The biggest reason for difference in quality through out the year is that poppies are dependant on environment. And spring crop harvested in summer produces the fire seeds that you have come to love.. keep in mind though if there's a wetter than usual spring ,excess rain, will degrade seed quality greatly. Tip to the wise when purchasing seeds for resale it would be wise to check what the season was like where they were harvested. Optimal weather would be a dryer season. I've learned these things through both research and growing P.Som. I hear people always remarking about the difference in quality between batches , well environment is the biggest factor, then you have to realize that quality can also very between plants in the same harvest,no two plants are ever guaranteed to be of equal quality...
I hope this helps people to understand why quality changes so much... I actually use another vendor, but not because fire seed is a bad company, they really do their best to bring the best they can find, but they're still held hostage to market fluctuations in quality they can only get the best of what is available and they really do work hard for their customers.... I hope this helps...

Ive been in the market for maybe over a decade and seeds are always the worst at this time of year, right now they tend to start to get better but right now they are always the worst the get, are these seeds great, no, they are the worst the get throughout the year but in comparison to what others have the might as well be exactly the same, slight variance but theres nothing that can be done, idk why poppy seeds seem to be so variable by time of year but they are and it will happen every year, you can complain about price for sure but idk talking about the seeds themselves its just what is around this year at this time, again, it being the worst time of the year, but i can tell you for sure in a week or two and in the coming months seed quality will return to where it was the past couple years, i guess if anything try to prepare and stock up so you never have to buy during the time when they arent great but it happens every year.

I'm really confused, from what I've seen and understood, as long as your review isn't clearly a hit piece & it's respectful.. Fsb usually wont delete it even if You're being critical of any given lot of seeds. But all the reviews from May have been deleted. The general consensus is that many of the recent bags of blue dot have a strange taste/smell & aren't necessarily up to the standards that long time bakers/patrons of Fsb expect to receive.. especially given the prices we're willing to pay for those standards. Fsb said they're waiting to sell more of this blue dot before stocking the new lot but I think many people agree that because of the issues of inconsistent quality with blue dot, the new lot should be stocked asap. Other than this recent issue I honestly have nothing negative to say about this company, they've always been great to me. I certainly hope they will leave this comment up, as I'm trying to be as cordial as possible. I also hope anyone else who leaves a review agreeing this will also keep it respectful at the same time..and that it will also get to stay up. Again, we've only been leaving honest feedback. Thank you for your time

I have pretty much stopped ordering Teal Dot and Yellow Dot, and would not order unless at under $25 per pound. Blue Dot is the current best seed they are carrying.

My previous Blue Dot order was very lousy; so much to the point that I wonder if was mixed up with yellow/teal. It smelled different, tasted different, and the waste wash was very pale. Quite literally 2.5- 3x the amount of seeds for the same flavor, so you use a lot more seeds in the recipe. I just don't get the variance how it differs so much from pallet to pallet?

My most recently received order Blue Dot I am very pleased with- the texture, the smell, and the taste. The shipping however is prohibitively expensive- about $65 to get it in 3 days, and $125 to get it in 2 days (next day at $160- $225). If I'm running low and can't wait 5-8 days for the slow shipping then I have to go elsewhere as I am just not paying that much. There are places that I can get it in 2 days anywhere from Free Shipping to $16 (and will sometimes come next day)!!! To be fair the competitor's seeds are not usually up to the same quality as FSB. But of course this varies as it will anywhere.

Also got to hand it to these guys- they bust their humps to get orders out on time.

The most recent sale was 25x poppy points- the most I have ever seen, so I definitely too advantage of that!

During packaging, the product I ordered completely ran out. I was promptly emailed, by Jess, informing me of what happened, and it was replaced with a new dot stash. She was very respectful and helpful. If it was up to me, I would give her a raise!

As for the product, it is excellent! It is definitely a premium product and true to its description. This company, product and staff are well beyond expectations! Thank you for everything!