In the high desert here the cots that survive late freezes ripen
beautifully. If picked when they are their ripest I only have one day to
process them before they go off. I have measured one of my favorite trees at
28 deg bx. Since the sugars are important for my wine, I measure
periodically until it's good for me. You can usually see a marked difference
in the last few days and I imagine this stage is way after any commercial
grower would pick at.