Calico Fresh Market — Local services in Willis

First off honest review and full disclosure. I purchased 1 gallon of milk a 1/2 gallon of colostrum and 1 lb of the white cheese (great flavor) When I got to the store Harmon was there and we chatted for a bit and discussed products. The milk has no dates but does have a mark (different ones) on the top lid with marker that he said was just for him those meant nothing to the consumer(supposedly all the milk was the same date) He assured me that it was good from one week from date of purchase (I believe it had not spoiled within the week just to be clear). We also discussed the issues I have with dairy I’m intolerant of pasteurized milk (not lactose intolerant) as I discussed with him prior to purchasing and he assured me that their milk was raw plus a good percentage of it over 50% was A2 milk so easier to digest then dairy from non A2 cows. So I get home tried the milk and had the same reaction that I have from the pasteurized milk plus a whole other reaction but I do have some allergy type issues so again (full disclosure ).

I’m unsure if the milk is actually raw because I purchased 3 times now from a micro farm and their milk is raw and I have had 0 issues neither the allergies nor the gastro intestinal issues that I had with Calico Farms raw dairy and the same reaction with pasteurized milk. The milk from Calico Farms did also have an odd plastic type off taste that I noticed is in other reviews here as well (I did mention this when I discussed the issue below)

So and again (full disclosure) since I was having allergic type and gastro reactions to the raw dairy from Calico Farms I did freeze some and I tried it 3 separate times to be sure the reaction was from those products after confirming I called Calico Farms and Harmon answered at this point it had been 2 weeks past the date of purchase.

I was told that many others purchased the milk on the same date as myself with no issues and that it could be because their milk is thicker and some ppl have that issue with their milk (yet remember I was told less issues due to the A2 percentage and thicker milk was never mentioned) I’m sure that could be possible that no one else had a reaction given most ppl that are buying dairy products in general do not have issues with pasteurization so they wouldn’t have a reaction. I personally didn’t notice any difference in the velocity of Calico Farms raw milk vs the raw milk I get now. I was admonished for not calling sooner and told if I had brought it back in time (unsure of what that timeline is) it could have been tested. I asked what tests but I was not given a clear answer. I was told reluctantly to bring it back the next day and the person at the store would exchange those products. I did not return the products as I live 1.5 hours round trip and I’m not interested in exchanging products. I did explain to him what was the point of driving back with the products due to the drive to which he just repeated to bring it back ( yes they were at the time still in the fridge 90% full) its definitely not worth it for 35$ of exchanged items and he was clearly annoyed and I was not about to give myself a headache to return products that they were already annoyed over and a 1.5 hour drive.

I’m not claiming it’s pasteurized but what I am saying is it’s a fact that I have consumed 6 gallons now of raw milk from someone else ( he kept asking who) with absolutely no issues and it tastes delicious and in glass jars. My biggest issue is I personally believe the products could be pasteurized and that fully defeats the purpose since I purchased for heath benefits. Milk can definitely be pasteurized and not homogenized because the cream will still separate if it’s not homogenized as well.

As to the animal neglect that’s mentioned in other reviews I can’t comment as I didn’t tour the farm. If I had read the reviews here previously to my drive there I wouldn’t have purchased products from Calico Farms. My advice is to read the reviews and tour the farm prior to...

Original review: Wonderful dairy farm with great, fresh raw milk. So blessed to have a raw dairy market around (at least within 45 minutes)! Very much worth the drive for the health benefits. This place is much appreciated!

Update: I do have to say after my recent visit - the amount of cream in the milk was very minimal. That was very disappointing as raw milk is sought out for its amazing health benefits (the healthy fat is so beneficial). I know some cream is taken off the top and sold separately, but it really puts a damper on the gallon of milk you buy expecting the full spectrum of health benefits (not to mention also at the high price you pay for raw milk). I don’t want to have to purchase the cream to put it back into the milk when that’s where it started off in the first place. Last time I purchased this, there was less than a quarter of the gallon of cream at the top. Another raw dairy farm I go to had almost half the gallon of cream. Big difference and very disappointing.

Another update: I am horribly disappointed in this farm. I will NOT buy raw milk from here again. We have been consumers of raw milk for years and we have now bought a handful of gallons from this farm that smell and taste so bad. This is not my go to farm and we usually go to another dairy further south - that farm ALWAYS has wonderful tasting milk. The past two to three times in a row that I have been to Calico dairy I have gotten bad gallons and it is not because I don’t keep the milk cold enough. I ALWAYS bring my ice chest with ice. I never have this problem with the other raw dairy I go to - but at Calico, something is wrong. This place is not doing some things right. Why on earth does your milk taste and smell that bad? It was bad before and this time around the smell was even worse! Fix yourselves please.. Have clean practices. Fire some people that aren’t doing it right - I don’t know. But something’s very WRONG. My review on here used to be a 5 star review. I had to change it to one and assumed some other bad reviews were people trying to come after the little raw milk dairy (which does happen sometimes) and I also didn’t see some of the worst reviews, but now I believe the other bad...

My husband and I drove out from Houston (about an hours drive) to the farm. We checked the website before we went to confirm hours. Once we arrived, we followed the signs to parking. We noticed there was a building burned down, but seeing as it was our first time out to the farm, we weren't sure what that was all about, and we didn't know if we needed to go somewhere else, etc. So I called the number and I said "Hi, my husband and I just parked in the parking area, but we aren't sure where to go." And the man said "well did you see our barn is burned down?!" And I said "we did see a burned building, but we checked the website before we headed out, and it said you were open, so we weren't sure what that was." He then proceeds to tell me that they are going to open from 2-7. Well, we came out according to the hours on the website, so it was 11:00 when we arrived. Since we brought our baby, we had to get back home to feed him lunch. I said in a disappointed tone "oh, such a shame. We came from Houston" (I said this hoping he might honor the hours listed on his website and allow us to purchase products). And he basically chastised me saying it was a shame his million dollar barn burned down and that the state won't let him claim arson and on and on. I said, "ok, well, thank you." And we left. Listen, I understand and have sympathy for this personal crisis they are experiencing right now, but we drove an hour ONE WAY to support their business. I wasn't rude at all, and the man was certainly very rude to me. I didn't know their barn burned down. I didn't know that was their place of business. I didn't know any of this stuff as a first time customer, and I was treated very very rudely. I'm sure they are under an extreme amount of stress, but it's never appropriate to treat your customers this way. I have worked with the public for 14 years, and never once treated a customer like this no matter the amount of personal stress I was experiencing. I hope they are able to get their barn rebuilt. I'm not sure if we will come out again. I enjoy spending our hard earned money at places that appreciate our dedication to supporting...