K-3This mango is said to be a seedling of ZINC (Zill Indo Chinese), a older cultivar with chalky taste. A more well-known seedling of ZINC is Sweet Tart, a top tier mango that hits the extremes of both sweetnesss & tartness. But Sweet Tart's bold flavors might be considered "over the top" to certain normal, non-mango-crazed individuals.
K-3 is Sweet Tart's more conservative & modest -- but still hot -- sister.
She's "good mango sweet," not candy sweet. She's teasingly tart, not "powdered lemonade crystals" tart. With the sweet and sours mixed down, the resin shines through and dominates. K-3's got an invigorating, tastebud tingling zing from a well refined "turpentine" flavor. In addition, there's a generous splash of the '
cola syrup' flavor I love
. Wikipedia describes it like this:
The primary modern flavoring ingredients in a cola drink are sugar, citrus oils (from oranges, limes, or lemon fruit peel), cinnamon, vanilla, and an acidic flavorant. Trace flavorings may include nutmeg and a wide variety of ingredients, but the base flavorings that most people identify with a cola taste remain vanilla and cinnamon.
My guess at the ZINC / Sweet Tart / K-3's "cola formula" is:
sweet +
acidic + spicy (very subtle
cinnamon,
vanilla &
nutmeg-like flavors).
The flesh of the mango was a deeper orange, it not have fiber that I can remember... and I don't remember seeing a whole fruit next to the tasting tray. I really liked this mango. It's something I would enjoy tasting every summer, and I sure hope it gets released.
Does anyone know more about this mango... its story, the tree or any plans for it?