and commercialized his product, which eventually found its way into the island's supermarkets.

Coco Lopez was the base for the invention of the tropical drink, Piña Colada. Initially, most Piña Coladas (pineapple mixed with coconuts) used Coco Lopez to bring the coconut flavor to the drink. Nowadays, various other coconut drinks are also used when making Piña Coladas.

Coco Lopez eventually became a world famous brand, being sold in fifty countries on several continents. The drink is also a fixture of Asian supermarkets in the United States.

The Coco Lopez brand has expanded to include mixed flavors such as "Coco Lopez rum runners", "Coco Lopez strawberry", " Coco Lopez mango", "Coco Lopez lemonade", "Coco Lopez Margarita", "Coco Lopez Bloody Mary" and "Coco Lopez Purple Passion".

Although Coco Lopez's packaging describes it as a 'cream of coconut,' it should not be used for coconut cream in Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines, as Coco Lopez is sweetened for inclusion in Piña Coladas.

ee also

*Cuisine of Puerto Rico
*List of famous Puerto Ricans