PRODUCTS.
Nestled in a valley along the edge of Pisgah National Forest, lies the town of Brevard, NC. It is here, amongst fields of wildflowers, endless forests, and pristine mountain streams that we manage 200 colonies of honeybees spread out over several locations. This area, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, is surrounded by temperate rainforests and lush river bottoms home to an abundance of flowering trees and plants.
Foraging on an assortment of nectar and pollen, our honeybees work tirelessly from sunup to sundown, capturing the unique taste and essence that this area is known for. We aim to work with their seasonal rhythms, natural behaviors, and fascinating lifecycle to share with you a variety of products straight from the hive.
Our Honey
We specialize in producing seasonal varieties of pure, raw honey. We typically harvest honey at two different times during the year: once in the June when we harvest our Wildflower honey, and then again during early August when we harvest our Sourwood honey.
Our wildflower honey is a mix of nectar from many flowering plants and trees such as Tulip Poplar, Black Locust, Clover, Blackberry, and Basswood, among others. Our Wildflower honey has a delicious and complex flavor profile. Because we never process under high heat or micro-filter our honey, our Wildflower honey retains the beneficial enzymes and trace pollens from an abundance of different floral sources making it a great product to help those who suffer from plant-based allergies.
Our Sourwood honey is much more of a single-source honey and is primarily comprised of nectar gathered from the Sourwood tree, which typically blooms in late June through the month of July. Sourwood honey is world-famous and highly sought after for its delicate buttery flavor which is accented with notes of anise, caramel, and gingerbread. We are very fortunate to live and raise bees in the only region of the world where Sourwood honey is produced. Due to a relatively short bloom period and finicky local weather, a good Sourwood honey harvest may only happen once every few years resulting in high demand for this premium honey.
We currently sell our honey at the Transylvania Farmers Market every Saturday from 10-12. We hope you’ll come see us! Our honey is also available for purchase at a variety of retail locations and online.
In order to reduce the negative impacts of plastics in our environment, we choose to package our honey in reusable, infinitely recyclable glass containers.
NOW SHIPPING! To place an order please click on the SHOP NOW button below.
Honey Bees
Bee. honey + hive is excited to be taking orders for 2024 Nucleus (Nuc) Colonies! We take pride in producing healthy and robust 5-frame nucs that will set you up for success. Our honey bees stay year-round in Brevard, NC where our beekeeping operation focuses on honey production. We enjoy helping new beekeepers as well as those who are wishing to expand or replace winter colony losses so please reach out with any questions you may have prior to ordering. We’re here to help!
Each 5-frame deep nuc will contain:
- TONS of bees! All frames will be covered with bees.
- 3 frames of brood in various stages of development (eggs, open larva, and capped brood)
- 2 frames of resources(honey and pollen)
- 1 laying and marked 2024 queen from our very best overwintered stock
Nucs will come in a waxed cardboard box and be sealed (with ventilation) for transport.
We recommend the back of a pickup truck. The backseat or trunk of a car can also work. If this is the case you may want to consider purchasing a “nuc mesh transport bag” of some sort to bring with you. Please note that we cannot guarantee there won’t be a few bees that leak out-they are pretty amazing escape artists!
Our nucs are produced from our overwintered stock here in the mountains of western, NC following the reproductive cycle of local honey bees and the availability of natural forage (pollen and nectar). Doing so, we’ve found that we can raise great local queens and have nucs ready for sale in May. This timing coincides with warmer temperatures and our first major honey flow (Blackberry, Locust, Tulip Poplar) which is a great time to get nucs started in our region! Please note that each season is a little different and we may have to move the pickup dates forward or backward a week or so depending on the weather and strength of our colonies coming out of winter. If so, we will contact you as soon as we foresee the need to adjust our pickup dates. Please make sure you have your equipment purchased and ready well in advance of your scheduled pickup date. Our nucs will be booming and ready to upgrade into larger equipment!
Payment in full is required to confirm and guarantee your order. You will receive an order confirmation within a few minutes of placing your order with further details.
Cost: $195
Pickup dates: May 11th 2024
Nucs will be ready for pickup between 8:00am and 10:00am
Pick up location:
176 Lyday Loop Rd.
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
We do not ship nucs, they are for local pickup only.
CONTACT US
WHERE YOU CAN BUY OUR HONEY
Cup and Saucer | Nature Hollow | Cedar Mountain Outpost | Rocky's Corner Market | Beaudega at Black Sheep (Beaufort, NC) |
Transylvania County Farmer’s Market | Green Heart Juice | Mud Dabber’s Pottery | New Leaf Garden Market