Tri Color Maca

Maca roots grow at extremely high elevations in the Peruvian Andes and have been a staple food product of the region for 1000s of years.   Interestingly, the roots grow in a range of colors from light beige to golden (yellow maca) to light pink to deep maroon (red maca) and light to very dark gray (black maca). Within each of these 3 main color ranges there are other variations with some roots being speckled or even striped.

Traditionally, all maca roots that came out of a field during harvest where lumped together, prepared together and eaten together.   There was no distinction made between the root colors.   Whatever was harvested from the fields in a given year is what was eaten.

At The Maca Team, we’ve decided to bring that tradition back to life by offering our tri-color maca products to you. We consider them to be “heritage harvest” products, meaning that they honor the long time growing and harvest practices of maca farmers.

There are a couple of advantages to tri-color maca products that you might like to be aware of.

First, they are the least expensive maca available.   That’s because time, effort and money are all saved when maca roots are a lumped together. With tri-color blends there is no need to separate the roots by color and maintain this separation all the way through processing.  

Second, because these products contain a mixture of all 3 maca colors, you are getting some of the distinctive nutritional properties as well as benefits from each color.  

Different types of tri-color maca

Maca roots can be processed for consumption in a few different ways, each with their own advantages.

Raw maca – when our tri-color maca roots are harvested, they are set out to dry in the sun for about one month.   This is the traditional way of preparing maca roots for storage and processing. Since this type of maca is not exposed to high temperatures, it’s nutrients are preserved at maximum levels.

Premium raw maca – the difference to standard raw maca here is that these roots are dried in large low temperature dehydrators directly after harvest. It preserves more glucosinolate content, but it also makes for much spicier and strong tasting maca products.

Gelatinized maca - these tri-color maca roots are also sundried, but after that they are pre-cooked (gelatinized) to remove most of the starch content.   Although some nutrients are altered due to the high heat used, gelatinized maca is easier to digest than raw maca and therefore suitable for everyone.

Premium gelatinized maca – this type of maca is the same as gelatinzed maca, except that the roots are dried in dehydrators instead of in the sun.  The result is stronger tasting powder with higher glucosinolate content.

Tips for buying choosing tri-color maca root products

Our maca products are always, certified organic, non-gmo, fair trade and freshly harvested. We work with small batch sizes to ensure you are getting maca from the most recent harvests. We also pay our farmers more than market value to create wins for everyone involved in the process.  We appreciate you looking at maca from us and hope that you do purchase our products. If you are continuing to shop for maca elsewhere, we recommend that you ask the following questions of any maca you consider purchasing.   As important as the color is the source, quality and care with which the maca powder or maca extract has been handled.  

• Is this maca from Peru? Peru is the home of maca and simply produces the best products anywhere.   Maca grown in other parts of the world is not worth much
• What colors of maca are in this mix?   It’s important to know the ratio of colors you are getting in a blend of maca.
• Is this maca organic? It is possible and not all that difficult to grow maca organically. Of course, organic is always better for the earth and us.
• From what harvest is this maca? Maca harvests are from May-July each year (the roots take about 9 months to mature). Try to get the most recent harvest to ensure freshness
• How has this maca been stored/handled since processing? Find out if the maca you are considering has been stored out of direct light, out of humidity and in a totally sealed container.

Getting the most from your use of maca.

Research suggests that maca can have a positve effect on blood pressure, the symtoms of menpause, hormone levels, sperm count and more.  Note that although many of our customers receive these types of health benefits  from maca we are not doctors and suggest you consult you doctor for any medical advice.

To achieve maximum benefits from any maca product you choose make sure to take the recommended serving of the product (dose of maca) every day for at least one month.  

If you have any questions please let us know. We're here to help.