FAQs
● Q: What is “raw” honey?
Raw honey is taken straight from the beehive and avoids any unnecessary processing to maintain its most pure form. Pasteurized honey is typically processed and heated at high temperatures to achieve a smoother, more transparent product. But, we think honey looks perfect just the way it is. With rich antioxidants and nutrients, our honey doesn't just look good on the outside, it's good on the inside too!
● Q: What does “unfiltered” mean?
To maintain all the benefits of honey, Being Bees utilizes a process called gravity straining. Our honey is poured into a large container, and over time, the liquid honey and debris particles will naturally separate due to gravity. Unfiltered honey contains more pollen and wax particles, which gives it a cloudy appearance. But, you can trust that the health benefits of raw honey have not been lost during the filtration process. Our unfiltered honey showcases all the love and care our beekeepers put into their practice.
● Q: What are the benefits of raw and unfiltered honey?
The benefits of raw and unfiltered honey are endless! Packed full of antioxidants, raw and unfiltered honey helps fight against allergies, aids digestion, and fights infection. Not only is honey a highly medicinal substance, but pollination—which happens to be a bee’s full-time job—is crucial for crop production. By supporting Being Bees, you are supporting our beekeepers and their bees. When you purchase local honey products, you’re not only supporting our hard-working beekeepers—you’re also getting the (delicious) benefits of local honey.
● Q: How and where do we source our honey?
Currently, we source from local beekeepers in Ventura County, California. In addition, we have some friendly bees and beekeepers in Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, and Oregon, with one premium honey from Brazil. During the off-season for specific flower variants within Ventura, our beekeepers connect us with other beekeepers in other places. For instance, our beehives are transferred to a farm in Idaho to harvest our knapweed variant in the summer months. Our bees are happy and healthy, and that shows in our honey! Our products are harvested and packaged by our beekeepers and then sent to us here in Irvine, California, where we are headquartered.
● Q: What is a honey “variant” versus a honey “flavor”?
Instead of infusing our honey with artificial flavors or scents, we let nature take its course! For example, our orange blossom honey variant is sourced from California orange flowers. This variant offers a refreshing hint of citrus instead of an overly artificial orange flavor. Being Bees sources its honey from eleven different flower varieties, each with its own unique essence.
● Q: How is the color of our honey affected by the seasons?
Being Bees' honey products vary in color, which is not unusual for honey! The honey color will differ slightly based on what kind of flower the bee decides to visit. Because plants blossom at different times of year and bees collect honey nearly year-round, a single hive can produce many different colors of honey from season to season. For example, summer honey has more golden, cheerful color based on the summer flowers producing lighter color nectar.
● Q: Why does our honey crystallize?
Due to the raw and unfiltered nature of our products, Being Bees honey will often crystalize after some time. While this may seem like the product is going bad, it is a natural process. Tiny crystals begin to form due to the glucose content and the common particles that may remain in the honey after the straining process. The appearance of a thicker, crystallized honey is no reason to be concerned! This just means you are consuming a more pure, natural honey product.
How to liquefy the crystallized honey? When you’re ready to remove those beautiful crystals, place your honey jar into a bowl of warm water and watch the crystals dissolve before your eyes! Please do not boil the honey or put them in the super hot water.
● What is the shelf life of Being Bees honey?
Our natural, raw, and unfiltered honey products are meant to never spoil! However, moisture or other bacteria contamination in the honey jar may cause the product to go bad. To keep our bees happy and your honey for many years to come, please tightly seal our glass hexagonal jar and keep it best in a room temperature - away from the sun’s powerful rays!