WASHINGTON - It has been an exciting year for the SweetTango apple, with the 2014 crop proving to be the biggest and best quality ever harvested. Tim Byrne, President of Next Big Thing, A Growers’ Cooperative and exclusive marketer of SweeTango apples, sat down and talked with me about the unique apple variety and how 45 growers from Nova Scotia to Washington State are helping to enhance the program and the brand.

“Our program has grown so much in just a few years. In 2011 we sold around 150,000 bushels in the U.S. and Canada and this year we have already sold upwards of 450,000 bushels,” Tim tells me. “Qualitatively and size-wise, it has been an impressive crop for market.” 

This year, retailers can look forward to a bonus month for SweeTango supplies. There will be greater availability through Thanksgiving with the increased inventory this season and the company is optimistic that supplies will last through November this year.

“New varieties do not come with an owner’s manual,” Tim laughs. But the Co-op has gone to great lengths to create consistency and a well-developed flavor profile for the SweeTango apple. “It is all hands on deck when it comes to the progress of the program. There are a lot of great scientists as well as 3 independent research companies in addition to our growers, who have helped us to achieve the characteristics of the unique varietal.”

I ask Tim if he has plans to expand acreage in the near future. “I tell people, let’s wait until we have a few really big crops under our belt,” he tells me. “I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves even thought the demand is there. It’s important that we don’t diminish the pricing power of the brand, just to see revenue. There is a balance and a line to walk.”

SweeTango apples have 3 characteristics that help it to stand out from other varieties Tim notes. Visual appeal, texture and flavor. The bicolored SweeTango is especially in high demand for its aesthetic nature and eye-catching attributes. In addition, SweeTango apples have fairly prominent lenticels, which are the breathing pores on the skin. They help enhance the visual appeal of the fruit. “As the starches turn into sugar, a gas is emitted, and the gas has to escape the apple in order to uphold the quality,” Tim says.

The texture of the apple also adds to its eatability. The fracturability, he tells me, is verbal. “It screams back at you, and reminds you that an apple’s eating experience can be as satisfying to the ears at it is to the mouth.  SweeTangos have such a crisp and clean bite, along with plenty of juice.”

Tim describes the flavor of the apple, almost in wine terms.  “The first burst of flavor is right on the front of the tongue and brings rich, sweet tones. As you ingest the apple, there is another level which brings a wave of bright acidity that kicks in right on the back of the tongue and stretches and lengthens the flavor profile.”

With supplies still available, this is one apple I will be keeping an eye out for in the market.