Nijisseiki Asian pear (aka 20th Century pear) tastes much like a small mild apple when picked before its typical full ripe sweeter flavor. A great fruit, reliable, precocious, earlier than apples typically. Asian pears are also called apple pears. When fully ripe they can have an almost piercing sweetness, though sometimes a very simple almost bland sweet. Variety selection will affect flavor somewhat. Deer love to eat the fruit at this less than fully ripe stage if they can reach it when on the tree. Less ripe, less sweet, yet with arguably more flavor than full ripe.