Products
Our bees only produce a limited amount of pure local honey each year (usually a Spring gathering taken in June or sometimes as late as July and a smaller Fall gathering) from floral sources near our farm. Thus it has a unique flavor that reflects the area in which we live and the weather and blooming cycle of that year. We never add extenders nor sweeteners to our honey. We never blend it with other honeys from other places. We never heat it nor treat it. We only filter it naturally and then bottle it for limited sale to our neighbors and friends here and online. Once it is gone we have to wait until next season for more. Every new season brings honey with a different flavor than the one before. No two years ever taste exactly the same (just like wine and grapes) so some people buy and store honeys and bring them out together at tastings. We have a little honey from previous years (a vintage honey if you will) but most often we sell out each season or trade with other beekeepers to sample their bees' work.
Honey kept in a closed glass container without moisture will last indefinitely, and if it crystallizes (as all honey will eventually do) it can be re-liquified to perfect consistency and flavor by submersing in hot, not boiling, water. We sell our honey in glass (not plastic) containers for that reason. Crystallized honey is easier to use, tastes exactly the same as its liquid form, and is actually the preferred form in Europe.
We also provide filtered honey that has been strained (this produces "raw" honey) and then, if requested, gravity passed through 600 (large holes), 400 (medium holes), or 200 micron (very small holes) filters. Each level of filtration removes more of the solids in the honey (making each clearer than the last in color) but this means less included pollens for those who use honey as an allergy prevention.
With prior notice we can set aside some of the unstrained and unfiltered honey
for the purist who wants to have both the honey and all the different
pollens, propolis, etc that the bees include in making it. We can usually do this at the beginning of Spring/Summer collection season and then again at the Fall collecting season depending upon the weather and the bees productivity. We don't usually make "chunk honey" (with the comb included in the jar) as we let the bees keep the comb they worked so hard to produce. ( After all, it takes 12 pounds of honey for the bees to make just one pound of wax!) Used comb also contains contaminants that the bees bring back and we would not sell that to our customers. On occasion, when the bees are really strong in the Spring buildup, we do have some chunk honey or cut comb honey using new first year wax combs.
