Organic Vaquita Negro Heirloom Beans
$10.99
We are exceptionally proud to bring you these rare Vaquita Negro beans, one of Mexico's most prized and exotic heirloom varieties. Sourced directly from a small organic family farm in Morelos, these remarkable beans represent generations of agricultural heritage passed down through traditional Mexican peasant families. Named "vaquita" (little cow) for their distinctive black and white cow-print markings, these beans are among the rarest finds in Mexican gastronomy—a hidden jewel from Mexico's incredible diversity of over 70 endemic bean species that rarely make it to market shelves.
What sets Vaquita Negro apart is their remarkable ability to maintain their striking appearance and robust structure throughout cooking while producing an intensely dark, rich, and nutritious broth that's legendary among Mexican cooks. These beans offer deep, earthy flavors with a satisfying texture that holds its shape beautifully in long-cooking stews, making them perfect for traditional frijoles de la olla, charro beans, or any recipe where you want beans that create a flavorful, inky black pot liquor. By choosing these heritage beans, you're experiencing authentic Mexican culinary tradition while supporting the preservation of irreplaceable agricultural biodiversity.
As part of our partnership with La Comandanta, we are delighted to offer this rare gem grown using the ancient Milpa technique of growing corn, beans, squash and chilis together. It is rare to find farms growing this way because it requires labor intensive hand harvesting. Carlos and Ana are a very rare certified organic farm still practicing Milpa farming. The care that they are giving to the land can be tasted in each delicious bite. This is the epitome of traditional farming and preserving cultural traditions, resulting in the most delicious and healthy beans you could find.
- Grown by: Carlos and Ana María Albarrán
- Region: Morelos, Mexico
- Harvested: November 2024
- *Beans are at their prime within 2 years of harvest.
1lb. bag
Fresh Beans = Last Year's Harvest! Don't worry—this is actually when beans are freshest. After fall harvest, they spend winter being carefully processed and are bagged fresh each spring. So 2024 beans in 2025 means peak freshness! We believe beans are best within 2 years of harvest (others say 3), ensuring you get the finest quality.
Cooking Notes
Harvest Info
Better beans come from healthy soil.
We partner with family farms committed to nurturing healthy soil—the foundation of truly exceptional beans. Our single origin beans have the farmers name and harvest date right on the package. Non-gmo, glyphosate free and always grown with traditional farming methods the way nature intended.
Bean Cooking Guide
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After much research we've put together the definitive guide to cooking heirloom beans.
Heirloom Bean Cooking Times
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Your guide to cooking heirloom beans to perfection—bringing out their unique flavor, texture, and heritage in every pot.
FAQ
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Beans are harvested once a year, typically in the fall. After harvest they are dried, cleaned and processed and finally put into bags and ready for you in the spring. Sort of like wine, last year's harvest is this year's beans! We put the harvest date and farmer on every package so that you can keep track in your pantry but once you try our beans, they won't last long.
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Our modern, corporate food system prioritizes efficiency and cost cutting over flavor and nutrient density. To get a bag of beans to your grocery store for just a few dollars they mix together beans from farms all over the globe, keeping them in huge bins and transporting them from broker to wholesaler to distributor to store with identical bags stamped with a best by date that is at least 3 years from harvest. We choose to be radically transparent, even though its much harder and costly, because we think that everyone should know exactly how their food was grown and who grew it. Honoring the people who are doing farming differently is one of our most deeply held values and thousands of happy customers agree.
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Regenerative is a fancy way of saying that you grow things the old fashioned way, in harmony with nature and not against it. We only partner with farms that prioritize soil health and use traditional farming methods because we know that better tasting beans come from healthy soil.
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The weedkiller glyphosate (aka Roundup) is not used for the production of any of our beans.
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The majority of our beans are certified organic however not all small farms can afford the process of certification. All of our beans are glyphosate free and our partner farmers where chosen for their incredible growing practices, prioritizing soil health and people health.
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We could spend all day talking about all the reasons to love dried beans:
- One bag of beans equals 3 cans of beans, from packaging to shipping dried beans are better for the planet with a much smaller carbon footprint.
- Unique heirloom varieties.
- You get the bonus of a pot full of magical bean broth instead of mystery liquid that you'll rinse off.
- They soak up liquid as they cook — which means any aromatics, herbs, and spices you add will infuse your beans with even more flavor.
Canned beans are super convenient but if you batch cook beans and freeze them in the cooking liquid it's nearly as convenient as canned and way more delicious! Check out our guide to freezing beans.
- One bag of beans equals 3 cans of beans, from packaging to shipping dried beans are better for the planet with a much smaller carbon footprint.
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Our farms and facilities do not grow, store, or process nuts, soy, or peanuts, so there is very little risk of cross-contamination. However, if you have a severe sensitivity, please use caution – none of our beans are certified by a third-party as being free from these allergens. Our co-packer does handle products containing milk and eggs, but the machine used to handle our beans does not come into contact with these allergens. In the case of gluten sensitivity, beans are often grown in rotation with wheat and other grains, which is the case with a handful of our farms. However, these crops are not grown in the same field at once and in the rare case that wheat kernels get mixed in, they would be removed during the cleaning process. As always, we recommend rinsing beans in clean water every time, even when they appear clean, and inspecting for small stones.
