Where To Buy Organic Maple Syrup

[Alliecat]

Does anyone know where to buy organic, b grade maple syrup in Bangkok?

TIA

[Ulysses G.]

The only place that I have seen it is, Rainbow Grocery on Mission street in San Francisco.

[bleaubabe]

You can buy in Siam Paragon. I also requested from Villa Supermarket but they said that they need to order from Canada first and I have to wait a couple of weeks for shipment. Hope this helps.

[Bpraim1]

I got some from Top supermarket in Future park Rangsit.

600bht for 300ml. It hurt but I needed it

[NanaFoods]

I have seen it around in various Farang-targeted stores. Very expensive.

I am just glad I bought a gallon of the stuff from an Amish household (homemade) while visiting Ohio, and brought it here to Thailand.

Best maple syrup I've ever had and it has lasted me years.

[4evermaat]

I got some from Top supermarket in Future park Rangsit.

600bht for 300ml. It hurt but I needed it

Do you know if they can ship?

[4evermaat]

I got some from Top supermarket in Future park Rangsit.

600bht for 300ml. It hurt but I needed it

Do you know if they can ship?

I agree that hurts. I was thinking it would be more like 300 or 350 baht. You could get 1 liter for the same price in the USA easy. I needed to see where I can get the best value. Organic or not, it seems like 300 ml for 600 bht is the best I'm going to be able to do.

[JWJ]

I saw it in Tops Supermarket, Central Chitlom.

[4evermaat]

I saw it in Tops Supermarket, Central Chitlom.

It looks like Villa Market I believe all of them carry at least some varieties of it, but the main office in Bangkok confirmed the following:

They have a complete Turkey Hill lineup:

1. Turkey Hill Seville bottle 100ml. Canada no.1 Light - 389 Baht

2. Turkey Hill Maple leaf bottle 250ml. Canada no.1 Light - 702 Baht

3. Turkey Hill Maple Syrup 250ml. Canada no.1 Medium - 533 Baht

4. Turkey Hill Niagara Falls 250ml. Light - 411 Baht

5. Turkey Hill Canadian Maple 250ml. Canadian no.2 Amber - 430 Baht

6. Turkey Hill Tin 500ml. Canada no.2 Amber - 650 Baht

7. Turkey Hill Tin 250ml. Canada no.2 Amber - 424 Baht

8. Turkey Hill plastic jar Canada no.1 Medium - 424 Baht

9. Turkey Hill Maple Tube Syrup Canada no.1 Medium - 319 Baht

10. New Organic Quinoa 500g. - 225 Baht

They said that their top seller is Maple leaf bottle 250 ml #1 light for 702 baht. Coincidentially, it is also their most expensive .

You you are not near a Villa Market, or prefer not to run around, they can ship. Not free, but only the cost of postage. Even ems within thailand for 2 kg was like 120 baht. You pre-approve what you want, the shipping address, and get the total from them and then make a deposit into their bank account. Once everything is verified, they should ship it out the same day and give you tracking #.

I'm getting ready to buy some next week and can post my experiences later.

[beammeup]

I bought some off some menenites on my last trip to Canada north of guelph. 2 x 1 liter bottles (old mineral water bottles) for 3 bucks a liter. They thought they saw me coming. It lasted me over a year, and I gave some away.

[NanaFoods]

I came across an interesting article on maple:

http://www.thestar.com/living/food/article/783558--here-s-why-maple-syrup-is-very-good-for-your-health

Enjoy.

[4evermaat]

I figured I'd update the situation with the maple syrup. Villa market was excellent overall in replying to my emails. I had to repeat sometimes, but I eventually got them to give me the complete list of maple offerings (not just the most expensive). I ended up ordering 1 Niagra Falls 250 ml Light, 1 500 ml tin Amberm and 1 250ml medium plastic jar. I wanted to try all the ranges to get an idea of what to order next time.

The basic order process is this:

1) email to them what you are looking for and ask for availability and price. You may also fax any store directly, but I prefer emailing and having the main office who can speak decent english attempt all the translation.

2) You then say all of what you want and request a total. Insist that they give you a shipping estimate with actual weight calculation. I would pick EMS unless your package is unusually heavy.

3) Deposit the total into their kasikorn bank account.

4) fax or email a photocopy of the receipt of the deposit.

5) follow-up with a request for the EMS tracking # (i never got it, but i knew that was going to happen ) It came 2 days later anyway from the date of shipment.

6) Follow up with a thank you and provide feedback on the packing of the shipment.

I'd avoid phone conversation. You want a written trail so you both don't make mistakes.

But they promise to improve the shipping thing by taking on my suggestions (calculating the real weight when submitting the sub-total and use thailandpost.com to estimate the shipping, using EMS pickup, etc The near 300 baht for delivery to the post office was a little off to say the least.

EMS takes 1-2 days depending on the time of day it gets dropped off to the post office.

Ironically, I ended up going to BKK anyway for the mobile expo. Of course I didn't know this ahead of time. I picked up another Niagra Falls (light) maplebottle and some other things.

Villa Market was a good option. There may be other shops with slightly cheaper prices.

[4evermaat]

I can confirm that there is a cheaper option. Bangkok Dynamics is 50-200 baht cheaper depending on which bottle you get. They claim to be the local importer and everyone buys from them. And they have the whole selection of Turkey Hill maple syrup. Here's what you should know:

1) They don't reply to english speaking emails (regardless of how many times they say they will check and get back to you.). You will need your thai friend to call in to order for you. I find that odd, because their website has only english, no thai.

2) They don't update their stock on their website. So they carry lots of stuff, but you wouldn't know if you didn't call. I guess faxing could work also, but a phone call followup doesn't hurt.

3) Having the maple syrup bottle with thai labeling from villa market helped the girlfriend communicate what I wanted.

4) Request EMS shipping. Insist that they ship it before 12:00 noon the next day after you deposit the finds into their account. It is not expensive. Also insist that they give you the tracking # after they ship.

5) Follow up on shipping day around 9 or 10am (the day after you pay) to make sure they ship the items.

330 baht for the same bottles I was paying 419 or 450 for at villa. I really want to know if that maple leaf looking one is really 702 baht. The shipping for EMS was reasonable. Who knows, maybe if I buy more, I could knock it down more. But I ordered 5 bottles. I eat a lot more pancakes now.

but 330 baht for 250ml is good. Still expensive, but it's a BIG leap forward from 600 baht for 300 ml

Edited February 22, 2011 by 4evermaat

[bkk_mike]

Organic US grade B (and A) I've found in Hong Kong (health gate health food store on Des Voeux Road).

In Bangkok, I think I've only ever bought Canadian (generally the Waitrose Canadian Maple Syrup that's next to the Turkey Hill at Tops Market), but I can't remember offhand if it's organic.

[canuckamuck]

What would non organic maple syrup be? Either it comes from a tree or it's not maple syrup.

Perhaps the term all-natural would be more accurate than organic.

[Ulysses G.]

The tree has to be grown organically - no chemical fertilizers and such.

[Panhandler007]

I never realized that pesticides were prayed on Maple trees! i assumed that chemicals were not used so all maple syrup is òrganic``. Guess im wrong!

[bonobo]

I never realized that pesticides were prayed on Maple trees! i assumed that chemicals were not used so all maple syrup is òrganic``. Guess im wrong!

Most maple syrup is organic. But some people do spray their trees with pesticides, and then if the trees are adjacent to other fields, fertilizers and pesticides can be used there without a big enough buffer zone for the syrup to be called organic. Also, while illegal, many growers use formaldehyde in tree tapping.

I buy "Pure" Canadian maple syrup from Trader Joe's and bring it with me. (Had pancakes this morning covered in it). It is not organic, but it is sure delicious.

[4evermaat]

i seem ti go through my maple syrup quickly if i eat a lot of pancakes.

I can confirm that the Bangkok dynamics option is usually 150-250 Baht cheaper than the retail stores. And I usually order about 5 at a time. I did so twice so far without a hitch and a third order is nearby. Make sure you remind them before (and after) paying to take package to post office before 12pm. Otherwise, EMS will take extra day.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Thanks for all the research and info on this 4Ever...

I, like Bonobo, have been bringing my syrups in from the States... But am running low since my last trip, and the regular store shelf prices are sticker shock inducing...

I'll give Bangkok Dynamics a try... But it really sounds a bit odd... more like the name for an auto parts business.

Hope they're not re-bottling used motor oil instead.

BTW, from your prior posts, I'm assuming that Bangkok Dynamics will ship bottle or bottles orders... not just full case orders... since you were talking about doing 5 or so at a time, yes?

Edited December 5, 2011 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[lomatopo]

I usually bring back Trader Joe's U.S. Grade A Medium Amber (but from Canada: Bruno Marcoux - Beauce Frontenac), 370 ml., $8.99. Actually just finished a bottle today (french toast), but returning Dec. 27 so will bring back more.

Having grown up in sugaring territory I can still taste the sweetness of that layer of ice, which would freeze on the top, we would grab out of the pails which hung on the maple trees coming back from skating (treacherous at that time of year ), sledding or skiing.

Had to go out to the recycling bin to get a photo... (also running low on Bisquick, added to the shopping list).

Edited December 5, 2011 by lomatopo

[4evermaat]

i seem ti go through my maple syrup quickly if i eat a lot of pancakes.

I can confirm that the Bangkok dynamics option is usually 150-250 Baht cheaper than the retail stores. And I usually order about 5 at a time. I did so twice so far without a hitch and a third order is nearby. Make sure you remind them before (and after) paying to take package to post office before 12pm. Otherwise, EMS will take extra day.

Following up with my experiences. http://bangkokdynami...aple-syrup.html . They usually need 1 day to process the order. They give you quote with EMS shipping. I pay them directly into their bangkok bank account (or maybe they have other banks). Get the mobile # from them and send them SMS alert in thai when remitting funds. Follow up with an SMS the following day before noon in thai asking for the EMS tracking #. You'll usually get a call back by the end of the day with the #. Not that they don't ship it, it's just a friendly reminder and doubles as an ability to retrieve tracking info. I'm not sure if they use other shipping methods, but I found that they re-use the packing that came with the original bottles along with their extra packing and that works quite well.

I think the minimum is 2 bottles, which should not be a problem, you can mix and match all you want. Hint: the two expensive ones with the nicer looking bottles (maple leaf and overlay) are just nicer looking bottles and exact copies of niagra falls (#1 light) and plastic jug (#1 medium). Canadian is #1 dark and the tin is either #1 dark or #2 dark. The prices on the website are off. They are usually cheaper 30-40 baht.

I'm not sure if they actually allow internet ordering now. I've always phoned in my orders and they now know who I am by name. Good to have thai friend help you setup the first order.

022-335-505 , 022-335-272

Interestingly enough, I've never ordered anything else from them, but they seem to import good quality stuff Attached is the order page in thai, for your partner to assist you in ordering.

edit: I decided to kill about 3 hours of my day manually scanning in the english and thai versions of the bangkok dynamics menu. I do not have the auto document feeder like my previous scanners, so one-by-one. Then had to find shrinker quartz filter to reduce file size to web-friendly attachment,

bangkok dynamics eng web.pdf

bangkok dynamics thai web.pdf

Edited December 5, 2011 by 4evermaat

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just fyi, armed with the general prices from Bangkok Dynamics, I did some Amazon price shopping comparison...

Amazon is selling various varieties of 32 oz jugs of real, regular maple syrup for between $16 and $20 apiece, depending on the brand and variety. The best price I found was for a highly rated Grade B variety for about $16 apiece, via subscribe and save, with no added shipping costs domestic in the U.S.

So figure two jugs totaling $32 total price from Amazon, plus for about a 4 lbs shipment, another $35 or so total for the most economical parcel post shipping method (and that's not Fed-Ex or DHL) I can arrange for that kind of package, and the total reaches $65 to $70 U.S.

Then, in comparison, figure four of the 500 ml Turkey Hill tins -- the equivalent of the 64 oz total above -- from Bangkok Dynamics at 650 baht apiece, or about $22 apiece, and you're totaling about $87 apart from any EMS or other local shipping costs.

There are going to be variables in that... The parcel post shipping method I'd use via the shipping company where I have an account typically gets no Thai duty on income packages... but USPS or other shipping methods typically do. But I could even go for some of the more expensive 32 oz varieties and still probably come in under BKK Dynamics total comparable price.

It'd almost be worth a trial shipment of two 32 oz jugs just to see how it actually pencils out... especially since I don't have a U.S. trip planned in the immediate future.

[4evermaat]

yeah, it's expensive, but what are you gonna do?  Its one of those things that you try to bring with you, beg someone to bring with you, or otherwise, suck it up and pay.<br><br>Just think, it's even MORE expensive @ villa market, tops, etc, + i have to take taxi to get there and back.<br><br>I wonder who the importer for quinoa is.  Villa market has acceptable price, but......<br>

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4Ever... a couple things to add to your good work... and thanks for scanning the product list, BTW...

When I noodled around the BKK Dynamics website...I found a couple of things...

1. It allows you to log-in with a chosen ID and password, creating an online account with them.

2. They also appear to have an ability to subscribe to an email newsletter, though no idea what/when they send.

3. Once you've created an account, they appear to have some kind of online ordering system with them including entering your shipping and billing addresses. I used it, put things into their online shopping cart, and went to process the order, right up to the point of paying. The only part I couldn't follow/figure was the sole payment method their online system listed was "check/money order," but there didn't appear to be any additional info or detail about what they'd expect or want you to do to accomplish that.

BTW, the Villas near me in the past have regularly stocked some varieties of quinoa, and the prices haven't been bad... But right now, because of the floods, a lot of the regularly specialty things they'd normally have still seem to remain missing.

[4evermaat]

...........

3. Once you've created an account, they appear to have some kind of online ordering system with them including entering your shipping and billing addresses. I used it, put things into their online shopping cart, and went to process the order, right up to the point of paying. The only part I couldn't follow/figure was the sole payment method their online system listed was "check/money order," but there didn't appear to be any additional info or detail about what they'd expect or want you to do to accomplish that.

BTW, the Villas near me in the past have regularly stocked some varieties of quinoa, and the prices haven't been bad... But right now, because of the floods, a lot of the regularly specialty things they'd normally have still seem to remain missing.

That probably means you call them or if you process the order fully, you would be emailed with bank transfer/ cash deposit instructions. Trust me, they won't do anything until they follow up with you via phone or email with additional payment instructions.

I have ordered recently, so this means they are in an area not affected heavily by the flood. But it did take an extra day to receive goods, whereas EMS received by post office by 12:00pm is delivered next day. It took 2 days. I really impressed upon them to get their post orders to the office by 12:00 noon and they understand why.

BTW, I suggest using the thai version of your address for shipping. Not necessarily required, but helpful for obvious reasons.

I think their email is finally working. It took them several months to reply to my initial email. But their phones work everyday.