What is a "PURGE" almond?  These are almonds from our farm that cannot be sold as Certified Organic but are essential to our organic system.  
Here's why: 
At harvest we hire an outside service to remove the hulls (soft outer cover) and shells (hard inner cover, right next to the nut) from the almonds we grow.  The machinery is HUGE  with numerous belts, rollers, and conveyors.  Almonds from hundreds of farms run through this machinery - one farm, one variety, in sequence (not mingled together) - both ORGANIC and NON-ORGANIC.
 
If we are the first ORGANIC farm batch to run through the machine following a non-organic farm harvest the first portion of our harvest must be set aside as NON-ORGANIC (even though these nuts are from our farm).  This is known as "purging" the machinery - a step required to meet USDA Certified Organic standards. 
 
In the past we have simply enjoyed these almonds personally, or introduced them to the customers who call in to order because we don't have very many and it's a little hared to explain.  But today we have decided that some of you may like these - so here they are.
 
Each 5 lb bag may contain a mix of varieties.  The supply is limited and will not be restocked until next harvest, so subscriptions are not offered for this item.  Sorry!