Yes, it sounds bold, but we have big ambitions for our Harvest Reserve honeys. They’re how we can literally save American honeys by preventing them from going to waste or being blended and filtered into typical mass-produced honeys. Not only are we protecting these unique flavors, we’re also bringing them to a wider audience instead of letting them go to waste.

While most people are well aware of campaigns to “save the bees,” these campaigns have made huge progress and today, honeybees are largely OK. (Though there are still many threats to bees – both domesticated and wild – being researched today.) However, beekeepers in the U.S. are more threatened than ever.

Beekeepers who keep their bees in one location with a variety of local pollen sources can often have healthier hives, but this is less lucrative than driving around the country and selling pollination services to farmers. By buying honey from local beekeepers, we help give them a reason to keep their hives local, while encouraging more new beekeepers as well.

Occasionally, when a local beekeeper is hit with an unusual weather pattern like heavy rainfall, drought or unseasonal weather, their bees will produce a honey that they just can’t make anywhere or anytime else, all because of what was in bloom. These exceptional honeys have flavors that are too distinct for mass-market, filtered honey companies and their limited production usually means no one outside of that beekeepers’ hometown gets to taste them. If they’re lucky, a honey lover might discover a special honey at a local farmers’ market, but most people never even get the chance.

Thanks to our relationships with American beekeepers, we’re in the unique position to bottle lots of local honeys and share them with local honey lovers. Whenever a truly remarkable honey comes our way, we’ll make sure and share it. In the meantime, you can keep an eye out for new varietals on our homepage map.