Every jar of honey has a story
It sits on our breakfast table every morning. So much a part of our daily lives, we often forget where it comes from. Yet honey is a true marvel of nature and biodiversity.
Here’s a quick refresher on how this sweet miracle that flavours our tea, yogurt and desserts is made.
How do bees make honey?
It all starts with the bees! Of the 20,000 bee species buzzing around the planet, only eight produce honey. Over its lifetime, a single honeybee makes about one teaspoon of honey.
Every drop is the result of the tireless work of many of these tiny natural workers.
And they sure go the distance to make it happen! Every day, bees travel back and forth within a five-kilometre radius between the hive and flowering plants.
Step 1: Collecting nectar
Forager bees use their proboscis, a long tongue-like tube, to suck nectar from flowers and store it in a special pouch called the honey stomach.
Stage 2: Transforming nectar
Once enough nectar is gathered, the bees return to the hive.
Transformation begins in the bees’ mouths. As they regurgitate the nectar from their honey stomachs, they mix it with enzymes that begin converting it into honey.
Stage 3: Storing in honeycombs
The transformed nectar is deposited into honeycomb cells.
Since it still contains a lot of water, fanning bees create airflow in the hive to help evaporate the excess moisture. The goal? To make the honey thick and sticky.
Stage 4: Ripening honey
At this stage, the water content is below 20%. Worker bees seal the honeycomb cells with a thin layer of wax, which protects the honey and allows it to be stored safely.
Kept away from air and moisture, the honey continues to mature over several days. Its texture smooths, flavours deepen, and the bees’ enzymes bring out its unique aromas.
Step 5: Sweet joy! It’s harvest time!
When the honey is ready, beekeepers collect the full frames from the hive.
They gently remove the wax caps and ensure that bees are left with enough honey for themselves. After all, it’s their main source of food!
Before being jarred, commercially produced honey is typically heated or filtered, and sometimes pasteurized to slow crystallization.
The process is slightly different for raw honey (This hyperlink will open in a new tab). Once harvested, the honey is processed to reduce its moisture content. This helps lower the risk of yeast growth. Next, the layer of wax that holds the honey is removed.
What influences the taste of honey?
Each honey harvest is unique. Its colour and flavour vary depending on the type of nectar collected. The type of honey reflects the flowers visited by the bees and the surrounding ecosystem. Wildflowers, blueberries, lavender, thyme, orange blossoms — each brings its own bouquet of aromas.
There are even subtle differences between rural and urban honey. Rural honey often comes from a single flower species. Urban honey, thanks to diverse floral sources, tends to be richer and more complex in flavour.
Even Beneva has its own honey!
Our primary expertise may be in insurance and investments, but did you know we also produce our own honey in collaboration with Alvéole (This hyperlink will open in a new tab)?
We’ve had beehives on the rooftops of our buildings for over five years:
Throughout the summer, Alvéole visits the hives every three weeks to ensure healthy production. Each year, around 60 kg of rooftop honey is harvested and sold to our employees. All proceeds are donated to Earth Day (This hyperlink will open in a new tab).
To date, the bees from our hives have helped pollinate an estimated 120 to 200 million flowers, shrubs and trees in the local community.