Azure Standard

The Best And Worst Buys From Azure Standard

April 11, 2022 by Olivia Wright Leave a Comment

Buying from a food co-op can be intimidating! I mean, who needs a six month supply of salt? I hope to share with you the items that I deem the best buys from Azure Standard as well as some of the flops. Deciding to buy from Azure Standard has been one of the best decisions I have made for our family’s budget and health.

This post may contain links for affiliates I work with and trust. I only recommend brands, companies, and services I trust and have added value to my life. If you choose to click on my links and make qualifying purchases, I may be rewarded or compensated all at no extra cost to you. By using my affiliate codes/coupons you are supporting my blog and little family which is an immense honor and blessing. Thank you!

My Relationship With Azure Standard

Many people I trusted recommended Azure and being a little skeptical I wasn’t sure how to fit it into our grocery budget. I took the plunge in November of 2020 and never looked back. Azure Standard is now a permanent fixture in our grocery buying routine. Azure Standard is one of the main places we source our food from!

The Azure Standard website is easy to navigate and their customer service is wonderful. The few times I have had an issue they were quick to reply and rectify the situation.

I have a blog post here about how to to order from them if you haven’t already! All of the products I recommend are linked below. Simply click the highlighted text to be taken to Azure’s website where you can view the full details of the item. If you are a new customer to Azure Standard and use any of the links below to order a $100 or more, I receive a small credit to my Azure Standard order. Thank you to everyone who has used my links, it is such a blessing to my family!

The Best Buys From Azure Standard (In My Humble Opinion)

Produce:

If you live in a rural area as I do, finding organic produce can be difficult. Believe me, the irony of being surrounded by thousands of acres of farmland and not able to buy local organic cabbage is not lost on me. I don’t buy all of my produce from Azure but I do get a few things that aren’t available to me locally. I have never had an issue with anything arriving spoiled or damaged and everything is top quality!

Until I can grow my own you will find me buying the following organic produce:

Cabbage

Yellow and Russet Potatoes

Carrots **Update 2023** I now purchase organic carrots from Costco, but Azure is still a great source if you want larger quantities!

Apples (only available when in season, so buy them up when you can! They sell quickly!)

Beets

Oranges

Garlic I have no idea what variety Azure carries, but it’s delicious! The cloves are large and have a wonderful mellow and buttery flavor. I buy my garlic from Azure when I know I’ll be using a lot of garlic because it’s so easy to peel and chop.

Seasonings: Herbs, Spices, Salt, Extracts, Sweeteners

Sea Salt:

I mentioned buying a six month supply of salt at the beginning of this post, and I would like to say that it is definitely $50 well spent! Good quality salt is very important to me and Azure Standard has a wonderful selection with great prices. My family goes through about one pound of celtic sea salt a month. Ordering one pound at a time just wasn’t economical and there were even times that the salt would be out of stock, leaving me to buy lesser quality or eek through on what I had. Buying six pounds at a time saved us nearly $2 a pound and the headache of running out. This is one of the best buys from Azure Standard!

Azure carries a full line of products under their own label which is very affordable. They have organic and non-GMO options as well! If you aren’t sure how you will like a certain spice or seasoning, you can often buy it in a smaller amount (usually 4 oz.) or a larger package if you are like me and enjoy using all the spices!

Organic Vanilla Extract: Azure has the best prices I’ve found for organic vanilla extract and it’s really yummy too! They have many varieties to choose from.

image of organic vanilla from Azure Standards. A dark glass bottle features a label that reads "Azure Market Organic Vanilla extract".

Coconut Sugar:

Azure’s is the best I have ever had, it isn’t bone dry like most other coconut sugars.

This coconut sugar has a lovely texture and taste that makes baking with it a joy. It acts a lot like dark brown sugar! You can buy it in quantities ranging from 1 Lb to 55 Lbs. Definitely one of the best buys from Azure Standard!

Absolute Best Buy From Azure Standard: Grains

If I could select only one category to buy from Azure Standard, it would be grains! Azure has become the only place I buy my whole grains from. Bulk organic and specialty grains can be difficult to find. Not only does Azure carry almost all of them, but they also have the best prices. If you are interested in milling grain at home, Azure is your place to go!

We buy the following organic varieties under the Azure Market label:

Oats: quick, thick rolled, gluten free

Popcorns (our favorite is the mushroom variety)

Rices of all sorts **Update** of 2023, I plan to buy organic white rice from Costco, but Azure is still a great place to source rice from if you don’t have a Costco near you!)

Azure also carries wonderful assortments of gluten free grains, flours, and baking mixes.

Oils And Vinegars

Coconut oil, refined and virgin: I purchase it by the gallon, the container is great for storage!

This coconut oil has been refined to remove the coconut flavor, but has not been contaminated with any solvents or chemicals and has not been hydrogenated. We use it for higher heat cooking and some baking.

1 gallon container of coconut oil the label reads " Azure Market Organic Coconut Oil Expeller-Pressed"

Avocado Oil:

great for baking used in place of industrial seed oils such as canola and sunflower oils! We also use this to make our own mayonnaise. Although a gallon is shown here, they offer many different sizes.

Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar:

Azure Standard’s ACV is the best ACV I have ever had! A lovely full body flavor and a deeper color than all of the other ACVs I’ve tried over the years. It also is the best deal for ACV I have ever found! It can also be purchased in smaller sizes.

A one gallon jug of Apple Cider vinegar. The lovely dark color of this ACV can't be beat! The label reads "Azure Market Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Raw with the mother" This product easily makes it on my best buy from Azure Standard list!

Drinks

Organic English Breakfast Tea:

We make a lot of tea around here! Azure carries a full line of herbal and medicinal teas. We enjoy English Breakfast Tea for regular drinking and making kombucha.

Image of English breakfast tea from Equal Exchange. The label reads " Equal Exchange Organic English Breakfast Small Farmers Big Change Black Tea."

Dandy Blend:

I enjoy a cup of Dandy Blend every morning! Azure also carries a non organic version which is a tad bit cheaper and has more options for larger quantities or even single serve packets. I like to switch between this and coffee in the morning.

Household Items: Cleaning

It can be difficult to find non toxic cleaning and baking supplies, thankfully Azure makes it easy!

Azure Clean Dish Soap:

I’ve been really pleased with the cleaning power this soap has. In addition to the fragrance free version, they also carry Citrus, Lemon Verbena, and Lavender scents. **Update 2023 Azure Standard has recently redesigned and renamed the dish soap since I first wrote this post in 2022, but it’s still great! I buy it by the gallon. Sizes range from 16 oz to 5 gallon buckets.

Charlie’s Soap Oxygen Bleach: **2023 update** I haven’t purchased this product recently and the price has gone up. Azure Standard now has its own oxygen bleach powder available which I want to try! If I like it, I’ll replace this product with a link to the one from Azure’s own line.

I love that this is chlorine free and it works!

Azure Clean Stain and Odor Eliminator:

Azure is redesigning some of their labeling, so the name I wrote above and the name of the product in the picture don’t match, but I’ll update that when they do! This stain and odor eliminator has been a game changer in my laundry and homemaking. I’ve found it to be incredibly effective! Another thing that I love is the nozzle on the spray bottle is a dream to use. I first purchased this product in the spray bottle and love it so much I am ordering a full gallon so we don’t run out!

Live enzymes dissolve the toughest stains and smells.
Cleans stains and odors from foods, body fluids (blood, vomit, urine, feces), coffee, wine, grease and oil, dirt and more.
Powerful enzymatic plant-based formula that removes stains and odors Earth-friendly (free from SLS, SLES, Laureth-7, butyl, brighteners, chlorine or phosphates)

Household Items: Baking

If You Care paper products:

These parchment baking paper and muffin tin liners are wonderful! If You Care parchment products are never bleached and do not contain heavy metal leaching Quilon. Did you know that parchment paper can leach heavy metals into your food?? I didn’t until I started buying this brand. And I’ll never turn back!

Image of If You Care Parchment paper, an indispensable item I use often! The box boasts that this parchment paper is FSC certified/ Certified Compostable Unbleached Totally Chlorine Free (TCF)

Image for If You Care Large Baking cups (Parchment Muffin Tin Liners) The box advertises that it contains 60 cups and is a USDA Certified Biobased Product.

Personal Care

Trace Minerals bentonite clay:

This clay is excellent for use in baths, facial masks, and tooth powders. I’m not able to find it many places in my area and Azure Standard has always had the best price per pound compared to what I’ve found from other retailers.

I use this product for detox baths and facial masks

Redmond Earthpaste Toothpaste:

There are quite a few different flavors available and even some with activated charcoal, but the cinnamon is my personal favorite. You can even purchase this toothpaste in singles or packs of 3 or 6. I like stocking up when I can to prevent having to run to the grocery store and getting an inferior product.

I was so happy when Azure Standard restocked this product! It’s my favorite toothpaste on the market and glycerin free for those of us trying to remineralize our teeth.

Supplements:

Trace Minerals Beef Organs:

I began taking this supplement in December of 2022 and I have been pleasantly surprised at the difference it has made! My skin and immune system are singing the praises of this supplement. Tasteless and very fairly priced! Other sources are selling this same supplement for $20-$25 more.

Green Pasture Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil:

If you are super crunchy, chances are you know the benefits of fermented cod liver oil. It’s a natural whole food form of vitamins A and D3. I began taking this supplement during my 4th pregnancy and feel the difference. Green Pasture is an excellent company and the fish oil is produced according to ancient fermentation practices without bleaching, refinement, deodorizing, or synthetic vitamins being added as other fish oils on the market.

Azure Standard has an entire facts sheet available on the product which can be found here. They have some of the best prices on high quality fish oils that I have seen.

Now For Some Of The Worst Buys From Azure Standard:

I really try not to be a negative person, but no matter where you shop, there will always be a few items that don’t work for you. All of the following items that I disliked are through no fault of Azure Standard, they just personally weren’t my favorite. With all that being said, YOU may try these and really enjoy them, YAY for you!

Charlie’s Soap Laundry Powder

I was pretty excited to try this laundry powder, since it claims to clean everything from grease to poop. If you cloth diaper, you know how important that is! Unfortunately it just didn’t clean like I hoped. We do have very hard water though, so perhaps that was part of it. I noticed that my kitchen dish rags and cloth napkins had an oily residue while using this, no matter if I used hot water or even extra powder.

I now purchase the Country Save Laundry Powder, which can be be purchased in smaller boxes or in bulk in 40 Lb bags. The Azure Clean Laundry Powder is also a great buy, but is a little more expensive. The Azure Clean laundry powder does offer a few different naturally scented options whereas the Country Save only comes in unscented.

Simple Kneads Gluten Free Sourdough Bread

While I was eating gluten free, I wanted so badly to make my own gluten free sourdough bread but was never able to. I was really excited to find this on Azure Standard. However, it just didn’t live up to my expectations. The loaf is very small for the price and honestly didn’t have the greatest texture. It was soggy once thawed and only tolerable if toasted. I ended up finding Gluten Free bread I liked better (even though it wasn’t sourdough) from a regular grocery store.

Shelton Turkey Italian Links

Just don’t. It’s definitely not worth your money. Yuck. Eww. Not fit for human consumption. Insert Jean-Ralphio singing “she’s the wooooorst” right here. Only instead of singing about Mona Lisa, he’d be saying it about these tasteless rubber tubes the package calls sausage.

**Update 2023** Azure Standard no longer carries this product! However, if you see it elsewhere and want to try it, please dont’! It’s not worth it!

Since our family tries to eat Biblically clean, we’ve eaten our fair share of turkey and beef sausages. I was pretty excited to give this a try. It has only a few ingredients and is made with beef collagen casings. It can be difficult to find sausage without pork casings.

We were utterly and severely disappointed. Tough, flavorless, and completely disgusting. I tried in vain to cook it in all sorts of ways only to be disgusted every time. One of the most disappointing aspects is that only a large quantity can be purchased instead of a single box at a time. This is not the norm for Azure Standard, and I really wish that I hadn’t spent over $30 for these awful sausages.

Well, that’s pretty much it! I hope to keep this post updated with any future favorites and flops. Azure Standard has so many products I may never get to try them all and they are also regularly adding new products!

Feel Like Trying Azure Standard For Yourself?

If you would like to try some of these best buys from Azure Standard feel free to use my personal link! If you make a qualifying purchase of $100 or more, I receive a small credit to my account which is a huge blessing to my little family. I’ll leave it right here.

Blessings and happy shopping!

Olivia

pinterest graphic for post a variety of fruits and vegetables are arranged according to color in an oval shape in the middle of the picture black font set in a white box reads " The Best (And Worst) Buys From Azure Standard"

How To Order From Azure Standard: What Is It?

March 22, 2021 by Olivia Wright Leave a Comment

How (And Why) To Order from Azure Standard. Ordering from a food co-op may seem daunting at first, but is actually a very simple process!

When I first heard of Azure Standard, I was a little skeptical. The idea of buying in bulk from an online source seemed like a complicated process. However, I was interested after perusing their website and comparing prices to local bulk food stores. After two months of deliberation I jumped in and placed my first order from Azure Standard.

Why Order From Azure Standard?

One of the major aspects of Azure Standard that drew me in was the variety of products they carry. All kinds of groceries: frozen, canned, dried, high quality dairy products,fresh produce, and even natural personal and household products! Living in a rural area means that finding quality and organic options at my local grocery stores can be difficult. For instance, organic rice is hard to find where I live. Some stores in my area have tried to carry it, but ultimately stopped because there wasn’t enough demand. I was so excited to buy 5 lbs of organic brown rice in my first order from Azure Standard.

Another reason I enjoy ordering from Azure Standard is their commitment to supporting small farms and independently owned companies. I like the fact that less of my money is going to support huge conglomerates and mono-culture based farming. Growing up on a small dairy farm, I experienced the impact of the market favoring large corporate farms. Although buying from local sources is important, it is not always practical or available. I choose to order items from Azure Standard that I cannot find locally or that is superior to what is available to me.

A small sample of my order from Azure Standard (March 2021). Thick brown paper bags in various sizes containing organic peanuts, raisins, cane sugar, and flour. Various herbs and spices, organic potatoes, and household items such as laundry detergent and dish soap. — A portion of my order from Azure Standard (March 2021). I had already put away the items that needed refrigeration, but this is a good sampling of the variety of products Azure Standard offers. Organic dry goods such as peanuts, cane sugar, raisins, cocoa powder, whole wheat pastry flour, and so many wonderful herbs and spices! I also ordered a few non food items: Dish soap, laundry powder, BPA free plastic wrap, and muffin liners.

How to order from Azure Standard:

Let’s move on from the WHY to the HOW! Joining Azure Standard is completely free! Creating an account only takes a few minutes. Once you have created an account, you will search to see if there are any “drops” near you. A drop is simply what Azure calls the locations where their delivery trucks meet customers. Every drop has different delivery frequencies, but most are on at least a 4 week schedule. There were 2-3 drops within my area and it was easy to find one that I could easily drive to. At the time of writing this post, Azure is working to expand into the NE states, but deliver all throughout most regions of the US including AK and HI!

Can’t Find A Drop In Your Area? Start One!

As long as you are able to meet up along the established routes, starting a drop is fairly easy according to the Azure Standard website. Each drop has a volunteer coordinator who organizes the drop and communicates with drop members on changes in delivery schedule and meeting order requirements. You can even start a private drop just for yourself as long as you meet the order requirement of $550.00 each time you order.

Are There Order Minimums?

Yes, but not for each individual customer, only for each drop. When you have a group of people participating it is fairly easy to reach the minimum of $550.00 for the entire drop. As long as your drop has regularly participating customers you shouldn’t have any problems! The drop location I participate in has grown rapidly each month over the past year. We have nearly 40 different orders with each drop. Even if each order was under $100 we would still easily reach the minimum order amount. Ordering every month is NOT a requirement. However, You will probably find that Azure’s prices and quality can’t be beat elsewhere.

Start Your Order!

Now that you have created a free account and found a drop location, you are ready to place your first order from Azure Standard! The first few months of ordering I was so excited by all of the options! I wanted to try ALL. THE. THINGS. Over the past 2 years I have found my staple items and I also continue to try a few new items with each order. I like the fact that most items from Azure have multiple options for the quantity you would prefer. They break down the cost per quantity, so you can easily compare prices and make the best choice for your budget and space.

Once you have found a few items you want, place your order. You will not be charged until the order has been placed on the truck. This is so that if an item in your order is no longer available at fulfillment time, no one has to worry about refunds. They only charge you for the items in your order that make it on the truck. You can continue to add or delete items from your cart until the specified cut off time for your order. Azure will email you with all of the info you need to know : approximate delivery date and time, what is in your order, and the total charged.

Picking Up Your Order: Meeting The Truck

This is the most exciting part of ordering from Azure Standard! Azure Standard does a great job of keeping their customers updated on shipment and delivery. Due to road and weather conditions the delivery time or date may be shifted. I have found in the past 5 months of ordering that this does not happen regularly. If you ever encounter a problem with picking up your order, contact your drop coordinator to work something out. When the truck arrives, everyone gathers around and helps to unload the orders. My drop coordinator grabs each box and reads the name on the label out loud and has the owner claim it. Others may have their own unique system. Just watch what the others are doing and go with the flow.

Label on Azure Standard Box indicating who the box belongs to and If the box is refrigerated or frozen.

It is important to refer to the email that Azure Standard sends you with your order information. This email tells you exactly how many boxes you are expecting as well as if you have any frozen items. The truck driver will unload the refrigerated portion of the truck first. Then everyone who has frozen items will move to the passenger’s side of the truck to finish collecting their order. This whole process is generally over very quickly. If your delivery will take place after dark, I highly recommend that you bring a flashlight!

Final Thoughts:

Every once in a while, something in your cart may go out of stock before your order is filled. Although this can be frustrating, Azure Standard does this to keep costs low. They do this to keep stock from going bad by getting it out the door as soon as possible. It also keeps them from being stuck with items that someone took out of their cart at the last minute. I recommend checking on your order every so often if you place your order a few weeks in advance like I do. If something you needed is no longer available, a comparable item to replace it can usually be found.

A lot of items also reward you with “Azure Cash” which is like a rebate or cashback program. You can allow your azure cash to build up and use it towards future orders. Depending on how often you order and how large your orders are, this can build up rather quickly! I have been able to use my azure cash to cover shipping, which is always an added bonus!

The cost to have your order shipped via truck to a drop location is based off of the total of your order. Azure charges 8.5% of your order to cover shipping. I have found Azure often beats the shipping charges of other companies.

An open cardboard box containing part of an order from Azure Standard. Items are thoughtfully and carefully packed to ensure space is not wasted and items are secure. Pictured on top: a box of BPA free plastic wrap, a bag of cocoa powder, a 5lb block of pepper ack cheese, a box of muffin liners, and boxes of organic teas. — An idea of what your order may look like when you open it. I have never had a problem with anything breaking or spilling. Items are packed with thought and care to maximize the space in each box and limit the amount of boxes being shipped.

Now That You’ve Learned The Basics…

Do you feel ready to give Azure Standard a try? I am so glad that I did and I hope that you will too!

One more thing before you go:

If you feel that reading this post was helpful in learning about Azure Standard and want to place an order, would you consider using my referral link? When you click on this link and place a qualifying order of $100.00 or more, I receive a small credit towards my next order at no extra cost to you. This is a huge blessing to my little family and helps offset the costs associated with running this blog. I only recommend products and companies that I use and love, and I hope you will too!

Follow this link if you want to set up a free Azure Standard account and place your first order using my unique referral code at no extra cost to you.

Happy Shopping!

Shalom,

Olivia