Lychee Taste Comparison

[sc4001992]

I did some lychee taste comparison and wanted to post this information.

I wanted to get the Kaimana from Hawaii fresh but my friend who lives there said I was 2 weeks to late, they don't have any for sale now.

So, here's my taste comparison of the ones I purchased on Weee, and my fresh picked Brewster from my tree.

At least you can see the size of the fruits for comparison.









Here's my taste results. I still like the Nuomichi fruit texture, firm and crunchy. But as Simon said, it is not a good representative taste since the store purchased fruits are not fresh off the tree.





I should be able to get some ripe Mauritius when they ripen, and I will try to compare the taste to my Brewster and add it here later.

[brian]

Are they already beginning to spoil when the flesh becomes tan/brown?  Your fresh red ones look amazing.  I have only found them that color in stores once or twice, and they were by far the best tasting. The tan ones I've bought were always disappointing.

[Eggo]

Erdon Lee looks so much like Emperor.  Anyone tasted both? Or knows the origin of these two varieties.

About 20 years ago we use to get quite of bit of lychees imported from Taiwan. The shell was always brown and unappetizing. They may have gone through some of treatment. The shell was also flat and smoother. But wow were those the best imported lychees ever, Sweet with what's classified as the dry type flesh where it did not leak much when torn into.

[Eggo]

Emperor fruits from 2021


Compared to a golf ball

[sc4001992]

Wow, those Emperor looks amazing, so many fruits on your tree. Have you tasted the Kaimana?

I don't know which one would taste better, the Emperor or the Kaimana. I'm grafting some Kaimana on my tree. I purchased an Emperor tree last year, but it died.

[Eggo]

My Emperor are large and pretty but it's okay in tastes. It's the least sweetest of any lychee I have had unfortunately.  I hear it's suppose to be much tastier but I don't know. I have removed a lot of older trees around it this year and see if more sunlight does it any better.

I have not tasted Kaimana. I've only tasted Brewster, Mauritius, and Sweetheart to compare.

[ryanscion]

Kaz, the color of your Brewster looks very good - such a deep red to what I see in the stores. Thanks for sharing the taste comparison results. Can you also share a picture of your Brewster tree when you get a chance too?

Thanks,
Ryan

[elouicious]

Copying over my review from the other thread-

following this very closely as I consider growing one or maybe two varieties as an airlayer in a large pot


The Fei Zi Xiao (Sweetheart?) (why are mine green kaz?)
These were giant and juicy- a good amount of acid to balance the sweetness but the main note is still sweetness- delicious




The Guiwei
These were smaller but had a much more complex, floral almost balsamy flavor. I actually enjoyed these more than the FZX which goes to show sweetness isnt everything

[fruit4me]

Thanks for sharing the pictures guys.

Eggo,
Here's some pictures of my grafted Emperors to compare with yours. Fruits from different parts of the tree  looks liittle different.  Scions are from the same original tree. Some of my Emperors are super fat and juicy this year. It's a keeper for me.

Emperor

Emperor

Emperor

Emperor


A couple of Nuomici almost ready. Fruits are smaller this year

Nuomici

[JCorte]

Everyone's home grown fruits look beautiful!  I got lots of flowers for the first time, but no fruit set with this unusually cool weather in my home garden. 

Kaz, it's been a while since I tasted your Brewster, but I remember it being sweeter and better than the varieties from Weee.  Kaimana have been the best I've tasted so far, but I haven't tried any home grown fruit yet besides Kaz's Brewster.

I really want to grow Nuomici!  Fruit4me is my inspiration to know it's possible.

Janet

[sc4001992]

Ryan, my Brewster does not have much fruit compared to other years, probably because I cut most of them for the air layer (made the cut, never completed air layers). Just wanted to see how long it would keep growing even though the bark is cut (1-2" around each branch). I was very surprised to see that some branches still got fruits to form even though it has the bark cut for air layer.

Here's some photos of my tree from previous years, I didn't go on my garage roof to take pictures of my fruits this year yet. Like I said, it doesn't have as much as when the tree was not cut for air layering.

[Galatians522]

For what it is worth, I like Kiamana a little more than Emperor. Both are good when properly ripened, though. It may be sentimental, but Brewster is still my favorite.

[SHV]

Good lord Kaz, those Brewsters look amazing.  And your tree is just dripping with fruit.  If this is a down year, I would love to see a productive year.

[sc4001992]

Thanks, no those are the photos from previous year when it had many fruits. This year it has maybe half as much or less due to most of my branches cut for air layer.

[sapote]

My Emperor are large and pretty but it's okay in tastes. It's the least sweetest of any lychee I have had unfortunately.  I hear it's suppose to be much tastier but I don't know. I have removed a lot of older trees around it this year and see if more sunlight does it any better.

I have not tasted Kaimana. I've only tasted Brewster, Mauritius, and Sweetheart to compare.

Hey Eggo,
Is this tree growing from seed? I remember it was not in a full sun spot so its taste might not be the best it can be. The fruits are so large next to the golf ball.

[Eggo]

My Emperor are large and pretty but it's okay in tastes. It's the least sweetest of any lychee I have had unfortunately.  I hear it's suppose to be much tastier but I don't know. I have removed a lot of older trees around it this year and see if more sunlight does it any better.

I have not tasted Kaimana. I've only tasted Brewster, Mauritius, and Sweetheart to compare.

Hey Eggo,
Is this tree growing from seed? I remember it was not in a full sun spot so its taste might not be the best it can be. The fruits are so large next to the golf ball.

No, they are airlayers. I have 2 trees about 15 feet away from each other that came from different sources. They produce the same fruit.  I hope a little bit more sun helps this year but I also feel I may not have enough heat in my area for this variety.

[sc4001992]

I'm going to show some flesh to seed ratio/photos so that for those that like to know this info can see the photos of the fruits I saved.

1. Brewster
2. Nou Mi Ci
3. Fei Zi Xiao (Fei Zi Chi)
4. Erdon Lee (King)