FAQ

The differences between the almonds is often in the mouth of the beholder, so here are my opinions which may vary from someone else: Nonpareil: Most popular, sweetest, mellow flavor light skin. Attractive looking, medium size. Does not do as well as Monterey and fritz when cooked. Monterey: larger, darker skin, slightly less sweet, more almond flavor, but still rather mellow. Slightly more machine damage from shelling (nicks). We recommend 50% nonpareil and 50% Monterey when making almond milk. Can also be used in cooking. Fritz: Full flavor almond. Tastes like what you expect from an almond, fuller flavor, tiny bit less sweet than Nonpareil or Monterey. Great nut. Smaller nut. Can also be used in cooking.

Almonds can be stored for at least 8 months at room temperature (68°F [20.0°C]), and for a year at 32° to 45°F (0° to 7.2°C), more than a year when frozen. I suggest take out of cold storage what you can in eat in 2-3 weeks, store the remainder. Store long term less than 75% relative humidity. Here’s suggestions how to do that: Use zip-loc bag or glass jar and get as much as out as you can. This is easy with zip-loc, harder with jar. Humidity is the biggest problem so if you can get the air out, the better the almonds retain their flavor. Then place in refrigerator or freezer. For smoked almonds, its not such an issue. For smoked, they can stay room temperature for 2-3 weeks, but keep them in a seal-able bag to reduce exposure to moisture. I suggest you keep cool anything beyond a 2-3 week supply. For almond butter, keep cool such as refrigerator what you can't consume in 2-3 weeks.

You can pay any way you want. If you are confused call us 530-507-8222. Here are some options: Order off website. Payment feature will redirect to PayPal. If you dont have a PayPal account, under the PayPal sign in feature there should be a link that you can check out as PayPal guest. Venmo (search @brian-paddock-2 last four 9448 Zelle (search 530-908-9448) Call us and we can take credit card over the phone. Send a check in the mail to Capay Hills Orchard 24155 County Rd 22 Esparto, CA 95627

You don’t need a PayPal account. You can complete the order on-line, without the PayPal account. Or you can call me and I can take a credit card over the phone or I can take Venmo or a check in the mail.

It is important to us that our customers are very satisfied with our almonds. We devote an unbelievable amount of energy to that end. Therefore we want our customers to have a realistic understanding of what they can expect. Farming, processing, and marketing an organic product in a small family farm setting is very challenging. We are not a large multi-million dollar operation with fancy equipment and optical scanners, we rely on human eyes to sort our almonds. They are sorted and inspected by 7 sets of eyes and an optical electronic scanner before they reach you. In fact, in order to be legally allowed to offer unpasteurized almonds, we are required to do our own sorting. Organic farming may produce some imperfections. Unfortunately the sorting process is not perfect, we do the best we can. It is possible to receive absolutely no flaws. It is also possible to receive some almonds with shelling machine blemishes, marks, chips, or insect damage. We make every reasonable attempt to sort these out, but we are not perfect. Smoked almonds may have uneven roasting and salt coverage. Bottom line, you can expect us to do our very best to provide a quality product from our family to yours.

I am a California organic almond grower. Legally, the only way to get California, unpasteurized almonds is direct from the farmer. The California almond pasteurization law carved out an exemption whereby farmers can sell up to 100 lbs daily directly to the consumer via such avenues as a farmers market or roadside stand. My farm has a roadside stand and a website which acts as an extension of the roadside stand so folks who don't live near an almond grower can still get their truly raw almonds. The law does not affect foreign almonds

In a nutshell, Organic Certification verifies our almonds are produced WITHOUT: Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) Harmful or toxic pesticides or petroleum-based synthetic fertilizers Sewage sludge or radiation Chemical food additives Industrial solvents Certified organic farming is a systems approach to production and handling. Certified organic farmers face the same challenges that conventional farmers face, they just use different--and most would say--more sustainable methods to address them. For example, we use beneficial bugs (praying mantises, lady bugs, etc) to kill the bugs that are harmful to the trees, therefore providing a healthy alternative to pesticides. In addition, we use organically-produced compost to transform the soil into a fertile zone. We disk, mow, or use animals (such as sheep) to graze instead of herbicides. To keep us up-to-date and on the ball, organic farming requires certification, which involves checking detailed farming records and on- site inspection and testing.

The US Department of Agriculture manages the National Organic Program (NOP) and empowers certification upon a number of certification organizations. There are many companies that offer certification for a fee. They all perform the same function. We are certified organic by Yolo Certified Organic Agriculture (YCOA). YCOA was created and inspired by the community it serves: local growers and consumers. The certification standards used by YCOA are the USDA's National Organic Program. YCOA is a USDA accredited certification agency. Terms like “beyond organic,” “no spray,” “pesticide free,”, and “grown organically” do not denote the same meaning as certified organic. Only certified organic products are annually verified as being produced to NOP standards. Bottom line: Farming organic requires much more time and effort and is financially intensive, but like most things in life that require more effort ... in the end they are worth it.

It is very important to us that we properly sun-dry the almonds to reduce moisture content to less than 3%, otherwise they will not store well. We want them crunchy. However, some customers may have problems with this on sensitive teeth. There is a simple solution. Simply take a sample of almonds, expose them to some moisture by placing them in a bag with a moist paper towel for several hours. The introduction of moisture will soften them, but will reduce their storage longevity, so only do this with small amounts that you will eat soon

No, The health risk comes from harvesting on the ground where the pathogens exist. I don’t. We harvest onto tarps avoiding getting rubbed around in the pathogens and thereby providing healthy and safe almonds.

If your order has not shipped, we can issue a partial refund of the total minus PayPal fees. Or receive full credit towards future purchase.

Yes, but the shipping can be very expensive. Contact us.

We do not normally sell in shell almonds, but once per year in early Aug (nonpareil soft shell) and early Sep (Monterey and Fritz hard shell) we will sell them. I normally don’t like to because I have no idea of any potential bug damage in the shell, so buyer beware. The product will consist almonds inshell and in hull and likely a few leaves and maybe sticks.