Coco's Blog

A plain guide to medicinal mushrooms, and which one is which

coco 10/08/2026 0

A few years ago the only mushrooms we sold were the dried shiitake in the cooking aisle. Now people come in asking for lion's mane by name, usually because a podcast told them it would fix their focus. Functional mushrooms are having a real moment, a...

Manuka honey, and what the MGO and UMF numbers really mean

coco 10/08/2026 0

Manuka honey is the one behind the counter that makes people do a double take at the price. A jar can cost more than a bottle of decent wine, and the numbers on the front, MGO this and UMF that, do not make it obvious why. Here is what you are actual...

Switching to natural toothpaste, and the fluoride question answered

coco 10/08/2026 0

Natural toothpaste is one of those swaps people put off, usually because they are not sure it will actually clean their teeth, and because the fluoride question feels like a minefield. It does not need to be complicated. Here is how to switch without...

Your winter immunity kit, and what is actually worth taking

coco 10/08/2026 0

It is that stretch of winter where half of Maroubra seems to have the same cough, the school notes are going around, and everyone wants to know what to take. There is no magic pill that stops you ever getting sick, but there is a sensible kit that st...

Does collagen actually work, and marine versus bovine

coco 10/08/2026 0

Collagen is the supplement everyone seems to be taking and nobody can quite explain. It gets sold for skin, hair, nails, joints, gut and just about everything else, which is exactly the sort of cure all promise that should make you a little wary. So ...

Which magnesium is right for you, and why there are so many

coco 07/08/2026 0

Magnesium is the supplement we get asked about more than any other, usually with the same opening line, which is that a friend or a naturopath told them to take it but nobody explained which one. Walk into the shop and there is a whole shelf of it, p...

Natural deodorant that actually works, and how to survive the switch

coco 07/08/2026 0

Almost everyone who tries natural deodorant for the first time comes back and tells us the same thing, which is that it stopped working after a few days and they gave up. Nine times out of ten they did nothing wrong. There is a settling in period tha...

How to choose a natural sunscreen that you will actually wear

coco 07/08/2026 0

We live in the part of the world that takes sun seriously, and rightly so. Every spring the sunscreen questions start up again, and the one we hear most is whether the natural mineral ones really protect you as well as the usual chemical sprays. Shor...

Plant, whey or collagen, which protein powder do you actually need

coco 07/08/2026 0

Protein powder used to be a bodybuilder thing. Now it is busy parents, people in their sixties trying to hold onto muscle, and anyone who skips a proper breakfast. The tubs on our shelf say plant, whey, collagen and bone broth, and they are not inter...

Looking after your gut without falling for the hype

coco 07/08/2026 0

Gut health is having a moment, and with it comes a lot of noise. Everything on the shelf seems to promise a happier gut, and it is hard to know what is worth your money and what is clever marketing. We sell a fair bit of this category, so we would ra...

How to pack a nut free lunch box without second guessing every label

coco 03/08/2026 0

It is the first week of term, the school has sent home a note saying the classroom is nut free, and you are standing in an aisle turning packets over trying to work out what that actually rules out. Every parent who walks into our Maroubra shop in la...

Castor oil packs, and how to use one without ruining your sheets

coco 03/08/2026 0

Castor oil packs have gone from something your naturopath mentioned once to something half of Instagram is doing before bed. We have been asked about them enough times this year that it seemed worth writing down properly, including the part nobody te...

A local guide to eating well in Maroubra

coco 03/08/2026 0

We have been on Anzac Parade since 2014. Coco grew up in Maroubra, and the shop came out of a feeling that there was a gap in the area for somewhere you could get the harder to find things without driving to the inner west.This is a guide to what we ...

Five Japanese pantry staples worth keeping at home

coco 03/08/2026 0

The Japanese section is one of the odder corners of the shop and one of our favourites. It is not a big range, but it is the range we get asked about most by people who have eaten something good somewhere and want to make it at home.If you are starti...

What to drink when you are cutting back on coffee

coco 03/08/2026 0

People cut back on coffee for all sorts of reasons. Sleep that has stopped working, a heart that races by mid morning, pregnancy, or simply that the third cup stopped doing anything years ago.The problem is rarely the caffeine on its own. It is the r...