Get to know

Speckled Bayo

Overview

Tasting notes: Smoky • Nutty • Rich

Grown by: Chris Capaul, Sacramento Valley, California

Harvested: October 2023

Practices: Soil-boosting rotations, supports healthy watersheds, preserves heirloom seed

Why we chose it

One taste of these robust beans with their smoky, meaty flavor, and we knew we wanted to offer Speckled Bayo to our bean-loving community. “It’s as if red kidney and cranberry had a baby” is the best way to describe them. We love the naturally varying colors and adore them in soups, stews, and baked beans – perfect for this season-bridging time of year.

The sourcing backstory

The newest bean to join the PB lineup, Speckled Bayo (pronounced bay-o, like may-o, not to be confused with our Bayo beans!) is a rare bean that we stumbled upon while sourcing Baby Butter beans (which you’ll find in a future box!). Our farm partner, Chris Capaul, explained that his father grew them in the 1960s and 1970s and his family’s farm developed a reputation for their excellent flavor. Chris’s brother kept the seed alive in his garden, but it wasn’t until 2019 that Chris decided to continue his father’s legacy and grow them commercially. The exact origins are a bit of a mystery, but rumor has it that it’s an old favorite in pockets of Coastal California and Louisiana.