SPIRITUAL CRISIS: What’s the best pomelo you’ve ever had?

[Rottypixie]

I opened a pomelo today and I think it was trying to fight me. The peel felt like industrial foam. The pith peeled off like drywall insulation. I took a bite and immediately lost my sense of purpose. There was no flavor, only echoes of past disappointments.

I sat in silence for a while. Just… sat there. Looking at the rest of the fruit like it owed me rent.

I need to know what pomelo changed your life. Not a decent one. Not a good-for-what-it-is one. I’m talking about the one that made you reconsider the existence of joy. The one where your tongue freaked out and your brain had to reboot.

The one pomelo that slapped.

Tell me what it was. Tell me where. I don’t care if it was in a forgotten village or smuggled through airport security inside a suitcase lined with ice packs and shame. I’ll find it. I’ll chase it.

Right now I’m three pomelos deep into an identity crisis and I’m starting to think maybe I was the problem all along.
But I’ve had Chandler.
So please. For the love of God.
If there’s something better than Chandler out there, tell me.
I need this.

My fridge is holding two more ticking time bombs. My trust is gone. My soul is bruised. Pomelo has me praying to gods I don’t believe in.

I’m begging you. Help me believe again.

[dytandme]

Based on forum reports, I'd like to try a Starburst pomelo.

And just in case this genuinely is a spiritual crisis and not tongue-in-cheek hyperbole, it sounds like you're chasing the idea that there is always something better. Perhaps good wasn't good enough for you, so now the universe is reminding you what a bad one is. Seems like a chance to learn the lesson to find gratitude and joy in the imperfect. When I approach life (and pomelos) without expectations, it's pretty easy to find gratitude even for what most folks would call a bad one.

So if you were being serious, yeah, you might be the problem. But if you were just being silly, my bad! 

[BloomAndSprout]

Somebody please help this man, this is serious!

[Perplexed]

Try Valentine pomelo and Tahitian

[Millet]

I have a large Valentine pummelo tree about 18 years old. The flesh of a valentine fruit is very deep purplish/red, and very sweet.  It has no (zero) acid taste,

[sc4001992]

Cocktail grapefruit, Valentine pomelo, Thong Dee pomelo, Golden pomelo, and my best seedling pomelos.

I hear these others are good as well, Bien Hoa pomelo, Buoi Da Xanh , Bưởi Tam Hồng, Tien Vua-Red Pomelo, Thai Royal Red Skin, Honey pomelo, Halawa.

[BorisR]

Ha ha! You need to be a writer!
Here's the best I've grown, and it's a pomelo, just like you asked:

Besides the sugar, it still had a slight sourness, so the taste was excellent!

[Xenon]

Chandler is one of the worst pummelos imo. Low acid low sugar bitter aftertaste with mediocre pith to flesh ratio. Why was it ever popularized???

The trademarked Starburst pummelos from FL are very good overall. Maybe out of a dozen fruit, 2 or 3 will be exceptional to life changing good. Pink flesh Hirado Buntan from Florida is pretty good as well. I also had a white flesh one many years back that was mind blowing, I'm not sure what it was. The zippy sugar to acid ratio was perfect and it was intensely fragrant. It completely blew the Oroblancos I'd been eating at the time out of the water.

[sc4001992]

I found 3 seedling pomelo trees from other people's yard that are excellent tasting, these are my top 3 best tasting so far. Much better than any of the ones from UCR/CCPP or nursery varieties.

[Coconut Cream]

I can't help you with the pomelo crisis, but I admired the poetic doom-mongering of your post.

[Luisport]

I opened a pomelo today and I think it was trying to fight me. The peel felt like industrial foam. The pith peeled off like drywall insulation. I took a bite and immediately lost my sense of purpose. There was no flavor, only echoes of past disappointments.

I sat in silence for a while. Just… sat there. Looking at the rest of the fruit like it owed me rent.

I need to know what pomelo changed your life. Not a decent one. Not a good-for-what-it-is one. I’m talking about the one that made you reconsider the existence of joy. The one where your tongue freaked out and your brain had to reboot.

The one pomelo that slapped.

Tell me what it was. Tell me where. I don’t care if it was in a forgotten village or smuggled through airport security inside a suitcase lined with ice packs and shame. I’ll find it. I’ll chase it.

Right now I’m three pomelos deep into an identity crisis and I’m starting to think maybe I was the problem all along.
But I’ve had Chandler.
So please. For the love of God.
If there’s something better than Chandler out there, tell me.
I need this.

My fridge is holding two more ticking time bombs. My trust is gone. My soul is bruised. Pomelo has me praying to gods I don’t believe in.

I’m begging you. Help me believe again.

There are incredible chinese pomelos you can arrange... im sure you can get them. As people told you, valentine pomelo is awsome too but its from US. Good luck!

[Rispa]

Sounds like yours wasn't picked at the right time.

For traditional pomello close to grapefruit the usual orange yellow ones work well. That said the Vietnamese ones are my favorite and I am growing them and if people stop stealing them I want to extract oil from the skin because it smells so good.

Also you really need to just eat the juice vesicles. Unlike grapefruit the rest is just too tough

[fruitnut1944]

I grew Chandler for many years and thought that it was pretty good. This was in my greenhouse with a 9 month warm season. I now have Valentine and Tahitian so have high hopes since as witnessed above they are highly recommended.

Poor quality Chandler could well be from poor growing conditions like not enough heat.

[Mulberry0126]

Hirado Buntan is a favorite of ours! Harvested a fresh one from Stan McKenzie in SC that was delicious. Somewhat like a sweet lemon but different.

[Rispa]

Hirado Buntan is a favorite of ours! Harvested a fresh one from Stan McKenzie in SC that was delicious. Somewhat like a sweet lemon but different.

That sounds amazing. Do you know if they grow true to seed?

[BorisR]

No, Hirado Butane has zygotic seeds.

[Rispa]

No, Hirado Butane has zygotic seeds.

Too bad since I don't think it's available here

[Xenon]

No, Hirado Butane has zygotic seeds.

Too bad since I don't think it's available here

HB recently became available in Houston again. The Arbor Gate had some available in early spring (Brazos is the wholesaler). Two new Vietnamese introductions are easy to find too (also from Brazos): Nam Roi and Bien Hoa. I liked the Nam Roi imported from Vietnam, nice balance of sweet and acid. The flesh also separates easily from the membrane.

There was a u-pick pummelo orchard with giant 15-20 year old Nam Roi pummelo trees on the north side of Houston before the darn freeze in 2021. A lot of people also had very tasty seedling trees.

[brian]

I really like my Chandler.  It's fruit seems to vary between juicy with no coloration, and pink and drier.  Both are good.

[Rottypixie]

Thank you all so much for the thoughtful responses.
I genuinely didn’t expect this level of depth, insight, and kindness.

The spiritual crisis is... still ongoing, but your replies gave me hope that somewhere out there, a truly redemptive pomelo exists.
Several of you mentioned Starburst, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.

Would anyone happen to know the exact cultivar name or origin of the Starburst pomelo?
Also, if you have any recommendations on where to obtain budwood or grafted trees of it, I’d be immensely grateful.

Thanks again. I feel slightly less alone on this juicy journey. 🍊

[Rottypixie]

Ha ha! You need to be a writer!
Here's the best I've grown, and it's a pomelo, just like you asked:

Besides the sugar, it still had a slight sourness, so the taste was excellent!

That looks incredible! thank you for sharing.
By the way, are you doing okay over there? Pray for you!
Also, do you happen to know the name of that cultivar? It looks amazing.

[Rottypixie]

Hirado Buntan is a favorite of ours! Harvested a fresh one from Stan McKenzie in SC that was delicious. Somewhat like a sweet lemon but different.

I’ve never even heard of that and now I feel like I’ve missed out on a core memory I was supposed to have.

Just the name sounds like a citrus that shows up once in a dream and then vanishes forever.
You’re out here casually harvesting divine pomelos from Stan McKenzie and I’m over here trauma-bonding with dry, bitter fruit.

Sweet lemon, but different?
That’s not a description, that’s a riddle from a fruit oracle.
I need to find this tree. I need to find myself.

[BorisR]

Ha ha! You need to be a writer!
Here's the best I've grown, and it's a pomelo, just like you asked:

Besides the sugar, it still had a slight sourness, so the taste was excellent!

That looks incredible! thank you for sharing.
By the way, are you doing okay over there? Pray for you!
Also, do you happen to know the name of that cultivar? It looks amazing.

Oh, I'm sorry! I answered after sc4001992 and thought that from the context it would be clear that this is a Valentine pomelo. And I'm fine! Thanks!

[Rottypixie]

Oh, I'm sorry! I answered after sc4001992 and thought that from the context it would be clear that this is a Valentine pomelo. And I'm fine! Thanks!

Wow, thank you so much for clarifying! And Valentine pomelo?? That explains the color—absolutely stunning. Looks almost too pretty to eat… almost. 😋

I’m really glad to hear you’re doing fine. Sending sunshine and citrus blessings you!!!

[RS]

Thank you for clarifying, it wasn't clear to me either that was a Valentine pomelo. Beautiful!

Rottypixie, you're fairly close to pomelo heaven, Shiraki Orchard in Japan grows 40 different pomelo varieties (plus 60 other types of citrus) and have pummelo available every month of the year, https://www.japan.travel/en/gastronomy/article-japans-secret-citrus/. It's on my bucket list. Their monthly pomelo calendar is great too, https://buntan.com/

I really like Starburst and Hirado Buntan but they're the only varieties I've tried.

All the best with your quest! Amazing pomelos are out there!!

[Rottypixie]

Thank you for clarifying, it wasn't clear to me either that was a Valentine pomelo. Beautiful!

Rottypixie, you're fairly close to pomelo heaven, Shiraki Orchard in Japan grows 40 different pomelo varieties (plus 60 other types of citrus) and have pummelo available every month of the year, https://www.japan.travel/en/gastronomy/article-japans-secret-citrus/. It's on my bucket list. Their monthly pomelo calendar is great too, https://buntan.com/

I really like Starburst and Hirado Buntan but they're the only varieties I've tried.

All the best with your quest! Amazing pomelos are out there!!

Thanks for the links—super helpful.
That said, I think I wasn’t really looking for fruit per se… I’m more interested in budwood or a potted tree, ideally something that could survive zone 6 without disassociating mid-winter.

Still kind of stunned that Japan’s just… sitting over there hoarding 40 pomelo varieties like it’s normal.
Meanwhile, I’m over here grafting Flying dragon onto Flying Dragon in a garage that doubles as a seasonal depression simulator.

Appreciate it though. Added Shiraki to the life list.

[Yorgos]

I grew a chandler for a number of years.  It never had any decent flavor.  I picked them early, I picked them late, but always a bland flavorless result.  The bloomsweet grapefruit right next to it was delish so I presume the chandler was getting the heat units it needed to sweeten up.  Pomelos are not worth it to me.
Sadly, they both died in the freeze of 2021.

[Altadena Mara]

My Valentine pumelo produced its first ripe fruit a few weeks ago. It wasn’t as red as in the pictures but was still pretty good. After visiting Mimosa Nursery in LA, I went to an Asian market near there, found a number of pumelo varieties for sale and have been eating my way through them. The Starburst was pink inside, mild tasting and moderately sweet with a faint citrus aroma. The Honey one was pale yellow inside, slightly sweeter than the Starburst, and had more of a citrus fragrance. The Ruby Green and the big yellow whose name I forget will have to wait until tomorrow. If you want to sample several different pumelo varieties for yourself, check out your local Asian markets now in January.

[70Malibu]

Altadena Mara, yes I do get some of those Asian pomelos for the local markets here in SoCal. Also Weee onlinie is a good source since they import them from everywhere, delivery is fast, only a few days in my area.

I must agree with the few people who commented on Chandler pomelo.
"Chandler is one of the worst pummelos imo. Low acid low sugar bitter aftertaste with mediocre pith to flesh ratio. Why was it ever popularized?"

Sorry Brian and Fruitnut. I had a large Chandler pomelo tree along with all my other pomelos and Valentine and Cocktail pomelo, about 8 different ones growing in my backyard, same conditions, some multi-grafted trees so there was no difference in the tree feeding/watering.

The Chandler never tasted better than an average pomelo that I wouldn't grow, so I cut it down, top worked with all the other varieties I liked from UCR/CCPP collection.

Yesterday my friend who likes Chandler has a nice grafted tree so he gave me his fruit. Now I can taste it again after 5yrs and compare it to all my other pomelo/grapefruits I have on my table for my tasting.

[70Malibu]

Here's my Valentine, 1/16/26. The fruits are not ripe yet. It gets the sweetest around 2/14.

I will post my taste test results on my other post with all my fruits I'm tasting from 2025 to now.





I gave these Valentine fruits to many people to try and they still like the taste a lot. By mid-Feb it will get brix=12 and be at it's best.