Question: “Hi Maca Team. I’ve been taking your black maca for a while now and I love it. My energy levels are off the charts compared to a month ago! I’m curious to learn all about it. Can you tell me how maca powder is made?”The short answer to this question is: Maca roots are grown in the high Andes mountains, harvested, dried, cleaned, ground into a fine powder, packaged and then shipped. Going deeper, it’s important to understand that the the main benefits of maca depend largely on the quality of the product a consumer uses. Several factors in the cultivation and processing of maca ultimately influence how effective and potent the final product is. We’ll devote the rest of this article to explaining the entire process from seed to shelf.
Maca roots absorb so much of the nutrients and minerals from the soil in which they grow that they can only be grown successfully for one or two years in a row. After that, the land must be rested and rehabilitated for 10 years or more before being used to grow maca again. For thousands of years maca farmers have followed a specific routine to achieve the optimal results. They know that the best land is virgin land that has never grown maca, and that the second best is land that has been carefully prepared as mentioned above. In addition, the location of the land is key. The most nutrient dense maca roots are grown on land near lake Junin in the high Andes of Peru. This likely has to do with two factors. First, the extreme high altitudes of this area and second the specific amount of precipitation produced by proximity to such a large water source.
Maca roots take between 8 ½ and 9 months to mature fully. Expert and highly experienced farmers are needed to observe them weekly and determine the optimal time to pull them out of the ground. It’s detrimental to the potency of the final product to harvest them too early or to leave them in the ground for too long.
Once the roots are harvested, they need to be dried immediately to prevent exposure to humidity and oxidation. The drying process takes place either in the intense mountain sun over the course of 15-40 days or large dehydrators at the processing plant. Each drying process produces either “sundried” or “premium” maca powders.
After drying, the roots are stored until it is time to process them into a powder. This is a critical period because if the roots are not kept dry they can mold. The best place to store the roots is inside carefully maintained warehouses at high elevation in the Andes, where the humidity is very low.
When the roots are ready to be made into a powder, they are brought to a processing facility. There, they are immediately inspected and sorted by color and size. They are also carefully cleaned of any remaining soil, leaves and stems. At this point they are ready to be ground into a powder.
Stainless steel machinery is used to grind the whole roots in stages. The first stage is to cut the whole roots into smaller pieces. Those pieces are then ground into pebble sized chunks. These chunks are then ground into a coarse powder similar to sand. Finally, this material is ground several times at a fine setting to produce the final maca powder itself.
The final powder is inspected carefully both manually and by machine to make sure that no debris or metal from the grinding process is present. After that, it is sent to 3- 4 different laboratories to analyze its nutrient content (including levels of the important amino acids unique to maca called macaenes and macamides), its mineral content and to certify that it is safe for consumption.
Once it has been certified, the powder is ready for bulk packaging. It is placed in 2-3 layers of thick food-grade plastic bags and vacuum sealed to preserve freshness.
The bulk maca powder is then placed into individual packaging and ready to ship out to consumers.
Finally, the powder is ready to be enjoyed by customers worldwide. As you can see, the process of producing high quality and potent maca powder is extensive and requires a great deal of cooperation and coordination among farmers, processors, certifiers, packers and vendors. At The Maca Team, we are grateful to work with excellent individuals and groups who painstakingly take care to produce the highest quality products anywhere. The photos in the article were all taken by partners of The Maca Team on one of our trips to Peru. We hope this article has helped fully answer the original question of how maca powder is made. If you have any further questions, please let us know. We’re always happy to help.
I shop around a lot for my supplements and health foods, and I have to say you guys at The Maca Team are light years ahead of anyone else selling maca out in the marketplace. Thanks for all you do!
By Jim Price, The Green Marketing Guru
Loving the red maca from themacateam. I can tell the difference from my usual store-bought brands. It really tastes so fresh and sweet compared to others. I really love this product. Thanks for sourcing it for us to enjoy
By Michelle Gebbia
I LOVE Maca Team Maca...this was my first purchase with the Maca Team and I have no need to try any other Maca-producer. The Maca tastes fresh and flavorful, the Kilo bag is a great price, and I feel so much more at ease (Maca is such powerful medicine :) )
By Lizzie Thompson
I take 24 products from five to six times a week to increase my well-being and sensual and sexual delights. ;D The Maca Team’s organic maca is one of them—nine grams in my smoothie, Monday to Saturday. The Maca Team is a small business run by a family who cares about its customers, its Peruvian maca growers, and the environment. It's vital to know the source of everything we put in our mouths. Physical and mental health are precious treasures. :D
By Jerry Montero
By Milt Thompson
This product is amazing! I have used other cheaper brands of white maca with fairly good results, but after trying the Maca Team maca, I noticed within two weeks all of my menopausal symptoms had completely vanished. Others described a bad taste and smell, but I have tried the black and the red and find them both to be mild tasting. I use a tablespoon in my daily smoothly
By Joy
Maca first came to us by our vitamin supplier. Then we ordered from the Maca Team. Comparison? Think fire-fly, then think mid-day sun. At 76 and 73 years respectively, that is a big deal; and at comparable cost too. We never have we had such speedy delivery and the packaging is the strongest, most protective we've seen, ever, at all ... anywhere. Further, the Mrs. no longer takes hormone supplements. And Mr. scans the morning want ads for steady P/T work.
By George & Sherri
I had been using another brand of maca powder and decided to try The Maca Team's. The difference in freshness is night and day, and better tasting . I'm 6 foot 250 lbs. and take 4 teaspoons every day w/ my protein shake. Great energy boost and just feel great all day. I can tell a difference when I do not take it. best price that I have found {36oz}. I will be buying more as needed.
By J.D.
I've tried various maca brands over the last 20 years and The Maca Team brand is very special. There is definitely a difference when it comes to the quality and colors of the maca. This red maca does seem to nourish certain parts of my body while the black maca nourishes something else. I know I've been missing the nutrition these maca provide. I'm 75 years old and bodies wear out, but I'm finding I'm regaining a functioning body. How wonderful is this?!?!!!
By Janis Ihrig
I just wanted to thank you for your excellently constructed website. I am a physician and I recently started learning about Maca. I get a very good sense of it, and I expect I will try it out myself and possibly be recommending it to patients in the future. If so, your website will be the first place to send people. Thanks again.
By Adam Holt
Love the Maca team, In an earlier comment I said I was on the fence about where to buy Maca .Not anymore .You shouldn’t be either. The team has answered any questions I’ve had promptly. I feel like I’m dealing with friends, not some company far away out for my money only. The Maca is fresh, prices are good, the people are nice. If you’re on the fence, don’t be, you won’t be sorry.
By Bob
My Maca came in today and it has all the information on it! I must say this is the best tasting Maca I have tried!! Thank you again for a great product!! I will only order from you in future as well!
By Stormi Evans
First I would like to say I love this product. I was very skeptical about a natural product with so many benefits but this stuff really works. Second, I love this company. From the web site to the way they run their company this a top-notch team. I will be ordering from The Maca Team from now on. Great job guys keep doing what you are doing.
By Darren Rivers Sr.
We love this product. I own a store and work with clients holistically. We have recommended maca for years however, this is the highest quality product we have ever carried. I am proud to offer it in my store.
By Mellissa Gage, Infinity and Beyond
I am really happy that I chose the Maca Team, today you can find many distributors selling Maca powder, however quality of the powder is impossible to compare. Moreover, the results after 2 weeks I could feel. Before I was taking maca powder and I did not feel any changes. But since I started taking Maca from Maca Team the changes are incredible. So, I did a test.:) I gave the powder to my partner ... and after 2 weeks he was impressed and told me that he has more energy, feeling happy... Thank you The Maca Team!!!!
By Olga
I do want to say that I have done quite a bit of research on different companies that offer Maca and The Maca Team definitely is the most reputable. Thank you again for your kindness and professionalism :)
By T.C.
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