Here we go again.

David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org

Look at this little apis mellifera. She looks like she's up to trouble. Honey-making trouble.


True to form, something shiny has caught my eye and now I'm completely obsessed. This time, it's honeybees, and they are friggin' delightful. I can't seem to get my greedy little paws on enough reading material, pictures and recipes. Must. Live on. Bee farm.


Along with my fascination with bees has come an intense desire to acquire all different kinds of honey. It certainly doesn't help that I'm in the middle of The Honey Trail: In Pursuit of Liquid Gold and Vanishing Bees by Grace Pundyk, who travels to the world's honey-producing hubs and describes in luscious detail the rare honeys she comes across. She writes that Yemeni sidr honey is a mouthgasm. But this super rare, God-sent (according to the beekeepers) is an astounding $300 USD for one pound. Three hundo for a mouthgasm would make me feel like a trick that just got turned.


So begins my Google search for rare honeys using Pundyk's book as a guide. She explicitly states that there really is no regulation on honey when it comes to country of origin. What's being sold can be anything from mega-produced Chinese honey (the largest honey producer in the world) to crap imitation honey-derived sweetner. Obviously I'm a little wary of buying the exotic stuff online from could-be honey conmen. But man oh man, to get wildly different honeys next to each other and taste them side-by-side...dream come true.

Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey via Taylor's Market

Even the packaging is magnificent. I'd fork over the cash just for the can alone.


Eventually, my bee obsession is leading me toward the UK, just outside Cambridge, to be specific. A commercial beekeeper I found via HelpX will need someone to help out come Spring, and hopefully I can stay, learn and beekeep for a few months. I've been needing to get out of the city for a while, so I think this is just what I would need. There are also some beekeepers in New Zealand that need help starting November for the winter (lucky them and their opposite seasons!), but I need to finish my yoga certification before I go anywhere. Six more months!