When most Americans think of almonds, we picture the standard nonpareil variety that we're used to seeing on grocery store shelves and in trail mixes. But did you know there are more than one variety of almond? There are approximately 30 varieties of almonds grown commercially today.
Most of the world's almonds are grown in California, and they're one of the state's biggest cash crops. Domestic almonds typically rely on commercial beekeeping practices, a system of trucking pollinators from one farm to another that's often harmful to the bees involved. California almonds require more than half of the entire US commercial honeybee population, a practice that is one of the largest contributing factors to declining bee health.
Though we're looking into sourcing from some amazing Californian farmers who don't use these practices, we currently source from bee-friendly (and water-friendly) almond producers in Europe.
Home to many delicious varieties of nuts and seeds, Europe is one of the largest producers of almonds in the world. The continent has been experiencing rising temperatures as a result of climate change, and many farmers have opted to use more regenerative farming methods such as dry farming and intercropping as a way to adapt. They also prefer to rely on the biodiversity of their farms to draw pollinators naturally. Our almond producers, a cooperative of small family farms, use these restorative practices.
The trees are only irrigated for the first few months of their lives to ensure proper root development, and then rely solely on rainfall for their water. The almonds are smaller and more flavorful than their heavily irrigated counterparts, which are often grown on large industrial farms where monocropping is the norm.
Once our almonds arrive in the US, they're kept in cold storage until it's time for them to be roasted, ground, and turned into products that you keep in your fridge. This is why our almond milk tastes so fresh: it is! Our almond milk is as close to homemade as we can make it, using the best almonds we can make it with.
We take care in sourcing our almonds because we care about the bees, the planet, and you. We hope you enjoy our almond milk!
