It's a new project for me, Andrew - exploring dry peas as an alternative to beans for winter food staple. I grew mostly for seed this year - enough to grow a crop, and set aside just a few small samples to taste test this winter. I have read all the classifications you mentioned but don't fully understand the differences.
There's a brief discussion of this at Salt Spring Seeds, and this is what he says:
"
There is a major division between fresh-eating peas and those best used as a dry bean. Although most shelling peas aren't very good soup peas and vice versa, many edible-pod peas are rich and flavourful when used in soups and curries. Some soup peas break down quickly to make a rich broth and some retain their shape to pleasing effect. "
So I'm hoping that besides the yellow split peas which we traditionally use for soup, there will be peas that can be cooked and used as you would use a bean.
Different tastes and colors will also be a plus, for sure. There are quite a few that have been recommended as dual purpose or all purpose peas, for both fresh eating and dried.
The Amplissimo has been touted as a substitute for chick peas, so I expect they are mild flavored. I'm hoping the Swedish Red will retain their shape some. (such a nice color!) So I think they would have to be pretty unpleasant to be rejected.
If they are awful, well I agree they would be worth crossing for the color alone.
My mother is doing the first taste tests. Her cooking method is to soak the peas until they are fully plumped up, then cook by boiling as briefly as required - maybe only half an hour. But the soak could be a full 24 hours. I've also read that adding baking soda to the soak will soften the peas and reduce cooking times, but I haven't tried that yet.
