Primary Beans

Primary Beans Primary Beans is an online purveyor of single-origin heirloom and organic dried beans sourced directly from our climate-conscious farm partners.

Head to our site to check out our lineup of 14 flavorful varieties (and counting!) from recent harvests. A wholesome pantry upgrade for your home cooking– single-origin dried beans that deliver big flavor with ease.

There is a certain kind of farmer who does not wait for the science to catch up before doing the right thing.Fred and Ju...
06/02/2026

There is a certain kind of farmer who does not wait for the science to catch up before doing the right thing.

Fred and Judy Brossy were farming regeneratively near Shoshone, Idaho long before it had a name anyone recognized. They started with hay and pasture, built one of the most diversified farms in the Magic Valley, and raised a son, Cooper, who took everything they built and pushed it further.

Right now Cooper and his wife Ahnna are several years into developing a no-till dry bean system, planting directly into rolled-down cereal rye without herbicides or additional tillage. Cooper's own description of the process: genuinely hard. They are years out from having it fully dialed in. That kind of honesty about a long-term experiment is, to me, one of the most quietly radical things a farmer can do.

Their fields stay covered with living plants year-round. They have built pollinator habitats with regional conservation partners. They helped start a local farmers market. And they keep showing up for the land the way good farmers always have, one season at a time.

We partner with the Brossy family for our certified organic Southwest Gold and Cannellini beans. The Southwest Gold especially is the kind of thing that makes you want to eat dinner slowly. Good pot, good olive oil, good salt. That is all it needs.

Have you cooked with Southwest Gold before? What did you make? Link in bio!

The bean that looks like the night sky.The Ayocote Medianoche is one of the oldest cultivated beans in the world, grown ...
06/01/2026

The bean that looks like the night sky.

The Ayocote Medianoche is one of the oldest cultivated beans in the world, grown in the volcanic highlands of Puebla, Mexico for over 6,000 years. Deep black, inky purple, scattered cream. No two handfuls look exactly the same.

Grown by Joel and his stepfather in San Pedro Temamatla, Puebla, using traditional farming methods and no synthetic chemicals. Every year after harvest, the Rivero family hand-selects next season's seed mix by eye, carefully balancing the colors so the bean stays true to itself. The bees handle the rest.

Earthy, meaty, deeply savory. Full-bodied inky broth that is luxuriously thick and worth every minute of the slow cook. This is the kind of bean that turns a simple pot into the center of a meal.

The Medianoche has never been available outside of Mexico before. Primary Beans Heirloom Bean + Grain Club members get it first. Spots are very limited.

Join the waitlist here: https://shopfoodocracy.com/products/heirloom-beans-grains-club

If we eat with our eyes, this one is a feast.The Medianoche is an ayocote heirloom bean from Puebla, Mexico, and it is o...
06/01/2026

If we eat with our eyes, this one is a feast.

The Medianoche is an ayocote heirloom bean from Puebla, Mexico, and it is one of the most visually jaw-dropping things I have ever put in a bowl. Deep black, inky purple, scattered cream. It looks like the night sky. And it tastes just as extraordinary as it looks.

For summer I wanted to balance those deep earthy ayocote flavors with something bright and alive. Lemon vinaigrette, red bell pepper, thin-sliced red onion, Calabrian chili flakes. Cold, make-ahead, equally at home at a beach picnic or a dinner party. Make it the night before if you can. It only gets better.

Prepare to answer a lot of questions about what kind of bean that is.

Join the waitlist here: https://shopfoodocracy.com/products/heirloom-beans-grains-club

This is where the Medianoche grows.San Pedro Temamatla, a small village in Puebla, on land the Rivero family has worked ...
05/31/2026

This is where the Medianoche grows.

San Pedro Temamatla, a small village in Puebla, on land the Rivero family has worked for generations.

After every harvest, Joel Rivero and his family lay out their beans and hand-select next year's seed by color and balance. Too much black this year, they pull in more purple and white. A color fading, they bring it back. Done entirely by eye, entirely by experience, season after season.

The bees have a say too. Moving across the Milpa field, cross-pollinating as they go, sometimes surprising everyone with what comes up. Joel calls it the bees' doing. He is probably right.

The result is a bean that belongs to this farm, this village, these particular pollinators. You cannot fake that kind of specificity.

The Medianoche is coming. Get on the waitlist at the link in bio.

Something extraordinary is almost here.The Ayocote Medianoche has never been grown outside of Mexico. Never been availab...
05/30/2026

Something extraordinary is almost here.

The Ayocote Medianoche has never been grown outside of Mexico. Never been available outside of Mexico. Until now. And the very first batch is going to our Heirloom Bean + Grain Club members first.

The waitlist is open. Link in bio!

June is almost here and so is the Medianoche.Our Heirloom Bean + Grain Club ships to over 350 households every month. Ra...
05/30/2026

June is almost here and so is the Medianoche.

Our Heirloom Bean + Grain Club ships to over 350 households every month. Rare heirloom beans and heritage grains, grown by farmers we know by name, delivered straight to your door with the full story of every variety inside.

June is a very special shipment. If you know, you know.

Spots are limited. Link in bio to join the waitlist!

I live alone. Is the Heirloom Bean + Grain Club too much for one person?A: Actually it is one of the best things about l...
05/30/2026

I live alone. Is the Heirloom Bean + Grain Club too much for one person?

A: Actually it is one of the best things about living alone.

The Club ships monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly so you pick the pace that works for you. And each box is just 2 heirloom beans and 1 heritage grain (or 3 beans if you go grain-free). That is not overwhelming. That is a really good pantry refresh.

Dried beans keep for up to two years in a cool dry place so nothing goes to waste. You make one pot on Sunday and eat well all week. Brothy beans on Monday. Bean toast on Tuesday. Into pasta on Wednesday. Solo cooking with heirloom beans is actually the move.

And if you want to add more to your box that month, you can do that with no extra shipping cost.

No commitment either. Pause, change your frequency, or cancel anytime through the customer portal.

Waitlist link in bio.

We named this bean. Then we gave that name away.Medianoche. Midnight in Spanish. It came from a photograph, a handful of...
05/29/2026

We named this bean.

Then we gave that name away.

Medianoche. Midnight in Spanish. It came from a photograph, a handful of ayocotes cupped in someone's palm in a Milpa field in Puebla. Deep black and rich purple, scattered with white, like stars across a dark sky. The name arrived before we knew much else about it.

It is coming. Sign up for the waitlist at the link in bio to be the first to know.

Like getting a holiday package every month.That is what one of our Club members said and I have not stopped thinking abo...
05/28/2026

Like getting a holiday package every month.

That is what one of our Club members said and I have not stopped thinking about it.

Because that is exactly what I want every box to feel like. Something special. Something you did not expect. Rare heirloom beans and heritage grains from small family farms we love, grown with intention, never sprayed with glyphosate, with recipes and the full story of the people who grew everything inside.

Every month something different. Every month something worth getting excited about.

If you have been on the fence about joining, this is your sign. The waitlist is the best way to make sure you are first in line when a spot opens. It goes fast.

Link here: https://shopfoodocracy.com/products/heirloom-beans-grains-club?variant=33276022390866

Vive la Flageolet!This minty green gem was once the toast of Paris. Introduced at the International Paris Exposition in ...
05/27/2026

Vive la Flageolet!

This minty green gem was once the toast of Paris. Introduced at the International Paris Exposition in 1878 by a grower named Gabriel Chevrier, it was quickly adopted into the highest ranks of French restaurant culture and became the most elegant bean on the table. The French even nicknamed it the caviar of beans.

But here is the part of the story that does not get told enough. The Flageolet did not start in France. Like so many beans that Europe fell in love with, its roots trace back to the Americas. France perfected it, named it, and made it famous. But this bean began here.

Today the heirloom variety is actually endangered in France, where it is difficult to grow commercially. Very few growers in the world still produce it the right way. Ours is grown by Mike and Álvaro on their certified organic farm in Magic Valley, Idaho, where they have been farming together for over 20 years using crop rotations, compost, and no synthetic inputs.

Pale green, creamy, sweet and slightly nutty, with a delicate broth that makes everything it touches taste more refined. Irresistible with a squeeze of lemon, good olive oil, and a sprinkle of sea salt. Equally at home next to a roasted leg of lamb or in a simple weeknight bowl.

It is a wild story for one of the most delicious beans we carry. October 2025 harvest. Never sprayed with glyphosate.

Shop here: https://shopfoodocracy.com/products/organic-heirloom-flageolet-beans?_pos=1&_psq=Organic+Flageolet+Beans&_ss=e&_v=1.0

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