This tomato came to me as a fantasy; it would be orange, sweet, about the size that can fit it your mouth at once, and would have especially bright juice.

I thought that Wapsipinicon Peach, Apricot Zebra, and Zlatava could be good starting points based on photos of size and color, but after having grown them, they aren’t right.

I found out about a cross with a wild relative from the Tomato Genetic Resource Center at UC Davis, that carries the Intense Pigment (Ip) gene, which could be interesting, but it will take time to see if it makes a brighter juice without sacrificing flavor or vigor.

What did come to mind is the brightness of Golden Grape already— so I made a cross with KBX and will see what happens with that next year.

Most exciting, I just got seeds of Fred Hempel’s Orange Caprese, from two sources to compare and choose the best. It looks to be the size I had in mind, and is noted for its juiciness and good flavor (Purple Cherokee heritage!).