I see similar posts for every year about the best green/dark figs and people post the best varieties in their climate where I can see anything except the figs that costs a fortune, like Maltese Beauty/Falcon, Martinenca Rimada, etc.

So the natural question is, why don't I see those jewels as anybody's top fig??

Are they not THE BEST? Clearly several members grow those figs. 
Is it just a hype? ...

Hmm.. Any thoughts?

Some haven't fruited enough, some people don't post about them, some just look pretty.  My guess is as the years go on you will be hearing more about them as more and more people end up with them.  As for them being the best, my thought is that they may not be the best every year but when the year is right, they are exceptional so as the people who have them let them mature and we get an awesome season, they will be chiming in, but in less spectacular years we most likely will not hear a lot about them.

I have also  wondered if figs like say tomatoes you can very the taste depending on the soil and what you feed them, you can turn a non sweet tomato into a sweet one with the right combinations... so can you have a fig that grown a block down the road but treated very differently taste differently...

I imagine some people don't want a hundred pms about cuttings as well

The figs that cost a fortune are just exotic.  They're good, of course, but the margin between such figs and more common ones won't be consistently big.

I believe the BEST ONES are not rare because when people move around and bring a fig variety, of course they bring what they consider a good one. So unless it is one of the new hybrids, the exotic ones are not necessarily the best ones. They are rare, those who got them ask a higher price as for any uncommon commo0dity.

Guys,a rare cultivar this season,will became a common cultivar next season.Patience....

 
A home owner with more that a couple of fig trees becomes a fig collector. It's no longer a question of a top tasting fig only but the rarest also. That's when prices go up.

I agree!  Rare is in the eyes of the one who markets and the idiot who buys!

You can ask what you want here in this forum, and you just might get it for a trade or shipping.  Same with garden web.  No need for Ebay!

Suzi

It is all about going crazy with them wanted "sour-grapes".

One should first hear/read some good-reviews from others.
Do know one's own $$ limits.
Avoid eye-appealing pictures doctored (Photoshop) with the color "blue"!

And yes, this stuff eventually will get cheaper....

I sell some cuttings and trees on ebay. The rarer ones I have are still to young to get a good fruit from. Some are still really good. But I think maybe its the hype of somthing every one else don't have. They will become common as stated.

Rare and best tasting figs have no connection. But rare and hype seem to go together while the best tasting is solely up to each of us. Everyone has their own definition of a really good tasting fig. Just like Marius's thread asking what was your best tasting black fig. The answers vary a lot. I'm sure some of the rare ones are no better tasting than a local tree found down the street. It might be leaf shape, color or size of the figs that make them appealing and causes a mad scurry to get that certain fig which then makes supply and demand come into play causing prices to skyrocket.
But like anything, what ever goes up, will come down. It's just a matter of time. It's also possible that who ever has that so called "rare fig" that their conditions might not be the best for producing the best flavor that it's capable of. I say stick with what grows good for you and what you like. Having a rare fig that tastes like crap is like having a car but you can't drive. It makes it a useless item just collecting dust.

Igor, you wrote that you've seen several ripe fruits from some of these rare varieties that would have allowed them to be included as a top favorite on lists of some.  I don't believe that to be the case.  While there have been a few photos of some of these such as Maltese Beauty and Martinenca Rimada, it's been just a single fruit or two.  Most fruits on very young trees are inferior in quality compared to what will be produced once the tree is more mature.  I have not yet seen a photo of ripe fruit of Galicia Negra produced here in the U.S.  I think the jury is still out on many of these for another couple of years, at least.

Some people think folks are foolish paying big money for the prospects of a potentially great new variety.  I disagree.  I have spent a lot of money acquiring another 80-90 varieties this past year.  It's money I was able to afford and I don't regret it.  I see people spending money on tobacco, alcohol, expensive clothing, etc. and I think that is a lot worse way of spending ones money but that's their choice and it's up to them to decide what they enjoy more.  Fig trees can provide pleasure easily for the rest of one's life.  If someone is spending money when they are already having a difficult time making ends meet, that is foolish.

I had already worked some of this out in my mind before this thread was started. A few months ago I started creating a new wish list for the season. My first pass at a wish list yielded 56 cultivars. They ranged from rare to pretty common. Rarity was not a significant factor. As I made subsequent passes through my list to reduce the number, I ended up with 59 (apparently I missed a few the first time.) So I tried to prioritize them... but the priorities changed frequently. I am not greedy. I'm just indecisive. I realize there are only so many new trees I can handle. When I hit that number I will have some mix of the rare and the common. However it plays out, I will be happy to try/taste them and appreciate all who make it possible.

I just got back from my river property where I intended to scatter a couple of fig trees since I lost two out of three to wildlife so far this year.
I got stuck in the mud after some heavy rains before I even started planting. LOL
I called my next door neighbor who came in with his big tractor and pulled my truck out. While chatting, I offered him the choice of any or all my fig trees that were sitting in my truck as a Thank You gesture and he wouldn't take any, despite the fact that I told him that I have many others and these were extras that I had to get rid off, he told me that he had a big unknown green fig tree that his wife uses to make jam out of, so he had no space for another tree and that he has all the figs that he needs. He has about 350 acres next door and no space for a Col de Dame? I thought...
What was funny is that I couldn't even give away my Col de Dame which is my top fig, while someone else is busy bidding up the price. I guess everything is Timing and Location Location Location...
Milk is cheap in the lower 48 states but very expensive in Alaska!

They need some reindeer up in Alaska, supposed to make some tasty milk and cheese.

Can one really (ebay) sell some cheap unwanted snow/ice to way-up there North-Alaska !?!

I know that some people in way-south (e.g., CA & FL) may love it.

Here is what a Mr.Florida.Snowman may look like:

Gorgi, I don't think that anyone in So CA or FL is desperate for a snow shovel, blower, or snowman!  And we do not want to do the fig shuffle!  The only ice I want is that which comes from my ice-maker or that dry ice for Halloween!! 

On topic, I now have the land to grow so many figs, but, I only want the good tasting figs.  2 or 9 good big trees will do!

Suzi