Mostly, the customers are used to eating tender peaches. That's because they usually buy peaches from local supermarkets. They rarely go to visit any fruit farm to buy peaches.
The reason why most customers prefer eating tender peaches is because they can hardly find crunchy, fresh and sweet peaches at the stores. Since when they are children, people get used to eat tender varieties of peaches. In a way, they have no choice. That background has created subconsciously in people's mind to eat peaches when they are tender.
On the other hand, fruit farmers are supposed to pick peaches and pack them into the box to carry to local JA (Japanese Agricultural Corporation) before they turn to become ripe. As long as peaches get ripe, they can be hardly preserved for many days at the stores. That's why fruit farmers are encouraged to pick some earlier before they get ripe. Then, through some process of routes, the fruits arrive to the city markets and finally to the stores.
Yet, actually, after the harvest of fruits, some days already passed when they are bought by customers at any stores. Then, automatically, the peaches get tender. The customers get used to eat them and easily get the fixed idea or image for eating peaches in their tender condition. Briefly telling, in most cases, people tend to create their fixed idea while eating peaches that they buy at their local stores. On the other hand, it is hard to find crunchy, fresh but sweet varieties of peaches at any stores in cities. There are so many varieties of peaches in Japan and we, Nakagomi Orchard grow more than 20 varieties, starting in the middle of June until the end of August for their harvest seasons.
As their characteristics, some varieties tend to be easily and quickly ripe and tender while others tend to stay crunchy for a much longer term. Additionally, even for customers' side, some people prefer eating tender varieties while others like to eat crunchy ones.
Yamanashi has been very well known as a kingdom of fruits. Yamanashi produces over 50% of whole products of Japanese peaches. It has the highest amount out of whole Japan. Besides peaches, Yamanashi produces the highest amount of plums, grapes and wines in Japan. Yamanashi peaches have been shipped even overseas such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shanghai and some other countries and areas. We hear that Yamanashi peach can be sold in 2,000 yen or sometimes 3,000 yen for each overseas.
Here, in Yamanashi, mostly people tend to prefer having crunchy but sweet varieties instead of tender ones. Generally speaking, June and July varieties are mostly likely to get tender quicker while August varieties are more crunchy but sweeter and bigger size.