- One of Three Jersey Cows at Meadowwood Organics
UPDATE: 4/3/2014
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I can’t believe how often I meet people in real life who tell me they did a search for “raw milk in Tacoma” and stumbled across this post! The raw milk scene has changed since I first wrote this post, and I’d love to share with you my NEW INFORMATION.
First of all, the Tacoma Food Coop is now open for business. They have EXCELLENT dairy options, including several different raw milk options for both cow milk and goat milk. Next time I visit, I will take a ton of pictures and create a new post dedicated to the Tacoma Coop’s current dairy options. Our favorite milk they carry is Blackjack Valley Farm’s raw cow milk, based out of Port Orchard, WA, which goes for approximately $5/half-gallon or $8/gallon.
In addition, Marlene’s has much better dairy options right now for both cow and goat raw milk.
I will try to keep this post up-to-date, but for the latest updates on raw milk sources, be sure to check out the newest comments below! And feel free to ask me any questions you may have!!
Thank you!
ORIGINAL POST:
Raw milk is milk that has been neither pasteurized nor homogenized. Mr. Wetzel and I want to drink raw milk from a local dairy for several reasons. We want milk from healthy cows that are well cared for. We want to support the local economy. We want fresh, tasty milk. We want the health benefits of drinking milk in its purest form.
For more technical information on raw milk, or to find leads on a dairy in your area, check out: Realmilk.com .
It is difficult to find a place to buy raw milk. Most small farmers who offer it don’t advertise very broadly, if at all. In order to find the farm where we now buy our milk, I asked around a lot until a lady who works at the CSA where we pick up our local veggies gave me the contact information for Meadowwood, LLC. This option works for us because it is only a 20 minute drive from where we meet for church on Sundays. Here are the options for milk I have found in my explorations for alternative milk options in the Tacoma, WA area:
MEADOWWOOD, LLC
http://meadowwoodorganics.com
20228 SE 400th St.
Enumclaw, WA 98022
Milk is sold in reusable glass jars. This is where Mr. Wetzel and I are now buying our milk. They offer a cowshare program which brings down the cost of the milk.
SEA BREEZE FARM
http://www.seabreezefarm.net/
17635 100th Ave SW
Vashon, WA 98070
Sea Breeze Farm has delicious milk. The biggest problem for Tacoma residents? They are on Vashon Island, a ferry ride away. If you live in King county, you can buy from Sea Breeze Farm at a handful of farmers markets in the Seattle area.
Cows from Sea Breeze Farm on Vashon Island
CHRISTIPAUL FARM, LLC
in Gig Harbor
Contact Chris Schlicht at (253) 884 7840
I have yet to visit this farm, but I earnestly want to. ChristiPaul Farm’s greatest attraction for me is the fact that whenever you buy milk, you receive milk from only one cow. Their milks are not mixed. This is an overwhelmingly idealistic thought for me, taking real milk to another level.
MARLENE’S NATURAL FOODS
http://www.marlenesmarket-deli.com/
2951 S. 38th St.
Tacoma, WA 98409
Marlene’s carries two raw milk options: cow milk from the Dungeness Valley Creamery and goat milk from the St. John Creamery, both in Washington. While Marlene’s is the closest retail spot, the milk is noticeably less fresh and flavorful than the milks we have purchased directly from the farm. Given the choice between Marlene’s raw milk and Golden Glen Creamery’s, I opt for the latter.
GOLDEN GLEN CREAMERY
http://www.goldenglencreamery.com/
Available at Top Foods in Tacoma, or through Spud Seattle’s delivery system.
Milk from the Golden Glen Creamery is pasteurized, but it is not homogenized. They make a variety of dairy products, including cheeses, butter and cream top milk. We save our glass bottles from Golden Glen because they are easier to pour from than the glass jars our milk comes in from Meadowwood, LLC.
Photo courtesy of Golden Glen’s Facebook Page
Do you have a raw milk testimonial? What resources for locating raw milk do you have to share?
By ekwetzel
2010-01-26
An update: Top Foods no longer carries Golden Glen creamery milk. They’ve replace it with milk from Twin Brook Creamery, out of Lynden, WA (Twinbrooks). Like GG’s, the milk is pasteurized but not homogenized. You can also buy it at the Metropolitan Market in Tacoma, and I think I remember seeing it at Marlene’s Natural Foods, as well. ^_^ I haven’t tried it, but there’s at least another option for you guys.
Hey there! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could get a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!
Meghann – I’m not sure, but I get all my plugins here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ ;o) Good luck!
Hello,
I was wondering if you knew the cost of some of this milk? I know that Marline’s costs $10 a gallon but I can’t find the cost of any of the others. I really love making cheese from raw milk but I can’t pay $10 a gallon when I need so many gallons. Thanks for posting this buy the way! Very helpful.
Kiya: Here are the prices I know:
– Meadowwood: $10/gallon for non-share members. $8/gallon for share members. You can also buy pints of raw milk cream ($6) or half gallons on raw milk ($4/$5, depending on whether or not you’re in the CSA). This is where we buy our milk.
– Golden Glen Creamery is no longer sold in Tacoma. It’s been replaced by Twinbrook Creamery, available at Metropolitan Market (& mb Top Foods?). Price is around $4/gallon last time I checked. ;/ Kinda pricey.
– Sea Breeze Farm & La Boucherie charge $8/half gallon for their creamy raw milk. Plus there’s the ferry fee (they’re on Vashon), unless you want to meet up with them at a Seattle farmer’s market.
– I have no idea what Christy Paul farm charges.
Raw milk isn’t cheap. We decided it was worth the extra cost & we buy 1/2 gallon a week from our CSA share for regular consumption. When I want to make butter, we buy a pint of cream. And we just try to be prudent with our use of out raw milk products.
Perhaps if regular milk wasn’t subsidized so heavily, raw milk wouldn’t seem so pricey…and we’d all have a little more money to buy it with. 😉 But that’s a debate fir another day. 😉 I hope my answers helped.
Thanks for the reply. I have tried to get in contact with Christy Paul farm but I am sure they are very busy. I would not mind paying $8 a gallon but that is so far for us to drive every week. Oh well, I will continue stocking the clearance milk area of Marline’s for $5 raw milk. It may not be that great for drinking but it is fine for making cheese. I don’t think I would mind paying $10 if we drank the milk but one gallon only makes .75 – 1 lb of cheese. If I had lots of money I would buy 5 gallons a week and make lots of cheese. Yummy cheese…
Kiya- I totally get that. We switch off driving with 2 other families that buy milk on the same pick-up day as us. 😉 Makes it less obnoxious (& less expensive!)
What kinds of cheeses do you make? 😉 Sounds yummy!
I mostly make an easy chedder like cheese found here http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese_course/Cheese_course.htm
And sometimes I make Gouda. Those kinds of cheeses are pretty good with cheap store milk. I made some raw milk cheese though and now want to make more of that. It was sooo good. I am going to try using the cream top milk at Metro market at $6 a gallon. Homogenization is really what kills milk for good cheese making. Raw is the best, them cream top. Maybe I could just get one gallon of raw a month.
Does your whole family drink raw? My hubby and son are the only ones who drink milk. My daughter can do other kinds of milk but not cow. My husband turned his nose up at raw milk. He thought it looked gross. I thought that was sad.
Mmm your cheeses sound yummy. I’ve wanted to learn how to make my own cheese…even bought a book on how to do it…then i got pregnant and just completely ran out of time and energy. One of these days!
Matt isn’t a big “milk drinker” but when he does drink it, he prefers the raw milk. He has it in his coffee, tea & oatmeal. I used to be lactose intolerant…until I switched to raw. Now I’m such a convert.
Kiya,
If you are still into cheese making, we occasionally sell our raw milk in “bulk” (say five gallons) at a discount when we have extra. Our normal price is $3.50 for a half gallon, and only sell off the farm here in Port Orchard. We have Brown Swiss and Jersey cows. If you are willing to make a trip to Port Orchard on an occasional basis, we can give you a call when there is extra milk. Feel free to call or e-mail via our website: http://www.fernwoodcreamery.com
I know in Port Orchard you can get raw cows milk from Black Jack Valley Creamery for $8.00/gal and her cows are tested A2 which makes great cheese and is the original genetic line of cows we had for centuries before the A1 line (a genetic aberration) showed up, more people are allergic to A1 milk as a results and of course most if not all factory cows are A1 producers.
Then there is Hansville Creamery, $18/gal, they are feeding organic except for hay as it’s impossible to find on this side of the water for an affordable price. Their milk is being made into cheese by many customers who can’t believe the high quality of the milk. It’s being sold at the Poulsbo & Suquamish Farmers Markets and has a strong following – meaning get there early or they’ll run out. They will knock off a dollar/half gallon of the market price if you pick up at the farm. Their last SCC was at 800, that’s really good for goats.
I just purchased raw milk from Fernwood Creamery in Port Orchard. It’s fantastic! $3.50/half gallon after you pay the jar deposit (so $6.50/half gallon the first time, then if you bring back the jars, it’s $3.50/half gallon after that).
http://www.fernwoodcreamery.com/
Update 1/18/2013
Marlenes Market now has a new brand of Raw Goat Milk. It arrives every week fresh from the farm. Lucky Hook Farm is in Moses Lake, WA. They have been producing since 2006. Thier goats are fed local hay and grain along with pastures of mixed grasses and clovers. They are also Animal Welfare Approved. Check them out and try the milk. It is delish!
Marlene’s milk doesn’t stay fresh very long which leads me to believe that they are not keeping it cold during every step and their “staff” don’t know a thing about what they carry.
Don’t forget the Co-op in Olympia – a membership there is pretty darn cheap for a lifetime card and the food is expensive but they have things that no one else does.
It’s too bad there isn’t one here in Tacoma and really sad that all of Puyallup has NOTHING for a health food store at ALL.
Going to Seattle from Puyallup is nuts but they are the only ones with TWO Whole Foods stores that we can’t even get to – and Whole Foods doesn’t care – tried many times to tell them that they are ignoring over a million people who would frequent a store here in the South Sound.
Tacoma now has a Coop, on Sixth Ave! A lifetime membership is $100, but you can shop there even if you’re not a member. Also: THEY HAVE RAW MILK! And it’s excellent. This is the raw milk we drink now. Plus they have other excellent dairy options.
I just bought my first gallon of raw milk at the fruit stand next to the Purdy bridge, which I think is part of Tacoma Boys. It is from ChristiPaul farm and cost 9.99 a gallon. I’m going to contact the farm and see if there is a discount buying it direct. My kefir grains are now happily soaking away in it!