Hi Olga-
I have 'Red Lake' and I like it, but I don't really have anything to compare it to... it's the only current I've ever tried! I've thought about getting 'Pink Champagne' as well. -Glenn

Thank you, Glenn. I suspect my red currant is Red Lake too.
Majority of red currents taste simir in my opinion. Red and black currents were a big part of my chidhood's summers. Eating them fresh from the bush in my parents orchard is definitely one of the best memories from that time.
Black currants are the ones that can taste distictly different and vary in size and sweetness dramatically.
Olga

My favorite black is Minaj Smyriou, but I haven't had enough experience to gauge its productivity. It lacks the off flavors I found in some of the other varieties. I agree the reds are similar so my goal there is to get one with big berries - Red Lake is much smaller than many. I have a couple Jhonkeer Van Tets which are bigger than Red Lake but for my latest planting I decided to go with Rovada.

Scott

i love black currant flavored drinks and candies but when i tried to grow a blackcurrant bush (from raintree- dont remember name- it was hungarian/bulgarian/romanian), i found tthe fruit unbearably tart no matter how long i left the fruit on the bush to ripen, it was a great shame because the bush was incredibly vigorous and productive and very pretty to boot- the flavor just sucked. did i give up prematurely on blackcurrant?
are there any bc growers out here who have a variety that is not tart off the bush?

ok- so the black currant i planted was also Minaj Smyriou. Unforuntaely, I really didnt like it.

I like Strata off the bush but most any black currant makes wonderful drinks and preserves. Even the pissiest can be barely cooked, thrown in a blender with fresh apple juice and strained to make the best beverage I've ever tasted. Proportion to taste.

Varieties like Strata just need less sweetening- the aromatics of different varieties are quite similar in my opinion.

LL, my Minaj were not tart at all; I'm not sure why yours were so tart but maybe you needed to leave them on still longer. I go by how shiny the skins are to decide when to pick.

Scott

has anyone else grown strata who can comment on their flavor eaten fresh?

Thank you, everybody
Harvestman, this is a great idea. I will give Whitman Farms a call.
Minaj Smyriou and Strata look really interesting. Will give them a try.
Lycheeluva, looks like you have a sweet tooth, no sour cherries or other not so sweet fruits for you :)
Olga

olga - if you already have currants which you like they are about the easiest shrub in the world to propagate from cuttings. Just cut of a piece and stick it in the ground. I have decided to move my blackcurrants a couple of feet further away from my reds. Method: 1. Cut off several blackcurrant twigs. 2. Poke into soil 2 feet from parents. 3. Wait. 4. Next Summer pick fruit.

olga i definitly have a sweet tooth. a sweet granny smith apple is about the sourest fruit i like to eat fresh/straight. i'll see how my josta berry comes out. if it is no good (and i have yet to find anyone say a kind word about it), ill pull it out and try strata black currant.

Thank you.
Flora, thanks for suggestion, I know they are easy to root, but I wanted to try something new. Also my currents have relatively small berries, I know based on my past experience, they can be much bigger.
Lycheeluva, sorry, I love currants and gooseberries, but I am not of josta berries. It is like a hybrid of cabbage and radish with roots of cabbage and tops of radish.
Olga

I have a Black currant called Slitsa from One Greenworld its a early ripening very large and sweet berry without the musk flavor of the others, I have not gotten use to the musk flavor of the other two I have but figure in time I will.