By: Jessica Modicamore
(May 30, 2013)
I received my order of these recently and was highly pleased, mostly with the oranges. I must admit that the grapefruit wasn't as expected in taste (a bit tarter than expected, maybe due to seasonal variations and such); however, they were very juicy which I like in a grapefruit. Now, the oranges...Oh, where to start! The oranges were bursting with juicy flavor that screamed "orange"! They're exactly what an orange should be: bright, juicy, sweet, and flavorful. I don't know...maybe I just haven't had a decent orange in awhile but these beat any orange I've had, at least in a very long time.
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Thanks, Jessica. We "follow" the grapefruit maturity through the season. We start picking way down in Immokalee in the deep southwest part of Florida early in the season, and end up in Marion County, the farthest north tip of the Florida citrus area, by the springtime. The goal is to always provide grapefruit with the characteristic flavor, which is slightly tart, yet full of sugar. No other shipper in Florida (or the world, for that matter) follows that protocol -- if their grapefruit are in southern Florida, the flavor is good early, but by the end of the season is flat in uninteresting. If they have North Florida grapefruit, the flavor in November is so sour that you might as well buy California fruit, but the fruit retains enough acid in April-May that they still have that flowery, tart grapefruit flavor. The Orange Shop goes to great lengths to supply only the best tasting fruit all season, even if it means slight compromises in external appearance. The oranges you received were Valencia, which is indeed the quintessential "Orange". There are more Valencias planted world wide than any other single citrus variety. Thanks again! Pete