Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Love dark tomatoes? You’re in the right place. We are gathering a worldwide collection of black, purple, and deep mahogany varieties, complete with real photos and honest reviews from actual growers.
If you’re growing dark heirlooms, you’ll quickly notice they fall into two main camps. The classic “black” tomatoes (like the famous Russian darks) aren’t actually black. They just retain green chlorophyll as they ripen, which mixes with red lycopene to give them a beautiful brick, mahogany, or muddy-brown color.
Then there are the modern purple/indigo varieties. These get their crazy dark colors from anthocyanins (the same stuff found in blueberries). The rule for these is simple: wherever direct sunlight hits the skin, it turns deep purple or jet black, while the shaded parts usually stay red or pink.
Most growers agree that dark tomatoes have a very specific taste profile. They are usually described as earthy, sweet, and sometimes slightly salty. Because they generally have lower acidity than classic red tomatoes, they are fantastic for fresh eating and slicing for sandwiches.
Scroll down to browse the varieties our community has tested. We document real yields, plant heights, and whether the seeds are actually worth saving for next year!
🍅 Quick take: Faelan’s First Snow (also distributed as Cherokee Purple Variegated) is an indeterminate, mid-season heirloom discovered as a sport of Cherokee Purple. It produces large, meaty purple beefsteaks on vines that sport unique white, cream, and green variegated foliage. Growers note the variegation is strongest in cool weather and often fades in summer … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Extravagante Rouffiange is a highly unusual, indeterminate mid-season novelty tomato bred by Pascal Moreau. It is famous for its fuzzy, blue-tinted foliage, purple stems, and fuzzy striped fruits. The tomatoes are small, running about 2-2.8 oz (60-80 g). Growers report decent yields and excellent cold tolerance, noting that it doesn’t drop blossoms … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Emalia is an eye-catching, elongated cherry tomato born from a cross between Lucky Tiger and Orange Walk. It produces 1 oz (30 g) caramel-green fruits with a distinct curved beak. Plant height is highly variable: it can stay as a compact 2.5 ft (0.8 m) bush outdoors or shoot up to 6 … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Evil Olive is an intriguing, highly productive cocktail/cherry tomato with a unique color profile. These indeterminate vines produce large, complex trusses of round fruits that ripen to a greenish-ochre outside with a dark red interior—literally resembling olives. Averaging 0.7-1.2 oz (20-35 g), the tomatoes have a memorable sweet-tart punch, a crunchy texture, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Dark Queen is an indeterminate, mid-season beefsteak tomato. The vines produce gorgeous flat-round, burgundy-brown fruits with green stripes. Growers highlight its excellent taste and solid production, noting it sets fruit well even when grown with tight spacing. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 Experience) S Svetikk (Svetlana) ⭐ … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Dancing with Smurfs is an indeterminate, mid-season anthocyanin cherry tomato bred by Tom Wagner. The vines produce high yields of small, dark, reddish-purple fruits with a long harvest window. Growers here praise its stunning appearance, sturdy growth, and disease resistance, especially when grown outdoors. However, reviews on flavor are mixed, and some … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Dirty Curty is an experimental, potentially unstable anthocyanin line (seeds originally circulated by Valdis Pulins) that produces mid-season, heavy-yielding indeterminate vines. While the intended shape is oblate with dark blue or “dirty gray” shoulders, growers note it can segregate into different shapes, such as elongated “boats.” Regardless of the shape, the consensus … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Daifuku is an original cross by Bunny Hop Seeds (BHN 669 F1 x Black from Tula) bred specifically for intense heat, humidity, and disease pressure. It is an early-season, highly productive variety that pumps out dark purple, 3-5 oz salad tomatoes. Growers rave about its absolute resilience and its incredibly sweet, jammy … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Dana’s Dusky Rose (originating from Dan Gilmore) is an indeterminate but naturally compact tomato variety that produces stunning smoky-pink to dark-purple oblate fruits. Growers on the forum rave about its exceptionally sweet, rich, and unique flavor profile, often calling it one of the best-tasting dark tomatoes they’ve ever grown. Yields can be … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Dwarf Purple Heart is a mid-season, tree-type dwarf variety released in 2015 by the Dwarf Tomato Project (a cross between Brad’s Black Heart and Dwarf Wild Fred). It produces beautiful, dark purple-brown heart-shaped fruits that are generally sweet and meaty. The growers here praise its excellent yields, crack resistance, and ability to … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Dwarf Purple Heartthrob is a striking rugose-leaf variety from the Dwarf Tomato Project, bred from a cross between Dwarf Purple Heart and Berkeley Tie Dye Heart. It produces gorgeous purple heart-shaped tomatoes marked with metallic green stripes and splashes. Growers note that the tall dwarf plants perform well in the greenhouse when … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Dwarf Mahogany is a rugose-leaf variety from the Dwarf Tomato Project that produces fairly large, slightly flattened, dark chocolate-colored fruits. The tomatoes have a deep burgundy flesh that is juicy, firm, and has a low seed count, with a well-balanced, pleasant flavor. The compact 2.3 ft (70 cm) plants perform well both … Read more