What is Black Thorn Durian?

What is Black Thorn Durian?

Since we noticed a spike on our Black Thorn videos recently, let us share our thoughts about Black Thorn Durian. What is Black Thorn Durian and it is Worth To Buy? This will be a good read for those who never tried Black Thorn Durian and for those who tasted, you might want read whether you have the same feeling like we do.

What Is Black Thorn Durian?

In 2012, a new durian hybrid made its name for being the champion of a durian competition in Penang. It is called ‘Black Thorn’ or ‘Ochee’ and it beats other durian varieties such as Musang King, Red Prawn and the rest.

Black Thorn Durian is a hybrid durian so it is created for a new variation of taste and marketing too. Black Thorn Durian is also known as D200.

Originated from Penang, Black Thorn durians have become the most sought after durian after taking the title. Black Thorn is only available in the middle of the year and there are limited places that sell this variety of durian. Due to its popularity, the price of Black Thorn can fetched over RM 40/kg in 2017 and during the shortage of durians, they fetched over RM 100/kg and now it is ranging RM 80/kg and above.

The reason why it is so expensive because Black Thorn durians numbers are limited to Penang at first and there are farmers bringing it to Pahang. Now, you can find Black Thorn durian from Pahang but for very limited numbers.

There are a handful durian stalls selling Black Thorn durians but mostly out of stock. This is another reason why so many people die die also must try Black Thorn Durian.

The Shape of Black Thorn Durian?

Black Thorn durian has the most similar shape like Musang King durian. The Black Thorn durian is roundish in shape and it looks like a sign of a star at the bottom of the fruit. Look carefully and you will notice it looks similar like Musang King Durian.

 However, the real reason of its name is the small tiny black thorn poking out of the tiny hole at the bottom of the fruit.

It looks like a black thorn sticking out from the butt of the durian. Sometimes you don’t get the black thorn sticking out as it fell off during the transfer of durians from the farm to the seller.

The colour of Black Thorn Durian Flesh

We tasted two variations of Black Thorn Durian. The Black Thorn Durian from Penang should have dark orange colour flesh like in the photo. However, we tasted a few recent Black Thorn durians and the flesh is more yellowish in colour than dark orange.

How is the taste of Black Thorn?

The taste is rich, creamy with slight hint of bitterness (but not as much as XO). The flesh is not as thick as Musang King so it is lighter in texture and it also has the slight bitter after taste like XO durian. The taste is in between of Musang King and XO durian variety.

 People love this because it is softer in texture and not as filling as Musang King. Because of this is still a relatively new breed, not many farms have this yet so it is still expensive.

Probably a couple of years down the road, the price will be relatively similar to Musang King. The origins of Black Thorn is from Penang as we were told and many farms in other states are now trying to grow this breed due to its demand.

Is Black Thorn Durian Worth To Buy?

Well, if you never tasted a Black Thorn, why not? Do we love the taste? Yes, we do but we don’t feel it is the best. Black Thorn is definitely one of the better durians in terms of taste but definitely not ‘the best’. Of course, this is based on our own taste and opinion and everyone’s taste palette is different.

Some people prefer Black Thorn than Musang King due to its strong flavour and its creamy texture but its high pricing might not suitable for many. The truth it, you can’t even buy Black Thorn durian in Klang Valley as it is out stock most of the time. There are more Black Thorn durians in Penang.

Beware of Durian Scammers

Lastly, we just want to remind everyone about Durian Scammers especially online. We heard so many stories about Durian scammers. Make sure you bought durian online for someone you trust or someone know purchased from them before. Saying that, it is durian season now so you can drive out and get your durians fresh. Remember to keep social distancing, be safe and enjoy durian. We should be proud as Malaysia has the best durians in the world.