Kingston Black is not an easy tree; it is slow to bear, and it is susceptible to fireblight, scab, cedar-apple rust, and canker. Eve's Cidery also reports problems with black rot. If you can keep your tree healthy, however, it will be vigorous and rounded in form. The fruit is used exclusively for cider; it is not suitable for fresh eating.

The apple is small to medium-sized and round. The skin is a dramatic crimson-purple, flecked with russet lenticels and russeted at the stem, and the flesh is pure white, stained red near the skin. Kingston Black is one of the most distinguished of the traditional cider apples, and in 1850 Robert Hogg wrote that "this beautiful little apple" was "the most valuable cider apple in England." It yields a superb bittersharp vintage (good for single-variety ciders) juice. Our friends at Eve's Cidery say "Grown well and made well, Kingston Black cider can be revelatory: a seamless balance between tannin and acid, savory and sweet, refreshing and satisfying." In Apples of Uncommon Character, Jacobsen writes that Kingston Black offers a "perfect balance of sweet, tart, bitter and savory saddle sweat, like prosciutto." How could you resist? From WSU: Tannin (percent tannic acid): 0.15; Acid (percent malic acid): 0.61; pH: 3.51; SG: 1.055; ^oBrix 13.3.

This tree is from Somerset, England. It is probably named after the village of Kingston St. Mary in Somerset, and it is first mentioned in the 1826 catalog of the London Horticultural Society.

Fruit photographed at Black Diamond Farm, Trumansburg, NY.