FAQs
What’s so special about local British honey?
One of the things that surprised us most on our honey adventures is that most supermarket honey is not sourced from the UK. If you look at the back of the pack it’ll say ‘blend of EU and non-EU honey’. And if you speak to honey insiders most of this non-EU is sourced from China. There’s nothing wrong with this necessarily, but it does mean that the honey on your toast, in your tea or on your cereal has a lot of untraceable, unsuspecting air miles attached to it.
Our single-origin honey is sourced from Holt Hall Apiary in Tamworth, Staffordshire. Our bees forage on the surrounding fields, predominantly rapeseed, producing a versatile yet buttery tasting honey. Being only three hours to London and Bath or two hours to Oxford means the 100% British honey hitting your tastebuds has a very low carbon footprint. The only airmiles we’re interested in are the ones the bees do themselves.
Rewilding sounds cool. But how does it actually work in practice?
As part of our early-stage honey adventures we discovered that since the 1930s, 97% of the UK’s wildflower meadows have been lost, mainly due to agricultural farming practices. We also learned that honey bees are responsible for a third of all the food we eat. So we owe them a lot.
That’s why we partnered with Buglife – the UK’s only nature charity devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates (including bees). For each jar you buy, we plant roughly 100 wildflowers along British beelines. This means the bees can forage along the countryside without getting stuck for food (that sweet, sweet nectar). So yep: rewilding works.
25p from each jar provides 100+ seeds planted over 1m2 of soil. These seeds blossom into a sustainable food source for bees and insects that go on to grow healthy, well pollinated and bio-diverse ecosystems. To find out more about all the great work that Buglife are doing visit: https://www.buglife.org.uk/our-work/b-lines/
WTF, my honey has crystallised, what should I do?
Crystallisation is a good sign. It means the honey you have is all natural and doesn’t contain any fake sugar or additives. If you are looking to make your honey runny again, simply place your jar in a bowl of warm water and allow to sit until the honey melts. In five-minute intervals remove your jar, stir the honey and return it to the warm water. It’ll return to its runny consistency in no time. Perfect for drizzling, oozing or spreading over whatever takes your fancy.
Are you planning on bringing out more delicious honeys in the future?
That’s certainly the plan, because there’s a surprising amount of delightful diversity when it comes to honey. From its flavour profile and floral variant to its texture and the way it’s set, all the way through to the infusions possible.
In our discovery phase we tried honey from all over the world. Velvety Soft-Set Borage honey from Norfolk; rich and chest-nutty honey from Dorset; Hot Tottie, whisky-infused honey from Edinburgh, even spicy chilli honey all the way from New York. But in the end we decided to keep it single-origin and simple.
Our Unrivalled Runny is versatile and accessible to all, no matter the foodie occasion. Our thicker-textured Creamy Soft-Set is for the OGs, who like to have their toast and eat it. And our Chef’s Tub is for our cooks, bakers and business partners who like to buy in bulk to feed the masses with their daily honey fix.
We look forward to bringing out more honey in the future. And while it might not always be from Tamworth, it’ll always be British. (And delicious, of course.)