Kanna is the hokkien pronunciation of the word gan lan (橄榄) which means olive.

This durian is named kanna, or olive durian, not because it taste like olive. But because the shape of the durian’s husk is often very similar to that of an olive.

Small sized, and almost always symmetrically oval with a slightly pointed bottom.

A thin inner husk means that this durian is very easy to open.

The fruitlets are somewhat beige and off-white. Not the typical faded yellow like lima jari or pearl white like capri.

Kanna is a delightfully soft durian with a strong durian flavour.

People often categorize durians as either sweet or bitter. Kanna is both sweet and bitter. You can’t really call it a sweet durian because of the bitter burst that your tastebuds will experience. And you can’t really say that it’s a bitter durian because of the sweet avalanche that tumbles into your mouth.

The taste profile deftly balances itself on the line that separates bitter and sweet.

On top of that, it comes with a built-in fermented floral aroma. The type that gets people so hooked that they keep coming back for more kanna.

Because of the name, many will liken this aroma to that of an olive. But it is not. It is something that has no parallel. And you will have to try it to experience the taste for yourself.