19 Varieties of American Oysters (listed from north to south)

Totten Inlet Virgincas – Totten Inlet, WA. Totten Inlet Virginicas are grown in the Pacific Northwest. First hauled to the West Coast on the transcontinental railroads in the 1870s, the oyster was farmed commercially on the West Coast until the 1920s and two tiny remnant populations survived until the 1990s. When we started production in Totten Inlet we discovered a wonderful tasting Virginica that has gotten great reviews by numerous oyster critics.

Taylor Shellfish, Bill Taylor (360) 426-6178

Pemaquid Oysters® – Damariscotta River, ME. Pemaquids® are often described as being sweet and quite briny because they are purged in the cold, oceanic waters of coastal Maine prior to sale. They are free of mud or sand, providing the oyster connoisseur with a delightful experience.

Pemaquid Oyster Co, Chris Davis (207) 832-6812

Island Creek Oysters® – Duxbury Bay, MA. Island Creek Oysters are farm-raised in the pristine waters of Duxbury Bay. Swift tides flush the bay twice a day with cold, nutrient-rich waters from Cape Cod Bay. These waters provide an ideal environment for the oysters to prosper yielding a buttery, plump meat with a distinctive briny finish.

Skip Bennett (781) 934-2028

Sweet Petites – Katama Bay, Martha's Vineyard, MA. Sweet Petite oysters are grown in the rich cold waters of Martha's Vineyard Island. Producing a firm white meat with just the right amount of sweet briny flavor. They are hand selected for consistent size and shape to offer the very best nature can provide.

Jack Blake (508) 627-8347

Katama Bay Oysters – Martha's Vineyard, MA. Katama Bay Oysters are grown in the pristine waters of Martha's Vineyard, MA in a unique spot miles from the developed coastline of the mainland. Katamas are large in size with a salty start and a sweet finish.

Roy Scheffer, Pangea Shellfish (617) 439-4999

Moonstone Oysters® – Narragansett, RI. Moonstones have set the standard for quality and full-bodied flavor since 1986. Farm-raised with pride, Moonstones are sustainable, nutritious and delicious. We are obsessed with freshness, quality and safety. No one cares more about your oysters than we do.

Bob Rheault (401) 783-3360

Matunuck Oysters – Potters Pond, Wakefield, RI., Crisp and briny with a clean, slightly sweet finish. Grown in pristine waters with meticulous, year-round maintenance produce a sturdy shell with a deep cup and a polished appearance. Enjoy your Matunuck Oysters!

Perry Raso (401) 932-4946

Ninigret Cups – Charlestown Pond, RI. The farm is located in one of the pristine southern Rhode Island salt ponds, the cleanest body of water in Rhode Island. We have a unique raft and suspension system, which allows close monitoring of our product. We produce year-round, no matter what the environment may dish out. Rob Krause (401) 529-3519

Watch Hill Oyster® – Winnapaug Pond, RI. Described in Rowan Jacobsen's The Connoisseur’s Guide to Oyster Eating as being "unusual for being mild in salinity but full bodied, with strong 'oysterness' and an addictive sweet-butter flavor that is especially apparent in winter. That combination makes them perhaps the best virginica oyster with wine."

Jeff Gardner (401) 322-7280

Mystic Oysters – Mystic CT. The meat in the Mystic oyster is plump and creamy and fills the cup. The flavor tends towards the sweet side with an average salinity and a mild metallic finish.

Noank Aquaculture Coop, Jim Markow (860) 460-4558

Saddle Rocks® – Long Island Sound, NY. Saddle Rock® is one of New York’s oldest oyster names with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. Chosen for its size and shape and packed to our specifications. Moderately salty with a clean taste of the ocean. The "benchmark" by which all Bluepoints are judged.

Tom Kehoe, K&B Seafood (631) 261-8161

Cape May Salts – Delaware Bay, NJ. Cape May Salts are grown inter-tidally in the waters of the lower Delaware Bay along the shores of Cape May County, NJ. The cool, food-rich waters of the lower Delaware give our oysters a firm plump meat with a mild salty-sweet flavor. The shell of a Cape May salt is clean with a deep cup.

James Tweed, Atlantic Cape Fisheries (609) 602-1257

Snow Hill Oysters – Chincoteague Bay, MD. Another great bold and briny taste from the Atlantic coast, Snow Hill Oysters take the cool ocean salt and cut it ever so slightly with a freshwater sweetness to give you the flavor of the sea without the "smack" of salt. Salinity 25-29 ppt.

Luke Breza (410) 829-8941

Toby Island Bay Oysters – Chincoteague Bay, VA. Chincoteague oysters, distinctive, sweet and salty, are storied. Once exported in large numbers across the nation by ship, wagon, and rail, they were so popular in New York that fistfights over who would get them first would erupt in Fulton’s Fish Market.

Dan Grosse (202) 258-9700

Rappahannock River Oysters^TM – Rappahannock River, VA. Deep cupped and mineral rich with an understated saltiness that lets the oyster's natural flavor come through, our Rappahannocks offer up a sweet, buttery, full-bodied taste with a refreshingly clean, crisp finish. It's the same oyster our family started growing in 1899. Ryan and Travis Croxton (804) 986-2854

New Point "Comforts"® – New Point, VA. Cultured in floats in remote Mathews County, VA, New Point Oysters are grown in waters free of any trace of agricultural or industrial pollution, and are nurtured by a perfect balance of salinity. Best management practices are strictly adhered to in all aspects of growing, handling and transporting this buttery smooth denizen of the deep.

New Point Oyster Co. Jack White (804) 725-9894

May River Select – Bluffton, SC. Cultivated originally by Native Americans and currently African American, May River Selects have been treasured by generations of oyster connoisseurs. Grown in pristine waters with an eight-foot tidal range, they have a high salinity, full bodied aftertaste that embraces the flavor and aromatic personality of their genesis.

Larry and Tina Toomer, Bluffton Oyster Co. (843) 757-4010

13 Mile Brand – Apalachicola Bay, FL. Our oysters have a reputation as some of the finest available. Local connoisseurs consider 13 Mile Brand the "best of the best." Farmed in an area near St. Vincent Island, a National Wildlife Refuge and the emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The result – an excellent tasting, briny, full-bodied oyster, with a consistent half-shell size and outstanding quality.

Buddy Ward & Son’s Seafood, (850) 653-8522

Camanada Bay Oysters – Camanada Bay, LA. Cultivated on bottom on a Louisiana oyster reef built and farmed since the 1930s. The lease is located near Grand Isle, where waters from the Gulf of Mexico flow through Camanada Pass. Oysters from this lease have won awards at the Louisiana Oyster Industry Convention.

Collins Oyster Co, Wilbert Collins (985) 475-7721