The problem I have right now is that I have NO, repeat NO loose tea on sale around here. My closest supply is in the Chicago Loop, 45 miles and considerable inconvenience away. (well, I can get Lipton’s loose leaf, but that’s mediocre at best).
I like to buy it about 4 oz per variety at a time, and I thought bulk or on-line shopping might work not because I want pounds of it but because that might be the only convenient way to get it.
I stand corrected, then - for some reason I thought they were all the same company posing under different names.
$17 an hour? Wonder if they’re hiring right now…
Well, I’ve been to Whole Foods and while they have some interesting items their “bulk” section is unimpressive.
The other problem is that the nearest (last I checked) was 50 miles away from me. In the Chicago Loop area.
I live in a weird sort of limbo dimension, what can I say?
I’ve only seen white flour at Costco.
You might have more luck with a Whole Foods that used to be Wild Oats - they tend to have a better bulk section. They may still have the Wild Oats signage on the building since the changeover was comparatively recent.
The flours that you mention, being whole grain, will go rancid with time if not refrigerated or frozen - especially considering your intent to stock up on them.
You might want to check into a food cooperative. The crunchy-granola types are usually found close to college campuses. It’s been a few years since I’ve lived there, but there used to be a really good food co-op in Goshen, IN.
Another thing: you are within 100 miles of Amish country. And you have a truck. I know things are tight right now, but a day trip to Elkhart County would probably be profitable. If you find a bulk store that you like, they will special order the things that they normally don’t carry for you.
As far as loose tea goes, most of the Kroger stores carry both Twinings and their store brand (here in the mid-South, that one is an iced tea blend).
Good luck!
When I needed flour without barley - also due to allergy issues - we got a wheat grinder and bought unground wheat. It stores a little better than flour, too.
I am NOT grinding my own grain - I will soon be working two jobs, there just isn’t the time
If it’s still there Goshen may be closest - there certainly are NONE around here.
Closer than that, actually.
That’s an idea worth pursuing.
Problem is, I don’t have a Kroger anywhere near. The chain stores that normally would sell loose leaf don’t stock it around here - apparently there’s no demand (other than me) so I can’t blame them for not stocking it.
If you say “wheat flour” is it possible that you can put other stuff in there and not run afoul of the FTC. It’s “100% Wheat Flour” that MUST be wheat and only wheat.
I’m not intending to get more than we can eat in a reasonable time. We go through about 3-5 lbs of whole grain a week, plus 2-3 loaves of bread. If I bought enough for a month at a time I would have no problem with storage and eating it before it went off. If it works out well I’ll see about expanding storage capacity.
Check your PMs, Broomstick. Costco is a godsend for us and I think you would like it.
I like to buy my loose leaf tea locally, but that doesn’t always work out. I’ve been super pleased with Adagio Tea. Their containers are very high quality and nicely reuseable for spices or whatever, and the prices seem to be good. And the brewer is a life-saver at work. No affiliation, just a happy customer.
If this got answered, I missed it.
The usual “bugs” are weevils. They can come in by either route…bug “seeds” are usually called “eggs” btw!
One of the reasons to store stuff in airtight containers is so that an infestation doesn’t spread from one contaminated product to the others. Unchecked, weevils can and will invade almost ANY “cereal” type foodstuff…From corn meal, rice and flour to Captain Crunch,lasagna noodles, and dried beans.
An alternative to airtight containers is keeping stuff in the freezer. Not great for bulk stuff like you propose, but works well for small amounts of infrequently used specialty type grains.
You can put other stuff in there–but it is required by law to say on the label exactly what’s in there, unless the manufacturer is a completely degenerate scofflaw, or else is in the Third World. In the U.S., if you put barley flour in your wheat flour, then your label’s gotta say so.
Sorry, it’s not the FTC, it’s the FDA. Article. If the flour contains barley flour, it must say “Barley flour” on the label.
Period.
If you got flour somewhere that didn’t say “barley flour” on the label, and that triggered your barley allergy, then you need to speak to the FDA. Here is “how to complain to the FDA”.
I’m sure this won’t help, but when I was younger I had a friend who was Mormon. Her family believed in storing a year’s worth of grain and…sorry, drawing a blank, but I know they strongly believed in bulk storage of perishables. They rotated their stock, but never had less than a year’s supply.
Perhaps a Mormon message board might find you a closer supplier of what you’re looking for, as well as storage ideas?
Just my .02, and you know what that’s worth… 
Yeah, but the ingredient label can be in really teeny tiny print. I of course know to look for teeny tiny print, but many don’t.
Well, I went and checked out both Costco and Gordon Food Service (GFS). There were several issues:
A lot of their stuff seemed to lean toward prepared/processed food, easily 3/4 of which I can’t eat due to food allergies.
The selection of what I buy - raw staples such as flour, sugar, grains, etc. - were in very limited variety. There is actually greater variety in, say, available grains in my local grocery store than at either of the above.
The quantities are TOO big. While there was a certain amusement generated by flipping over 50lbs bags of flour to read the ingredient lables (and yes, 2/3 of what they had contained stuff other than just wheat flour in their wheat flours), 50lbs is about twice what I could store or eat in a reasonable length of time. It would be different if I had 8 kids, ran a commune or summer camp, or were trying to feed a small army, then these places would be fantastic, but I am just feeding two people.
So I think I may go with the on-line ordering option, where I can buy a variety of different things in “pure” form in quantities I can handle.
The suggestions were much appreciated, however, and may help others - you know, those feeding large families, stocking up for a year-long exploratory expedition, or feeding small armies.
We’ll let M. Bonaparte know. 
You need to look in the Business section of their website to find the bulk quantity ingredients and foodservice supplies available for next-day delivery.
For the curious, 50 pounds of all-purpose flour is selling for a nudge over $18 in this area at Costco. No reference at all though as to the kinds of grain used, and knowing Costco, there’s no promising what particular brand it will be or if they’ll have that brand next month.
Having visited them in person today, I can confirm “just over $18” is also the case here in the Chicago area. They had 3 varieties, 2 of which contained barley and 1 of which was just wheat (labeled “restaurant flour”, for whatever reason). Only 50 lbs bags.
The help was a bit startled to see me handling the big bags by myself. Well, yeah, I’m poor but I’m in pretty good shape.
(Ok, that’s a sore spot - one of the reasons given for laying me off was “couldn’t physically keep up”. With a desk job. Where the largest object I had to raise off the table was a ream of copy paper. Geez, why couldn’t they just say “we’re cuttting back on personnel and it’s your turn this time around”?)