Review: Native Seeds

Native Seeds Order

I enjoy trying new foods. I also enjoy collecting different types of beans, so I was excited when I found Native Seeds as they have a unique collection that I haven’t seen or heard of before: Colorado River Beans, Moon Beans, Four Corners Gold Beans, and a bunch more.

Native Seeds Order

Native Seeds is a nonprofit seed conservation organization in Arizona. They collect and preserve endangered traditional seeds from the Southwestern United States.

Native Seeds Order

Their website is well organized and filled with lots of pictures. I placed an order online and promptly received it within a few days. The box was filled with biodegradable packing peanuts, a nice touch. Everything was clearly labeled too.

Native Seeds Order

I ordered the following: Box o’ Beans (4 random kinds), Blue Corn Posole, Chipotle Bean Chili Mix, and Colorado River Beans. The Box o’ Beans contained: Black Turtle Beans, Four Corners Gold Beans, Moon Beans, and Yellow Indian Woman Beans. I was a bit disappointed to receive black beans in the box, but I suppose they have to put in something cheap to keep the cost down.

Native Seeds Order

Most of their beans are sold for about $5 per pound. They are unique, so they can command a higher price. I have been able to find the more common ones like black or pinto for $1-2 per pound.

Native Seeds Order

The beans we’ve eaten so far have been great. We both really liked the Moon Beans and of course are in love with the Blue Corn Posole. I did find some Red Corn Posole locally at a Mexican grocery for $2.50 a pound versus the $5 a pound for Blue at Native Seeds. We have yet to eat the red. We haven’t eaten the chili mix yet either. Every time we open the package, we are trapped into burying our noses in the mix. It smells amazing.

I love the concept of Native Seeds, preserving traditional plants. Their rarity makes for a delicious treat. Their prices are a bit high, but the unique offering makes it worthwhile to me. We will order again in the future to support their work. They seem well organized and efficient. It would be great if someday the beans and grains they protect would become more common.

Checkout their website at: http://www.nativeseeds.org

2 comments:

  1. You always manage to find such cool things.

    Thanks for passing along the link.

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  2. thanks :-) let me know what you think of them. I wish I would have known about them earlier. I could have stopped by on my road trip last year.

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