The most unique flavor for me to date is Tobacco Worm. At first I wasn't sure I liked it but I got over that in short order :).

Annette

IDK, that doesn't sound very appetizing ;)

Is that a shelling bean? Sorry I didn't clarify I was looking for an edible pod bean.

Named for the shape of the pod :), nice as a snap bean when young, how we eat them, I think they are also eaten as a full bean.

What do they taste like?

Very beany :)

If it is a strong/heavy snap bean flavor, I like a little smoother flavor. Maybe a bit of a nutty flavor if there is such a thing.

If you like 'nutty', then you might like some of the yardlong beans... particularly Chinese Red Noodle.

If you want a pole bean with less sweetness & more flavor, I would recommend Kentucky Wonder. There are both white-seeded and brown-seeded variations, I grow the white "pole 191". Highly productive, but they need to be picked young.

Have you tried any of the pole Romano types? Garafal Oro and Bosnian Pole are two good ones. Bosnian Pole also makes very good shellies if let go, I just ate the last of mine last night.

Grandma Nellie's Yellow Mushroom, a wax pole bean when cooked has a flavor similar to mushrooms.

I still haven't picked a bean. Ideally I would like something that is very tender, buttery, and with some color other than green.

I am ordering from Johnny's and Baker's Creek so it has to come from one of them.

What about Blauhilde, they are very pretty. Dragon's Tongue looks like a good bush option when picked small.

from Johnnys Monte Gusto, Marvel of Venice. Baker Creek Gold Marie. You do know that the purple beans become green beans, the minute they are heated. If you just want the purple color raw, there are a lot to choose from. Both round and flat pod types. Carminat (round pod) and Blauhilde ( flat)

"I still haven't picked a bean. Ideally I would like something that is
very tender, buttery, and with some color other than green.

I am ordering from Johnny's and Baker's Creek so it has to come from one of them."

Quite honestly, I think it will be hard to find something really different within those limitations. As @Farmerdill mentioned, purple beans are just the same as green beans when cooked; and having grown quite a few purple pole beans, I have thus far found none that were truly memorable. There is far more variation in flavor & texture within the vast number of green-podded cultivars. Some of the strongest-flavored beans come with strings attached - literally, not figuratively.

"Buttery" is the description most often applied to wax beans... and IMO, 'buttery' is more a reference to their appearance, than to their flavor. I too would recommend Goldmarie as a wax bean, for its earliness, productivity, and impressive pod size. IMO it is best eaten raw, or lightly cooked - but is poorly suited for freezing.

Thinking a little outside the box, @Peter, have you tried runner beans as snaps? They need to be picked young, and might set poorly during hot weather... but the pods have a richness & meatiness matched by few common beans. They will also give you a really good crop in the Fall, right up until frost (at a time when most common beans have stopped producing). The beautiful flowers - and the hummingbirds they attract - are an added bonus.

Also outside the box, you might want to consider growing a bean for shellies, if you have not already done so. Many snap varieties are multi-purpose; you can pick the first pods for snaps, then let the rest mature on the vine for shellies. There are some informative threads about shellies on this forum. Shelly beans are something unlikely to be found in a supermarket, and there is an incredible amount of diversity available... about half of the beans I grow each year are for that purpose.

Last but not least, I would suggest that in addition to the two commercial sources mentioned, that you consider trying some swaps. There is a great deal of diversity offered by members of this forum, and in the Exchange Forums.

Thanks, I am considering scarlet runner beans, and Marvel of Venice. I have read the runner beans can be both snap and shelling.

I also have a bunch of mystery bean seeds from France I forgot about... maybe I should plant them and see what happens.