Barhi Dates: The Fresh California Date You Have Never Tried

Barhi is out of stock for the 2026 season. There is no crop to sell this year. Join the Barhi list and we will write to you when the next harvest is picked — no deposit, no obligation.

In the meantime we grow two other varieties and both are in stock: Medjool and Zahidi. Honest guidance on which comes closest to Barhi is further down this page.

We grow these. Zahidi Dates | California-Grown & Farm-Direct | Desert Sun Dates from our family farm in Sky Valley, California — from $19/lb, shipping included. See them →

What Are Barhi Dates?

Shop Golden Zahidi — In Stock →Shop Medjool →
Want fresh yellow Barhi? The harvest waitlist signup is below — you’ll get first pick when the crop comes off the palms.

Barhi dates are one of the rarest and most unusual date varieties grown in California’s Coachella Valley. Unlike the Medjool or Zahidi — which are picked and sold in their fully ripe, dried state — Barhi dates are prized for being eaten fresh and soft, often still yellow, directly off the palm. The name comes from the Arabic word for a hot wind, which describes the intense desert heat required to ripen them.

At Desert Sun Dates in Sky Valley, California, we grow Barhi alongside our Medjool and Zahidi varieties. Barhi is the smallest crop we harvest and the most seasonal — available only in late summer when the palms reach their brief, perfect window of ripeness.

What Do Barhi Dates Taste Like?

Barhi dates eaten fresh in their yellow stage have a remarkably complex flavor — simultaneously sweet and slightly astringent, with notes of butterscotch, brown sugar, and a hint of vanilla. The texture is soft and almost custardy, with a thin skin that peels back easily. They taste nothing like the brown, dried dates you find at a grocery store.

As Barhi dates continue to ripen past the yellow stage into amber and then dark brown, they lose the astringency and become softer, stickier, and more intensely sweet — closer in character to a Medjool. Many people consider the fresh yellow stage the finest eating experience in the entire date world.

Which stage do we actually sell?

Barhi is famous for being edible yellow, and that is genuinely unusual — most varieties are astringent at that stage. But we sell Barhi fully ripe, not yellow.

Khalal fruit is on a clock. Once it starts turning you have days, not weeks. We ship by USPS at three to four days in transit, and yellow fruit does not arrive in the condition it left in. Selling khalal makes you a farm-stand business; we are a shipping one. Fully ripe fruit we flash-freeze at harvest, which is why what you open tastes like what came off the palm.

More on the ripening stages in what are yellow dates.

Barhi vs Medjool Dates

	Barhi	Medjool
Best eaten	Fresh off the palm (yellow)	Ripe and room temperature
Flavor	Butterscotch, brown sugar, vanilla	Caramel, rich, deeply sweet
Texture	Soft, custardy, thin skin	Soft, moist, thick flesh
Size	Small to medium, round	Large, oblong
Availability	Seasonal (late summer only)	Year-round
Shelf life	Short (eat fresh or refrigerate)	Long (months refrigerated)

Where Are Barhi Dates Grown?

Barhi dates originated in Basra, Iraq, where they have been cultivated for centuries along the Euphrates River. Today, the Coachella Valley in California produces the finest Barhi dates in the United States — the same extreme heat and dry desert air that makes Medjool dates exceptional also allows Barhi palms to ripen their fruit fully before harvest.

Barhi palms are more temperamental than Medjool palms and more vulnerable to humidity at harvest time, which is why California Barhi dates are rarer and more prized than commercial varieties. Our Sky Valley farm sits in one of the driest, hottest corners of the valley — ideal conditions for Barhi.

How to Eat Barhi Dates

Barhi dates are most extraordinary eaten fresh in the yellow Khalal stage — chilled slightly in the refrigerator, eaten as a snack or paired with strong cheese (blue cheese and aged cheddar work beautifully). The contrast of the slight astringency with a creamy, salty cheese is one of the most distinctive flavor experiences in California date country.

As they ripen to the brown Rutab and Tamr stages, Barhi dates work well in:

• Date syrup (the flavor is more complex than Medjool-based syrup)
• Smoothies and energy balls
• Cheese and charcuterie boards
• Baking applications where Medjool would add too much moisture

Storing Barhi Dates

Fresh yellow Barhi dates are perishable — refrigerate immediately and consume within 2 weeks. Ripe brown Barhi dates store like Medjool dates: up to 1 month at room temperature, 6 months refrigerated, or a year frozen. See our complete date storage guide for full instructions.

Barhi is sold out — what to buy instead

Nothing is a straight substitute. But if Barhi is what brought you here, this is the honest comparison from someone who grows all three.

	Barhi	Medjool	Zahidi
Texture	Soft, almost custard-like	Soft, yielding, sticky	Firm, semi-dry, chewy
Flavour	Butterscotch, honey	Caramel, deep sweetness	Brown butter, roasted nut
Sweetness	High	High	Moderate
Size	Small, round	Large, oblong	Small to medium, oval
In stock?	No — 2026 sold out	Yes	Yes

If you wanted Barhi for the softness and honey sweetness

Medjool is the closer match. Larger, and the flavour runs to caramel rather than butterscotch, but it is soft, high-moisture and properly sweet — the same category of eating experience.

Medjool dates — in stock, 1 to 12 lb, shipping included →

If you wanted Barhi because most dates are too sweet for you

Zahidi. Golden, firm, semi-dry, with a nutty finish and noticeably less sugar. It keeps far longer and holds its shape in cooking, which Barhi never does.

Zahidi dates — in stock, 1 to 12 lb, shipping included →

Torn between them? We wrote Zahidi vs Medjool as a grower who packs both. Or see everything in stock today.

Barhi Dates for Sale — Price & Season

When the harvest is in (late August through early September), our fresh yellow Barhi dates sell in 1–12 lb boxes from $19 with shipping included to the lower 48. If you are searching for Barhi dates near you, there is no store to visit — we ship farm-direct from Sky Valley, California, usually within days of picking. The season runs roughly three weeks and the crop sells out every year, so the waitlist below is the only reliable way to get first pick.

Buy California Barhi Dates

Our Barhi dates are grown on our family farm in Sky Valley, California and available seasonally in late summer. When the harvest is in, we ship direct to your door — farm-fresh, no warehouse, no delay. Check our shop page for current availability.

Check Availability →
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