By: Christopher Miller
(Feb 24, 2013)
We've ordered three times this winter from The Orange Shop. The first two orders were the Page/Navel/Grapefruit combo, which were all outstanding. Not one piece of bad or sub-standard fruit. The third order was the Tangerine/Grapefruit combo. Had 3 of the tangerines arrive soft and/or moldy. Let them know and a replacement package for those quickly arrived. The flavor of all citrus received is outstanding. The tangerines have a surprisingly high amount of seeds, but I'd order them again due to the outstanding richness of flavor
Comment on this Review
Overall we're very pleased with what we've received and almost look forward to the next nasty winter so that we can once again have a ray of summer sunshine arrive from Florida via the UPS man. :o)
Comment
Christopher, Thanks very much for your kind review. On the matter of seeds, some of the varieties we ship do have them. We specialize in heirloom varieties that have been around long before lower-seeded varieties were developed. In most cases, the newer varieties were selected for a low seed count and shipping characteristics, but the flavors of the more traditional varieties are very distinctive and unique. The only way to enjoy those flavor experiences is to overlook the seeds, and I guess we've personally been eating citrus so long that we don't even notice them. We do work closely with the University of Florida and the USDA in new variety development, and one of the desirable characteristics is low seed count, but our guiding principle is that if a new variety can't compete with the flavor of Page, Temples, and Honey Tangerines, it probably won't find it's way into the catalog of The Orange Shop because we're all about flavor. Incidentally, the California "Cuties" come from trees that have had giant nets placed over them during bloom so the bees can't cross-pollinate the flowers. The varieties they use are self-incompatible, so don't produce seeds unless they're pollinated by another variety. In Florida, Orange Blossom Honey is an important industry, and one of our best sellers, so we encourage bees in the groves, and are careful that we don't do anything to harm them. The result is some of the best honey you'll ever taste -- and seeds in the fruit. So, many of our varieties do have seeds, but some of the alternatives are just unacceptable to us. A quick story about seeds -- at our Citra Orange Affair (the town's annual citrus festival) one year, we challenged the kids to a "seed spitting contest". One tow-headed little 11 year old launched a Fallglo seed an amazing 37 feet -- a record that's never been broken to our knowledge! Thanks. Pete