Red Bayberries 杨梅 Are Now Available in Australia!

We were first told about the availability of these beautiful fruits by a couple of readers. Completely astonished, we were told not only are they available right here in Australia fresh, they were not imported but are homegrown by YV Fresh.

They are also known as Wayberries, Arbutus, Yamamomo and Yang Mei.

The history of Red Bayberries in Australia is a long one, as University of Queensland scientists have been involved in assisting growers with commercial crops for the local and export market. These fruits have not been cultivated outside of Asia commercially. For the past 18 years, industry backers have worked closely with growers, scientists and researchers to determine growth conditions and production values as a result of that.

Curious, we contacted YV Fresh, the contracted representative for the growers of Red Bayberries in Australia. They put us in touch with Mannix, the pioneer distributor of these rare fruits locally.

Meeting Mannix was a revelation and a complete education. We met at Burwood Teppanyaki, where we were presented very generously with different varietals of the Red Bayberries. As these fruits are extremely perishable, they have very short seasons and a short timeframe to sell and purchase.

We were very impressed with Mannix’s passion for the fruit, and a perfect choice to promote this very interesting species during his second season of distributing them.

The varietals we tried were different in taste, aroma and sizes. Mannix deliberately did not influence our preferences and instead asked our opinions on each varietal before offering his own deduction.

The smallest was named No 6. In fact, they all had enigmatic numbers as names. It was slightly tart, tight in texture with a hint of rhubarb and a strong perfumey aroma.

No 76 and 9 were medium in sizes. They were juicier, slightly sweeter and softer. The aftertaste was different from No 6, leaving a less acidic presence but noticeable still in the aroma although
 Distinctly different.

No 20 was my absolute favourite by far. Although I much prefer the intoxicating aroma from No 6, in terms of taste and mouth feel, No 20 beats all the rest out of the park. It was extremely juicy, the strands are clearly defined, sweet and this is in no way the Chinese Strawberry. It is way better.

Mannix has been to the growers and he shared his experiences of his time visiting the farms and talking to the farmers. It was doubtless his passion for this product drives him to spread the word about this fruit and it is not for the purpose of the dollar. His daughter adores the Red Bayberries and he adores his daughter. A good enough reason if there was any.

It is our understanding while another Asian supermarket carries some of these fruits, Mannix has sole supply of the best quality on offer for these fruits in Australia. We know we will not be going to anywhere else but directly through him for our supplies of this rare but extremely addictive fruit. It is quite unlike anything we have ever tasted.

We have been informed the last of these fruits will be available in 2 weeks’ time. For those interested, please contact Mannix directly on 0412 352 230 or WeChat ID mojitoemoto for your orders. Let him know we referred you dear readers, and Mannix has promised he will be happy to accomodate! It is honestly not a fruit you want to miss out on.