Camarosa ships well (high firmness), but the taste really isn't there.
That replacement was more of a circa-2000 thing. Perhaps the further decline since then has been due to relocation of berry production even farther away from U.S. markets (e.g., in Mexico or Central America).
You can still get the other varieties from local producers, at least where I live in southern California. The taste difference is enormous, it's worth going to a farmer's market just for the berries.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-04-21-mn-61072-...
[edited to add: see also: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/interesting-chandler-strawberr... -- but there are a lot of astroturf pieces out there also]
Camarosa ships well (high firmness), but the taste really isn't there.
That replacement was more of a circa-2000 thing. Perhaps the further decline since then has been due to relocation of berry production even farther away from U.S. markets (e.g., in Mexico or Central America).
You can still get the other varieties from local producers, at least where I live in southern California. The taste difference is enormous, it's worth going to a farmer's market just for the berries.
Same kind of thing has happened with tomatoes.