Do you make jelly? Drop some into a jar, stir, seal. Let me know when you try some later.
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I started some goji berries from hardwood cuttings in December of 2017. The seller sent me 2 varieties: Phoenix Tears and NQ1 which he said was a major commercial variety in China. Pretty much all of the NQ1’s rooted and all of the Phoenix Tears died. They bloomed all season in pots but never set fruit and in the fall I planted 4 in the ground. Shortly after going in the ground we started seeing some small berries. They ripened fruit into January. We only got to taste a few but we liked the ones ripened while there was still some heat. They were pretty sweet and had some slight vegetal undertones. The ones that ripened in January were promptly spit out. Man, were they bad. Hopefully the berries will be bigger this year and we will get to try them ripened in the heat of the summer. Based on our experience so far though they are keepers for us.
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It’s really an understatement that Goji is an acquired taste. If it wasn’t for the health benefits, doubt people even be so generous with their many multiple attempts to grow it.
If you gave someone the choice between their 3rd favorite berry and Goji, and told them they had equal nutritional and long-term health benefits, I’m pretty sure they would always choose their 3rd favorite berry. 
If you told me that I could get the same benefits eating goji as alpine strawberries, I’d still rather go through the tedious effort to pick the alpines.
Goji to me has that “medicinal taste” I often associate with healthy things that don’t taste that good but you know is good for you… 
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grew out some black goji from seed i got from rareseds.com. they’re about a ft. tall now. gave one to dutchs (Jeff) as trade. the other is still in my grow room for another few weeks. wonder how the berries will taste compared to the red ones? can’t find any taste reviews but they say they are even more drought tolerant than the reds and very heavy producers . more antioxidants also.
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I’m not well versed in their health benefits, I just wanted 'em ‘cause I’m obsessed with berries. I’m not expecting spectacular flavor, but at least something decent, a flavor that would make me want to eat them even if it’s not incredible. The midway points in this thread (and Ross’ video) mentioned the flavor distinctions of Barbarum and Chinense, and I hoped to get something decent with Phoenix Tears.
Black Goji is allegedly metallic and medicinal-tasting, if this video is anything to go by:
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They are more drought tolerant (well depends on the cultivar like all things I suppose and your reference point).
You can also buy the stuff probably at an asian market or online if you want a taste before you invest time to grow it. It’s used in the same way in asia: soups, alcohol, rice dishes, etc… It’s also much smaller physically and I think there’s a lack of an abscission layer or something that makes it difficult to pick without the stem even when ripe.
@Caesar
If goji has a medicinal taste that you’re not a fan of… well, you’re probably going to be less of a fan of black goji.
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It has not fruited for me yet and as far as condition goes it lives in a pretty dry shade corner of my yard. Its extremely sunny here so most things appreciate some shade. I tried to water it as much as i could but i forgot a lot and i have yet to tie it in to my irrigation system. I mulched it heavily however and gave it a few doses of fertilizer as well as amended the soil. It grew slowly the first year
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My Goji I believe its a life berry. grew and bloomed and set fruit in little more then the 1qt pot It came in on the north side of our old apartment. When we moved they got moved to the north side of a fence at our house. Completely shaded them for most of the day, They where planted in stones and gravel and they grew, bloomed and set fruit like they where little princesses.
These are not plants that like to be fertilized and pampered.
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I have one black goji plant… hope to have fruits this year!
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Do any of you use a Nutrabullet or similar to make milkshakes and fruit smoothies? I add in dried goji and golden berries to other frozen berries with some ice cream and orange juice or almond milk. It is so blended you just taste yummy. All health benefit is in it.
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From what i read the black goji berries are tasty, and the usual ones are very good too!
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To me, they are “edible.” I don’t find them bitter, but they can have a metallic taste to some people. I just think of it as more “medicinal tasting” than goji.
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The variety you have really can make a big difference. I had Phoenix Tears growing at my old place and it wasn’t too bad plus very prolific. For the most part, I think it tastes sort of like a sweet carrot. However, the seeds are horrible and release a bitter flavor which tastes like the greens or green shoulders on a carrot. So the key is to just macerate the fresh berries with your tongue and not chew the seeds. They were just something I foraged on in my yard, but for the most part I made jam out them and of course strained the seeds. It’s a really tasty jam, unique flavor, the closest comparison I could ever come up with was candied yams…homemade, not the crap in the can.
At our new place, there is a wild Goji that grows all over the place. Worthless flavor and very sparse worthless berries. I hate it.
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That’s a really good point about the seeds. Also that some feel more seedy than others.
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You know I never did mention it, but my wife truly likes the flavor of the “Life berry” Goji I have been growing. She says it tastes like the Croton she used to eat as a child. Given she is from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean, the Croton(eluteria) she used to voluntarily eat I discovered is actualy used as part of the flavoring for Campari and Vermouth. I have been soaking last years berry harvest in vodka since fall. I am going to experiment with cocktails using Goji infusion in place of Tequila or Vermouth.
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Well that sounds delicious and i apologize i sort of derailed the thread and was speaking of blackberries and not goji berries. The goji berries thrive without any irrigation at 12-16" per year and deals with 100 degree days and huge temperature swings down into freezing like a champ. The bees loved the flowers but i never once saw a bird or any evidence of anything eating the berries of the goji i grew all year round. I also enjoy the dried korean goji berries and the wolfberries i have eaten all though wolfberries need a good blending for me.
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I dont think anyone minds to much, but it was confusing. But stop fertilizing your blackberries. While they dont like the extreme conditions Goji do. They to dont like fertilizer and wet feet are about the only things that will kill them.
I’ve got a cultivar goji that produces well enough for me (I eat a few and let the rest rot on the plant).
I also have one that is stupid. Its a very vigorous plant that always seems to decide to start blooming late into the fall. Its has never produced a single berry and if it doesn’t behave and give me flowers before mid-summer I might just rip it out this summer. Its also very tall and actually pulled a part of my gutter off the garage. It got a severe cutting back last autumn.
Scott
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I guess I’ll find out in good time, I hope to try fresh red goji soon, once my plant arrives and starts producing.
Honestly, I wasn’t too concerned. The flavor descriptions of the good varieties sounded good enough. But I hadn’t seen any comparisons with Phoenix Tears, which is the one I bought. My big concern is if Phoenix Tears isn’t as good as Crimson Star, and that maybe I should’ve splurged for the latter instead of buying the former to save a couple of bucks.
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Phoenix tears is good. Heavy producer, I got mine from Raintree nursery. I also have a black goji given to me by a friend when we moved. Poor little thing has had such harsh life I can’t even get into it. I just dug it up the other day to plant something else in it’s spot because it looked dead…but the roots are good. Ugh!
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