Yah, I see where you got that. But no, the inclusion of 'all' Hispanics was definitely not the intended meaning. In sum -- based on my experience, I have noted that a lot of ethnic groups prefer fruit without acidity. That's not to say that they would reject Edward, but if given the choice between Edward and something sweeter (eg, your favorite -- the okrung), I'd be rather surprised if they picked the former.
To cut to the chase -- I don't think that Lancetilla flopped because of flavor or production issues. It flopped because of word of mouth within the fruit tree hoarder community. When 2 or 3 or 4 'fruit experts' say that Lancetilla sucks, everyone assumes that it's a fact and drops it from their list of desired cultivars -- which I think is a total shame.
If you take a minute to think about it, how many people actually have a Lancetilla tree planted in their backyard long enough to have received a crop to taste and observe production habits? I'd be surprised if even 5% of the members of this forum fall into that group. Truly, we have a case where everything is based on the opinions of a couple of 'experts'. The problem with this phenomenon is that this presupposes that 0) everybody has the same likes and dislikes, and 1) everybody has the same growing conditions. However, this is a giant fallacy, because south florida is as diverse in culture as it is in growing environments.
The same thing goes for Jean Ellen. How many people on this forum have actually tried the fruit? I know I haven't. But, the tree fell into demise just because 1 or 2 people on this forum said that it's not a good fruit. That's akin to saying that I don''t like red, therefore it's a bad color, and then sitting back and watching as the rest of the populous decides that they will no longer purchase anything red. It's herd mentality which leads to price bubbles and monoculture.
The one person I know whom I would consider being a mango 'connoisseur' and whose taste preferences generally include a wide audience of people would be Dr Richard Campbell, as he's traveled extensively and has a fairly strong understanding of cultural differences in taste. And, he's the very individual promoting the mangoes that eventually flop due to word of mouth.
Alright Jeff, let's trace this to where this hispanic taste thing really started:
However, a person of Latin American descent (eg, my wife) would rate the Lancetilla near the top and Edward near the bottom.
This statement assumes that because someone is of Latin American descent, they would rate Lancetilla near the top and Edward near the bottom. That certainly sounds like a 'hard and fast rule' the way its stated.
I think Edward would beat Lancetilla in taste trials by just about any ethnic group, including hispanics. I'm even willing to test that hypothesis out (however un-scientific that would be). but that is neither here nor there.
The crux of this argument though is that the cultivars that are so called has beens have some major flaws that logically might make them 'has beens'. I consider Lancetilla an average flavored mango, and would bet that most people would regardless of their ethnicity should they get to compare it to other mangos. But even if you were to believe that Lancetilla appeals to a very large subset of people because of its flavor (I don't), it doesn't eliminate its other poor qualities (production and splitting). You argued that not including Lancetilla in the selection of mangos at garden centers would appease people like me, but deny hispanics a mango that appeals to them. I say that is silly, because there are plenty of other mangos out there that will appeal to plenty of unique palates while not having the flaws Lancetilla has.
And that I believe is ultimately why Lancetilla flopped.
