Hello masa friends!!
One year in
As a few of you may have heard, my molino1 broke, but we are getting a replacement shipped to us while we work to figure to repair the broken clutch housing.
I started this project to showcase masa and heirloom maíz varietals, and share everything I know with as many people as possible. Quickly, it became a production project. Make as much masa as possible, make more masa, make tortillas, increase the amount of tortillas, make salsas, make more salsa. Always reaching a ceiling, hitting it, and pushing through. Pushing the molino harder and harder, until it broke.
Fortunately, I already planned to take last week off to go to Colorado for a wedding, and learn how to fish (catch-and-release fly fishing), so I had some extra time to figure out a solution with Masienda. My dad and I are rebuilding the clutch housing and Masienda is shipping me a replacement molino for the meantime. After 15 days without masa, I am happy to announce that we will get you masa on Saturday 10/23 at Oaktown Spice Shop 11am-2pm (or sold out). I will have 4 varietals: Chalqueño Azul, Cónico Morado, Cónico Cremoso, and Tuxpeño Rojo.
As we come up on our one year anniversary (Bolita’s first sales were on 10/30/2020), I wanted to recap the brief journey I’ve been on. Although Bolita is turning one, I was first enamored with masa in September 2015, eating a tlacoyo in Mexico City. Sitting on a little crate huddled around the small comal. The masa was intensely blue, almost black, and it tasted unlike anything I had eaten in the United States. It was freshly ground blue corn masa, nixtamlized properly, and tasting of cornstarch with a sharp minerality. I wanted to eat this everyday.
During that same trip, I visited Itanoní in Oaxaca de Juárez. A restaurant that specializes in maíz and masa dishes. I enjoyed the simplest taco, “De Ese”, a large tortilla pressed with hoja santa, and black beans. It was my first time tasting hoja santa. It was my first time tasting white corn that tasted like kettlecorn and fresh, sweet corn at once, but just overwhelmingly savory and just starchy enough. I was stunned. Nervously, I asked one of the cooks why it tasted the way it did. She simply responded, “Es maíz blanco de bolita.” “It’s white, round maíz.” This was my first time trying any of the the Bolita varietals that are common throughout Oaxaca.
Back in SF, inspired by my trip, I made masa for my first time using a Victoria manual grain mill. The masa was still very coarse after the first grind, so I had to put all the masa in the mill for a second pass. This was passable for a few years. Later, in 2018, I tracked down a Nixtamatic, a small countertop grinder. Huge improvement from the manual mill—I could grind up to 8 lbs of masa per hour. Whoohoo!!
In June 2020, I found out that Masienda released a small molino for home and professional use, and I ordered it. It has been such a great companion through this first year and it will continue to be my molino until I upgrade to a larger machine.
Saying no is powerful. I feel like I spent all this labor and time just building the confidence to showcase this humble, gorgeous ingredient that saying no felt like a disservice to myself. I would say yes to any and all opportunities, because small business owners are told that we have to say yes and keep saying yes, until we’re stable enough to say no. Always accommodating others and extending myself thin. But, with the Molinito breaking earlier this month, it was a relief to say no, because it was the equipment saying no, not me. Saying, “Sorry, my molino is broken” was cathartic. I could say no and it wasn’t a measure of my commitment to Bolita or my stamina as a business owner. I’m learning that saying no is okay. And, it kinda feels good to say no.
With time, Bolita will hopefully become large enough to acquire the the equipment that will get us to the next phase. We have a large molino ready for us whenever we find the space. Until then, I’ll try not to overwork myself or the molinito.
Pop-Up / Market Dates
I will be at Oaktown Spice Shop (OSS) on Saturday October 23rd 11a - Sold Out or 2p. OSS has been an insanely supportive retail partner for several months and this is my first time at their Oakland store. If you ever want salsa macha, know that every OSS location has it on hand (as well as Rainbow Grocery). Also, Tahona Mercado has our salsas stocked in their fridge. Stop by for a bottle of mezcal and some of our salsas.
Wednesday, October 20th and 21st - No Markets.
Saturday, October 23rd - Oaktown Spice Shop, Oakland. Preorder Pickups and limited items for walk-up purchase. Pre-Orders are live until Friday at 3:00p. You can pickup and shop our selection at Oaktown Spice Shop at 546 Grand Ave. from 11:00a-2:00p.
Wednesday, October 27th - Oakland, Preorder Pickups at 272 14th Street Oakland 5-6pm. Pre-Orders will go live on Friday 10/22 at 3:00p to Tuesday 10/26 3:00p.
Thursday, October 28th - San Francisco, Preorder and first-come first-serve at the CUESA Mission Market, 3:00p-7:00p
Things to Check Out
Bon Appetit I was quoted in this piece about the Molinito and how it has helped countless small masa businesses in the US. Great read!
SF Chronicle In The Kitchen Magazine I was interviewed about my favorite market vendors and ingredients, somehow it’s not available online and you have to be a select mail subscriber. If you have an extra copy, email me at hola@bolitamasa.com (i’ll give you some masa in exchange, my mom really wants a copy)
For more visual content, you can follow my Instagram @bolitamasa
Have a great week. See you on Saturday!!
My Masienda Molinito is a small machine compared to more traditional corn mills you will find in Mexico and larger operations in the US. This little guy can produce about 50 lbs of masa in 2-3 hours, while a larger molino can produce 50 lbs in 2 - 20 minutes, depending on size.