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In the Sierra Madre mountains of central Mexico, where the days bring a blanket of warm sunshine and the nights deliver a cool mountain breeze, a particular variety of blackberry thrives in these alpine conditions. This special blackberry variety isn’t just your go-to berry—its color is a deep purple—almost pitch black—its flavors are bold and luscious, and its texture is smooth and velvety. This, berry lovers, is Driscoll’s Sweetest Batch™ Blackberry.
For over a decade, we’ve been building a better blackberry. It all started just over 10 years ago, with around 2,500 little blackberry seedlings, all unique—and all with the potential to produce the ultimate blackberry experience. Through careful selection, testing, and perfecting, our Joy Makers have naturally developed the Sweetest Batch™ Blackberry, which you’ll find during certain times in the produce section today. When you spot the purple, yellow, and gold Driscoll’s label, it’s a sign that you’re about to savor some of the most unique, delightful flavors a blackberry can offer.
In our breeding program, just a fraction of our seedlings make the cut to vie for a chance to become a Driscoll’s blackberry. In fact, the number of contenders that make it into our test plots is under one percent! Once the best of the best are ready, our Joy Makers test berries from each plant for flavor, appearance, firmness, shelf life, and other important characteristics. Our team’s constant Pursuit of Flavor and ultra-high standards show that when it comes to delivering you Only the Finest™ Berries, we mean berry serious business. The end result? The Driscoll’s difference that you can taste in every juicy bite.
So let’s talk more about that difference. In Driscoll’s Sweetest Batch™ Blackberries, the flavor experience isn’t just a sweeter berry—it’s multi-dimensional. Our lab-tested Sweetest Batch ™ Blackberries are juicier and less tart than traditional blackberries.
And that’s no coincidence: Driscoll’s has a dedicated team who works with our independent growers to ensure they’re maximizing flavor for each harvest of our Sweetest Batch™ Blackberries. Our team visits the growers’ farms weekly to test these unique berries against our rigorous flavor standards, to make sure they’re delivering the perfect balance of sugar, acid, and aromas our consumers want. Because these blackberries are so luscious, we recommend eating them fresh, just after a quick rinse under cool water. One bite and you’ll know why.
In talking with the Driscoll’s blackberry team, they shared a little insider info into what makes the Sweetest Batch™ Blackberries so special. “With every generation of blackberry, we focus on the flavor,” one Joy Maker said. “And when you select a seedling from the field, you can’t be certain what it’s going to be like over the course of time—in different years, in different environments. So when we have a blackberry that delivers an especially appealing flavor like this particular variety, it becomes a contender that stands out among the rest.”
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