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Messages - johnb51

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1
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 18, 2025, 10:31:30 AM »
Quote from: Oolie on July 17, 2025, 09:53:27 PM
I have had many LZ, but never one that impressed me the way that OS has, LZ has always been one-dimensional, intense, Citrusy with a creamy texture. OS is far better due to the Gary influence, it's got the deep orangey sweetness and the Coconut creamyness. I won't discount that there may be LZs which are superior in a tasting including OS, but the OSs I have had the good fortune to try have put all the LZs I have tried to shame. This most recent one topping even the incredible Kesars and P-22s of the past.

I feel like there's been a political shift in the citrusy mango party since Cookie Monster went superlative on his OS experience.
OS is an offspring of PPK so there is no "Gary influence."  Sorry, but this is the first time I've ever heard anyone allude to such a thing.  Orange Essence is the variety which is thought to have been pollinated by Gary.

2
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: ApMay Avocado 🥑 @ Lara Farms
« on: July 17, 2025, 05:48:15 PM »
Quote from: Coconut Cream on July 17, 2025, 01:35:03 PM
Quote from: Nayelie321 on July 17, 2025, 11:16:40 AM
I ended up buying 2 around a year ago from Julian. they were freshly grafted and both died. Been trying to add it again. Seems pre-orders are delayed. I guess there isn't enough rootstock or maybe the variety is in high demand and he cant keep up with preorders.
Mine is dying too.  It looks even worse now than it does in the photo. Another dead Lara Farms 1 gallon tree. I asked them what to do to save it and it's the same answer as always, stop watering it. I've had it about 6 months, it hasn't grown at all. The scion is still wrapped in buddy tape.
  Why would anyone keep buying trees from him?  It seems he's shipping them out before they're ready.

3
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 17, 2025, 09:59:38 AM »
Quote from: Coconut Cream on July 17, 2025, 07:17:09 AM
Quote from: Oolie on July 16, 2025, 09:24:11 PM
OS is so coconutty and rich, the new fav. CAC is the perfect reason to re-try mangoes

Cac and Orange Sherbet are two consensus favorites here, and definitely two of the best trees to grow.
But if you're in a location where you can grow it without issues, Lemon Zest is better than OS.  Several years back there was a member growing it in Palm Springs, CA (What was his name?  Gary?), and you can imagine the flavor intensity from the desert heat and dryness!

4
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 17, 2025, 09:53:46 AM »
Quote from: johnb51 on July 14, 2025, 11:51:57 AM
Quote from: Coconut Cream on July 11, 2025, 09:02:24 PM
Gouveia
I was not expecting this. Gouveia delivered the highest flavor intensity of all these mangoes by a considerable distance. I felt my taste buds activate instantly with super sweetness and a strong citric acid type finish. Gouveia has the kind of intensity and sweetness you get from a canned tropical juice blend. I'm thinking of flavor scientists in a lab testing ratios of tangerine and sweet grapefruit and Meyer Lemon with guava and papaya until you can't distinguish them individually, then amping up the sugar and sodium until children get addicted. This mango has a flavor I can't ignore, and I'm struggling to forget it and carry on. Gouveia moves the needle for sure, but it's saddled with a challenging to pronounce French name, at least for the moment. Y'all gotta try one of these. It's a no doubt homerun sailing into the upper deck.
"Go-VAY-uh."
My son also got this mango from TAF and was very impressed.  And he thought Venus was excellent.

5
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 16, 2025, 09:09:46 AM »
Quote from: Coconut Cream on July 15, 2025, 05:41:57 PM
Orange Essence
I only had one of these, and maybe I got a bad one, but I detected bitterness in many bites, with an off taste that ruined it for me. Yeah, it's got a tiny bit of orange flavor but it's overshadowed by the flaws. I taste a mineral quality, sometimes watery with a mildly unpleasant aftertaste. If this mango is truly representative of this variety, who chose to propagate it and how could they name it Orange Essence? I barely taste orange, let alone the very essence of it. Below average sweetness and below average flavor intensity. Orange Essence is inferior to Orange Sherbet in every way except size. Not worth eating in my estimation. Orange Sherbet obliterates this feeble mango like it was the Japanese carrier fleet at Midway.
Methinks you got a bad one.  Try again sometime.

6
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 14, 2025, 11:51:57 AM »
Quote from: Coconut Cream on July 11, 2025, 09:02:24 PM
Gouveia
I was not expecting this. Gouveia delivered the highest flavor intensity of all these mangoes by a considerable distance. I felt my taste buds activate instantly with super sweetness and a strong citric acid type finish. Gouveia has the kind of intensity and sweetness you get from a canned tropical juice blend. I'm thinking of flavor scientists in a lab testing ratios of tangerine and sweet grapefruit and Meyer Lemon with guava and papaya until you can't distinguish them individually, then amping up the sugar and sodium until children get addicted. This mango has a flavor I can't ignore, and I'm struggling to forget it and carry on. Gouveia moves the needle for sure, but it's saddled with a challenging to pronounce French name, at least for the moment. Y'all gotta try one of these. It's a no doubt homerun sailing into the upper deck.
"Go-VAY-uh."  Not difficult at all (except, I would imagine, for "Fruitful Trees," where 50% of names get mispronounced).  Thanks for introducing us to this variety, which sounds like a winner.  https://www.tropicalacresfarms.com/product-page/gouveia 
You are a true mango devotee/connoisseur/aficionado (now those are two difficult words to spell).  You're right about Peach Cobbler--great mango! (lousy name).  I tasted Edgar many years ago and liked it.  Too many mangoes, so little time.  Floridians should be getting together to swap mangoes, or you send me a/b/c and I'll send you x/y/z.  Forget $8 a lb!
I'm still waiting to hear from someone in Florida growing the real Himsagar from India.  (There was a member who knew an inactive member who allegedly had a tree.)

7
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 11, 2025, 08:21:38 PM »
I recall Har saying he doesn't taste coconut in ANY mango.

8
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 08, 2025, 09:41:37 AM »
Quote from: DocTropical on July 07, 2025, 08:27:05 PM
Tree ripened sugarloaf
White pirie
Delicious cut maha chanok
Giant tree ripened Carrie - eaten 10 minutes after picking 😄







Can you give us tasting reviews of the other three?  ???

9
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 06, 2025, 05:17:51 PM »
Quote from: EddieF on July 06, 2025, 12:38:03 PM
Maha was so good.  1st yr fruiting.  Are they always this good?
Taste was like a dozen fruit drinks mixed.  Enjoy them Doc!
I can remember 15 years ago when it was considered the #1 mango!  I planted a tree, based on that evaluation, and I enjoyed fruit for 1 or two years before moving.  I would plant another tree in the future, given the opportunity.  :)

10
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Free Event July 19, 2025: Taste Of The Tropics in Port St. Lucie
« on: July 05, 2025, 06:25:27 PM »
Looks like fun!  I may try to go.

11
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: July 05, 2025, 09:55:02 AM »
Quote from: palmcity on July 04, 2025, 10:26:23 AM
Agree, many mango late season varieties have a higher chance of tasting subpar when they come off the tree a month or more earlier than usual ripening time.
I had to strip all the green Honey Kiss mangoes from my tree two months early.  (It was an HOA issue that I don't want to go into.)  I was very surprised that they changed from green to nice coloring and that they were decent in flavor.  I wasn't expecting this (that they had already developed enough sugar content).  But you're right about Keitt.  They're never any good when picked too early.

12
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Happy Independence Day
« on: July 05, 2025, 09:36:57 AM »
They substituted a drone light show for fireworks here in DB.  Everyone was disappointed.  Sometimes new technology is not an improvement. Fruit on trees--that's a technology that will never be improved on!  (All praise to the Creator.)

13
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Florida Mango Festival VIP Package Review - was it worth it?
« on: July 03, 2025, 09:38:57 AM »
As another form of social media, it comes with the territory, I guess.

14
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: New Yard, First Update :-)
« on: July 02, 2025, 09:06:36 AM »
Quote from: roblack on July 01, 2025, 07:32:17 PM
Congrats on the new place! Moving out is hard; moving in is much more fun. Your yard is looking great, and is only going to get more beautiful. Keep us posted!
Planting lots of trees is the fun part and then watching them grow. :)

15
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: New Yard, First Update :-)
« on: July 01, 2025, 04:37:35 PM »
Hi Alexi.  Congratulations!
I visited you many years ago at your Pembroke Pines house.  I guess we were talking about mamey sapotes at the time.  We're both members since the beginning of this forum (2012).  It looks like you've finally got your dream garden.  What's the size of the lot?

16
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Sugar Apple
« on: July 01, 2025, 12:18:47 PM »
Such a delicious fruit, which can be sweeter than cherimoya.  I ate some in Colombia a few months ago that were mind-blowingly good.  The only negatives are the small size and the number of seeds.  That's why they've bred atemoya--to create a bigger, better sugar apple.  Australia leads the world in atemoya development (which they call "custard apple").

17
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango Fest 2025!!!
« on: June 30, 2025, 04:34:15 PM »
Fairchild Mango Festival is July 12 & 13.

"Taste your way through hundreds of exotic mango varieties from our Tropical Fruit Program, discover rare and delicious cultivars from local growers, and enjoy mango-inspired creations from world-renowned chefs."

I wonder how they're going to swing that.

18
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Mango season
« on: June 30, 2025, 04:21:00 PM »
I tasted a "wango" today for the first time.  It was edible and not disgusting, but boy, is that one strange (strong) flavor--like some really weird spice that should never be associated with fruit--and yes, it stunk up the kitchen.  I can't see how they'll ever be able to breed that out.  :( :(

19
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Florida Mango Festival VIP Package Review - was it worth it?
« on: June 30, 2025, 04:14:29 PM »
Quote from: FL Boy on June 30, 2025, 01:35:17 PM
I was a volunteer Mango Concierge for 2 tastings.  Both sessions, our VIP table tasters were great, and we all enjoyed the experience.  We didn't have any cut finger experiences in our room.  The first sitting, the VIP tasters took selfies with me afterwards, and the second sitting was a big family, one lady was a chef at a restaurant up in Palm City, and invited me to visit her restaurant.  I was aware of many of the varieties of mangoes we had, and filled in the blanks regarding history and how some of them got named...  Something I think both our MC's could have done better with regarding prepping narration for the varieties...  Kevin was the better of our two, adding some humor, and just basically being down to earth.  But that is just him anyway. 
The second session was much better than the first.  The fruit were mostly big so they could easily be cut up, and I cut extra slices from around the seed.  Also, there were no overripe (nasty) fruit like the first session.  Kevin was good, but his delivery was slow and drawn out.  Man, get to the point already!

20
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: 2025 Florida Mango Festival VIP Package Review - was it worth it?
« on: June 30, 2025, 10:05:12 AM »
In other words, a rip-off.
Organizers should skip trying to do a "mango tasting" next year.  I was a volunteer mango-cutter, and yes, it was a flop..  Alex can go back to doing a Fathers' Day mango tasting at his farm.
I'm very glad Paul didn't make an appearance in our tasting room.  Kevin, the "Orlando Gardener," did a good job hosting session 2.

21
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango Fest 2025!!!
« on: June 29, 2025, 07:15:45 PM »
Quote from: sc4001992 on June 29, 2025, 06:17:10 PM
Which mangos were your top 3 in the tasting?
Lemon Zest, that's the only one I tasted today, and it seemed to be a favorite.  But at Xain's I liked Super Julie, O-15, and Ice Cream.  And I came home and ate a PPK/LM.  I love that mango!  It's always outstanding.

22
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango Fest 2025!!!
« on: June 29, 2025, 07:11:08 PM »
Quote from: Orkine on June 29, 2025, 06:53:37 PM
John, I'd like a head count, I  think more like 10 times, okay maybe 8 or 9 times but lots more than 3 times.
Yes, I guess you're right.

23
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango Fest 2025!!!
« on: June 29, 2025, 06:00:36 PM »
Quote from: FL Boy on June 29, 2025, 05:31:14 PM
Our MC second-shift was The Orlando Gardener…. Was that the one you were in?  I did not connect with anyone on this forum as I do not know their faces or names. 

Yup, I was there.  White beard like yours.  Gray cap.  Longish hair.

24
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango Fest 2025!!!
« on: June 29, 2025, 04:37:15 PM »
I worked the tasting room, too, cutting up fruit.  I managed NOT to cut my finger.  (Someone in the other room did cut himself.)  The quality of the fruit that I handled was not so great overall.  There were some exceptions.  I practiced great restraint and didn't taste anything until the very last mango, which fortunately was Lemon Zest, the GOAT.  The Mango Mania at Xain's World (6/21/25) was a much better event for tasting mangos.

My estimation is that there were at least three times as many people at PBCCC this year as there were at Mounts Garden last year.

25
Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Mango Fest 2025!!!
« on: June 28, 2025, 12:49:41 PM »
Quote from: johnb51 on June 26, 2025, 01:09:23 PM
Where's the clock ticking away the time left until the big event??
https://floridamangofestival.com/
(I found it!)

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