Heilongjiang & Hunan, China

Two of our most popular rices come from China. Both our Forbidden Rice®, Organic Forbidden Rice® are grown in the Heilongjiang region of China's Northeast provinces. The bamboo that infuses our California organic short grain rice to make Organic Jade Pearl Rice™ comes from the forests near Changde in the northern Hunan province of China. Heilongjiang Region Forbidden Rice is grown organically for us on hundreds of small family farms in the Black Dragon River region of China's sub-arctic Northeast provinces.

Characterized by extremely long and cold winters, and cool summers with heavy rainfall, the province is dominated by pristine mountain ranges, while the flat central plains are intersected by clean rivers that enrich the soil.

"Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur River. Amur is Russian for “Black Water.” The river gets its name from the color of its water that flows through densely forested regions rich with black humus soil. Perhaps it's no surprise that black rice is found growing here as well.

The Black Dragon River is the largest un-dammed river in the world, flowing across northeast Asia for over 2,700 miles, from the mountains of northeastern China to the Sea of Okhotsk. For 1,000 miles, the river forms a natural boundary between Russia and China. Traveling through an amazing array of landscapes, from mountain peaks to desert lowlands, tundra and dense forest, the river plays a significant role in the formation of incredible biodiversity. Home to the white stork, as well as numerous other cranes and birds, as well as over 100 species of fish, the river also supports the world's only remaining Amur Leopards, of which only about 50 are thought to exist.

Millions of years ago a current of molten lava flowed out of the depths of the earth and undermined the river. It may be that this volcanic matter, as well as the rich black soil of the region is what contributes to the intense nutritional value of our Forbidden Rice.

Hunan Province

One of our most exemplary rices, both for its nutritional and flavor profile, we infuse our Organic Jade Pearl Rice with wildcrafted BamBoom!™ extract, made from the Moso species of bamboo that grows in the virgin highland forest of China's Hunan Province Situated on the north bank of the Yuan River above its junction with the Dongting Lake system, Changde is a natural center of the northwest Hunan plain.

The largest of the subtropical timber bamboos, Moso can reach up to 75 feet in height, creating a hushed, canopied forest that is similar in feeling to the old growth redwood forests. Michael Li grew up in these forests north of Chensha and learned how to make an extraction of the bamboo using a time-honored technique handed down to him by his grandfather. Bamboo is considered to be the true tree of life due to its good nutritional profile.