Have you ever heard of goji berries? They are becoming popular here, in Italy.
Leaving aside the fact that marketing gives them miraculous properties while increasing 5000% the original price, I have always wondered why it’s always dry, it’s not fresh, even when you buy it in China. I am curious to taste them.
The answer is easy, and I discovered it by looking at the documentary below this article (audio in Chinese, subtitles in English). Simply… the berries are very delicate, the skin is very fragile, so they are dried immediately, for preserving them. The only way to try a fresh one is to go personally in deserts of northwestern China during the harvesting period and collect them yourself. (Read: I probably will never have the chance to taste them)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsfswOVi0NA