FAQ

When we say our honey is raw, we mean a few things.
First and foremost is that it has not been pasteurized or fine filtered.  We want the honey in our jars to be just as natural as it is when the bees produce it in their hives.  Pasteurization is done using high temperatures above 118 degrees Fahrenheit and fine-filtering removes much of the pollen and other small bits naturally found in honey.  These processes significantly damage the flavor and beneficial properties of the honey, and we want to make sure our products are as healthy, natural, and tasty as possible.  Any honey you see without the word ‚raw’ on the label will have been processed in these ways and possibly others.

No, nothing is wrong with your honey.  All raw honey crystallizes. Crystallization is the natural process by which the glucose in honey precipitates out of the liquid honey. Different varieties of honey will crystallize at different rates, and a few not at all. The amount of time it takes for a particular honey to crystallize depends on numerous factors, including the temperature at which the honey is stored, the amount of pollen, the proportion of natural glucose, the moisture content, the size of the container, etc. …
If your honey crystallizes, simply place the honey jar in warm water and stir until the crystals dissolve; or place the honey container, with the cap open, into near-boiling water that has been removed from the heat.

Anyone who commonly suffers from seasonal allergies has likely been advised to try raw, local honey to alleviate symptoms. The recommendation is based on the idea that raw, unpasteurized honey contains pollen local to your area. The theory is that regularly exposing your body to nearby pollen would lessen your sensitivity to it. If you’re someone who suffers from seasonal allergies, you’re ingesting allergens that are from your local environment. Eating unpasteurized honey can help your specific allergies because it’s made with local allergens from Southern California. To take honey for allergies, start by taking 1 teaspoon of local, unpasteurized honey once a day. You may slowly increase the amount of honey every other day. Do this until you eat 1 tablespoon of honey per 50 lbs. of your weight. You can divide the dose throughout the day as desired through the allergy season.

The species of flower from which the bee gathered the nectar determines the color, flavor, and sugar composition of the honey. Avocado honey is very dark, almost black and strong in flavor; orange blossom honey is almost completely clear and mild. We mostly sell monofloral honey – nectar from one specific flower species. We like to say all honey is good, but some honey is great. And believe us, there is a big difference. Common commercial honey is often blended for color consistency without regard to taste.

No! Honey never expires or goes off so long as it is kept in its container with the lid on (this prevents too much moisture from getting in, which may allow the yeasts in the honey to begin fermentation). It is unique amongst foods in this ability to stay good forever. Honey from hundreds and even thousands of years ago have been recovered from archeological sites, and it is still perfectly fine to eat.

Honey is best stored with the lid fully closed and out of direct sunlight. If you can keep it somewhere that stays a bit warm (but not too hot), then the honey will generally stay runny a bit longer as well.
For chilled products such as our fresh bee pollen you should store the product in the refrigerator if you are going to be using them right away. Otherwise, they can be stored in the freezer for future use.
For pollen, we recommend a teaspoon per day.

Because all our honeys are single-source they reflect the conditions of the area in which the bees are located.  Different times of year and different years will have different weather conditions, which means the local plants will grow differently, and therefore different nectars will be available for the bees to collect.
This is also true for honeys of the same variety but come from different areas.  All of this adds to the uniqueness of each honey.  Honey is quite similar to wine in this way.
And don’t forget that honey is always changing, and the honey you ordered previously may have changed from runny to crystalized or somewhere in-between since you last ordered. So, even if you have ordered honey of the same type and the same batch, it may have become more crystalized since your last order. This will have a slight effect on the perceived flavor because the solid crystals will take longer for your taste buds to pick up than runny honey.

All of our honey comes from various regions of Southern California, from San Bernardino County, to Ventura and Central Valley, which has lots of natural, wild areas with little human interference and a perfect climate for honeybees.

Hopefully! Some of our honeys are quite seasonal and so aren’t available at all times of the year. Sometimes, certain honeys don’t do well in certain years due to adverse weather conditions, which means we may have to wait until the next season.

Medical advice is that you shouldn’t give honey to children under the age of 1 year or to anyone with an underdeveloped or compromised immune system due to the potential presence of the bacterium causing botulism (Clostridium botulinum). However, our raw products should be safe for consumption while pregnant. The possible botulism spores in the products should be wiped out by the mother’s digestive tract and immune system well before they can turn into full-blown botulism. That said, we’re not doctors, and so this advice shouldn’t be taken as a replacement for speaking with a doctor.