Yes, apples have a very rich variety of flavors, textures, sweetness, aromas, sizes/shapes and color. I’d say definitely more than about 2 dozen - I’ve probably tasted about that many and they are all quite different.
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me neither. i may now need to update my order of scions from fedco.
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i recently tried some macouns from s. maine orchards and they are better than a good macintosh or cortland. much better than the ones I’ve tried from here. then again I’ve never seen, yet alone tried , many mentioned on here. maybe its too cold to grow them here? maybe why I’ve never seen them.
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I don’t know about all of the varieties mentioned here, but there’s plenty of apples that won’t survive winters in 3b/4a. If my current list is accurate (I think it is) I have 67 varieties that have made it through at least one winter. Time will tell how many survive long term.
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Blind taste tests have shown many times that detecting taste differences are often our imagination. Visual difference can prompt our brain to expect a taste difference and we accept it. I’ve seen people discuss taste differences in identical products when they were told they were different.
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I think it’s impossible to identify the best apple once you’ve eaten a lot of different varieties, and also difficult if not impossible to separate texture from flavor. There are way too many apples and yes, the flavors can be wildly different. It’s like asking who is the most handsome man or most beautiful woman on earth. There are too many contenders and there can never be a clear winner. Rubinette is a very good apple, and always tastes good, but the best ever? Nope.
The same apples grown in different places can have different flavors. Cox’s Orange grown in the UK is vastly superior to any Cox’s Orange I have eaten in the US. Egremont Russet grown in the UK is brilliant apple, one of my favorites, while Egremont Russet grown in the US is simply another good apple.
Apples picked too early or too late can have different flavors and textures. Picking an Arkansas Black too early and eating it off the tree, it is almost inedible. Picking it later and letting it fully ripen, it is delicious. That is true of many apples.
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I can’t remember all of the apples I’ve tasted, or even a fraction. I’ve probably tasted 400 or so distinct varieties and a bunch of unknowns or seedlings. But the really good ones stand out, even from the selections, which themselves stand out from arbitrary seedlings.
Yes, there is a great variety of flavor.
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There’s well beyond 7,000 apples…and no two are exactly the same.
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I grow about 20 different varieties. Grimes is desired by the Mennonites (apple butter, etc.) but I have yet to see anyone not like a Honeycrisp. Ours are real good, but we do have occasional bitter pit issues. I like the taste of our Pixie Crunch and have literally seen children grab it over a Hershey’s Kiss. Ginger Gold in early August is also a winner and a real Virginia Winesap is a delight. My own personal favorite is the classic Tennessee Limbertwig. Macs make the best cider when blended (IMHO). But, have to admit the Albermarle Pippin is another interesting apple, but super hard to grow.
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But some are pretty damn close 
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Albermarle Pippin is a very nice apple, but I’ve never tried to grow it. The average American consumer seems to like Honeycrisp, but they also like Red Delicious. I know a lot of people who don’t like Honeycrisp, and the more different apple varieties they’ve eaten, generally the less they will like Honeycrisp. Honeycrisp is not in my top 100.
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I love watching @SkillCult on YouTube (a member here that discusses his seedling/breeding mostly red-fleshed apples) describe the apples he grows in a number of videos he has produced. He has videos about pruning trees, breeding apples, & etc., and when he is tasting apples in his videos it’s fun to see him tossing the apple pieces after tasting them, and with the use of so many changing descriptive terms that make every apple seem unique in some way. He’s just really fun to watch. Here is a sample (starting about half way through):
https://youtu.be/Ma1YbTV3fjk?t=621
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He’s really good and I like the fact that he’s burying the old myth/fantasy that growing seeding apple trees is a waste of time.
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i find honey crisp and red delicious are probably the worst apples I’ve tried. too sweet for my palate. i like spicy slightly tart apples with a mix of flavors . the 2 mentioned all i taste is sweet. honey crisp is supposed to grow the best in colder4 regions. 2 years ago i took one right off the tree and took 2 bites. threw the rest in the woods. iim not a fan of overly sweet fruit. used to love the tart green grapes up until 15yrs ago. t=now their so sweet i don’t buy them anymore. .sometimes sweeter isn’t better. also red delicious have a pear aftertaste. if i want a pear ill eat one. i want a apple to taste like a apple. does that make any sense?
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I’m pretty much the same. Sharp-sweet, crunch, juicy, not melting, layers of flavor and a good aroma go a long way. But no syrups, please!
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Do not grow or eat any Tolman Sweet apples then. Very, very sweet.
I like sweet apples
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Heh, my wife says a Honeycrisp apple would make a good pear.
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I bought six Honeycrisp in a bag…Michigan grown. They taste like Empire or Liberty…not even sweet.
(Either that or I’ve had Covid and lost my taste!)
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Honeycrisp here near Portland Oregon are usually not very sweet. I’d like to try some sweet ones. And I don’t just mean low acid, it is low brix here.
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I have a large Tolman Sweet tree also. The first few years I found it too sweet. My kids have always loved them and look forward to Tolman Sweet season. They have grown on me a great deal. They are very sweet but also complex with a great texture. Beautiful apples too.
I love them
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