Three generations and a lot of bees
Hummingjar started with two hives behind Grandpa's barn. Today there are forty, the barn is still red, and the extractor still squeaks.
Grandpa set up the first two hives in 1974, mostly so the orchard would have someone to pollinate it. The honey was a happy accident, and the neighbors kept asking for more.
We still keep bees the slow way. The hives stay in one valley, we only take what the colonies can spare, and the honey goes from comb to jar without heating or blending. That's why the clover jar from June tastes different from the one in August.
The farm shop in the old barn is open on Saturdays in summer. Come by: there's always a spoon to taste with.
- the first two hives
- 1974
- hives today
- 40
- of honey last summer
- 2.1 t
- kinds of honey
- 5
How we make it
Let them forage
The hives stay put in one valley all year. No trucks, no moving them to monoculture fields.
Take only extra
We lift frames only when a colony has more than enough for winter. Their honey comes first.
Spin, don't heat
The hand-cranked extractor spins honey out of the comb at barn temperature. Heat would cook away the flavor.
Jar by hand
A week of rest, a kitchen sieve and a ladle. Each label names the hives and weeks of its batch.
The crew
Mabel
Head beekeeper
Has looked after the hives for twenty summers and has never once worn the gloves. Knows each colony by its mood.
Pip
Labels and orders
Writes every label by hand, answers your emails and keeps the list of who wants comb honey first.
Old Bertie
Deliveries
Takes the jars to the post office every Monday and Thursday. Not fast, but he has never broken one.