Our Honey
A Taste of Hawaii Island’s Places and Seasons
Our certified organic, wild crop honey is a taste of place and season on Hawai’i Island, one of the world’s most remote islands. Our bees produce honey from nectar gathered in high-elevation ranches and forests that hug the slopes of volcanic mountains; in wind-swept uninhabited coastal grasslands; and in narrow, steep valleys of dense tropical vegetation. Soil type, fertility, rainfall, wind, sun, humidity and other conditions affect how plants grow and the quantity and flavor of the nectar their flowers produce. Like wine, the taste of any honey variety may vary slightly from season to season, a reflection of the unique conditions of any particular year.
Responsible Stewardship of Bees and the Land
Peter Genier, the founder of our family-owned and operated apiary, has been passionately involved with bees and beekeeping for over 50 years. This passion continues with our second generation of beekeepers, Arthur Genier and Tristan Winpenny. We take great care to ensure that our raw organic honey is pure and of the highest quality.
All of the honey we produce comes from our own hives which we manage ourselves, using only approved organic methods. Our hives never have been exposed to pesticides or other contaminants and our honey is tested by an independent laboratory. We never heat, strain, or filter our honey so its beneficial enzymes, pollens and propolis remain uncompromised. You occasionally may see small brown particles of propolis, an antifungal and antibacterial, in the honey. This is a good sign that what you are eating is as the bees produced it. All of our honey comes to you as creamed, or crystallized honey, created by controlling the honey’s rate of crystallization, a naturally-occurring process. Because we extract and pack our honey in small batches and then store it in our temperature-controlled facility, you receive a product of superb freshness and nutritional benefit.
Both our home and honey facility are powered by solar, part of our overall commitment to responsible environmental practices. Our honey as well as our extracting, commercial kitchen, and storage facilities are certified organic by International Certification Services, Inc. and certified Kosher by OK Kosher Certification.
Single-Source Raw Organic Varietal Honey
Wild Crop Organic ‘Ohi’a Lehua Honey
Hawai’i Island is a paradise for bees. Its temperate year-round climate, rainfall, and abundant vegetation-much of it wild-ensure that the bees have the variety of pollens, nectars and propolis that they need for good nutrition and health. Of the island’s 4000 square miles, rural areas, many of them sparsely inhabited, are the norm. The island’s interior is dominated by the two highest volcanoes in Hawai’i and some 150,000 acres of predominantly native ‘Ohi’a-koa forest and woodland. We situate our hives on large ranches, farms, and private properties adjacent to these forests. Most are in remote locations and all are organic or sustainable in their management practices. Working at elevations between 1500 and 6000 feet our bees gather nectar from ‘Ohi’a’s red, yellow and orange Lehua blossoms to produce a honey that qualifies for the distinction of being certified as Organic Wild Crop.
Beneficial Blends of Hawai’i Island-Grown and Harvested Organic Spices and Raw Hawaiian Organic Honey
For many years our family has used honey as both food and medicine, as people have done for centuries. In order to encourage others to explore this practice we paired our raw Hawaiian organic honey with Big Island-grown organic spices to provide a convenient and delicious blend that can be used in a variety of ways at every meal.
Turmeric & Ginger blended with Hawaiian Honey
Turmeric has become the most talked-about spice in recent years because its main active ingredient, curcumin, is a powerful therapeutic agent with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and possible anticarcinogenic properties. Our creamy blend of our raw organic honey and Big-Island grown organic Red Hawaiian Turmeric and organic Bubba Baba Blue Ginger also includes organic black pepper. Pepper’s main component, piperine, has been shown in some research studies to increase the effects of the turmeric by as much as 2000% by allowing higher levels of the compounds in turmeric to remain in your body longer.
Eating a fat with turmeric is essential because, by itself, turmeric is not easily absorbed and used by your body. It can be any kind of fat: coconut oil or milk, almond milk, nut butters, avocado, low-fat kefir and yogurt, meat, fish, cheese, or oils. You can mix our Turmeric, Ginger & Honey blend into a recipe or dish containing fat or you can eat the blend separately but at the same time as you eat a meal containing some fat. We have created and will continue to offer recipes that allow you to most effectively access the beneficial properties of our honey.
Bubba Baba Blue Ginger blended with Hawaiian Honey
In formulating our ginger blend we sampled and experimented with five different gingers grown organically here on the Big Island. The Bubba Baba Blue Ginger clearly was the superstar with its layered, bright flavor without any trace of bitterness, and its pleasant warmth. Combining it with our honey was a flavor match made in heaven, which seems appropriate since ginger is known as the “Spice of Heaven” in several cultures around the world. Ginger has been used in healing for centuries, respected for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, its effectiveness in relieving nausea and indigestion, and its ability to mitigate the effects of colds and flu.
Shelf Life and Storage of Raw Honey
The raw organic honey we produce is the result of a very simple process that involves nothing more than separating the honey from the comb, bottling the honey in glass containers and controlling the temperature as the honey crystallizes. All those substances that naturally occur in nature, such as pollen and propolis, still are present, as well as honey’s natural beneficial enzymes. The honey may vary slightly in color from season to season, a reflection of the nectars the bees are gathering.
This pure raw honey is in stark contrast to other honey you may see on the shelf, especially pasteurized honey, which is heated and blended to a color and taste that are the same from store to store, year to year. Because the intention of the packer is to ensure that this pasteurized honey can sit on the shelf for a long period of time without changing appearance, it is heated at temperatures up to 200 degrees and the honey is run through a very fine filter to eliminate those substances that might cause the honey to change. Sadly, what has been eliminated also is what makes honey nutritional and distinctive in taste and color.
Raw honey’s antibacterial and antimicrobial properties prevent it from spoiling, so it remains safe to eat even after a long period of time. However, a number of conditions may cause the honey to change in appearance. The most common culprit with our crystallized, or creamed honey, is heat. In tropical climates like Hawai’i, or even in cooler climates, if the honey sits in the sun or in temperatures over 80 degrees for long periods, it may begin to return to its liquid state. You will notice that the top layer of honey is darker and more liquid than the lower layer. When honey is exposed to freezing temperatures it may pull away from the sides of the glass jar, creating an area or pattern that looks like frost on the jar. If the weather is very humid and the jar is left uncapped, the honey may absorb the moisture in the air and begin to ferment, causing tiny bubbles to form on the honey’s surface. All of these situations are natural and are no cause for concern.
However, because part of the appeal of our creamy raw honey is its appearance and texture, we offer a few suggestions for minimizing these changes. Store unopened honey in a cool, dark location. When the weather is warm we suggest that you refrigerate the honey if it isn’t consumed within a month. If your honey shows signs that it is beginning to liquify, pop it into the refrigerator and it will reharden. Don’t consistently put a wet spoon into the honey (stirring a beverage and then dipping the spoon into the honey) as this will add moisture to the honey and may cause fermentation. If you’re concerned at all, simply refrigerate the honey and it will remain unchanged and safe to eat indefinitely.