I love (ripe) persimmons! Two stories:
As a little girl, I traipsed about behind my dad when he would walk around his home place farm (100+ acres). One day, we came across a persimmon tree. He was telling me about how much ‘possums loved persimmons and handed me (a green) one and told me to try it. There’s not a whole lot that can compare to the “pucker power” of a non-ripe persimmon! To this day, I haven’t quite forgiven him for doing that to me!
As an adult, I took up hiking and do a lot in the mountains. On a beautiful fall day, after quite a cold night, some friends and I hiked down the mountain on an old road that runs beside a ‘river’ to a reservoir that serves a small city (that is some distance away) and pretty much in ‘wild’ condition around the edges of the water. There were all sorts of fall wildflowers, poke berries, seeds .... deer & turkey tracks, etc. We came across a persimmon tree and the fruit was so ripe it was falling off on the ground. We ate what was intact and it was just delicious. I still have good memories of that great hike and those luscious persimmons. :-)
There are 2 types of Persimmons, The Hachiya which you describe and they MUST BE SOFT ripe to eat and then they are pure ambrosia. Then there is the Fuyu which you eat like and has the crunch of a ripe apple. The Fuyu has a flattened appearance and the skin san be tough.
They taste like nothing else. Very good but hard to describe. I am collecting a few seeds to try out the “coffee” aspect.