Nectar sources
Our honey is produced from local nectar sources. Each kind of flower produces a honey with its own distinct taste and properties. There are specific times of year when nectar sources are readily identifiable and we harvest the resulting honey separately. When nectar sources are mixed by the bees or are generally unknown, it is labeled as "wildflower." Frequently, we have wildflower honeys that are different from each other in some way and we assign them a special name.

The quantities of honey we harvest are totally dependent on the production of our bees and the seasonal conditions.

Our usual floral sources include basswood, buckwheat clover and goldenrod. Wildflower honey frequently in stock includes spring, August wildflower and meadow blossom.

How our honey is made
Honey is a unique mixture of flower nectar and bee ingenuity. Each bee in the hive has a specific job. Field workers gather flower nectar and bring it back to the hive in a special stomach-like storage chamber. They also gather pollen on their body hairs and they pack it into pollen "baskets" on their legs. At the hive entrance, the field bee is greeted by "house" bees who "unload" the nectar and transport it up to the honey comb area used for ripening. House bees distribute the ripening nectar into multiple cells. Additionally, each bee adds enzymes to the nectar and house bees fan the nectar-laden cells to speed evaporation. When the honey has become thick and fully ripe, the bees cap the cells with a beeswax seal. The boxes of honey comb frames at the top of the bee hives are call supers. Each box holds nine frames of honey comb totalling about 45-50 pounds of honey. The honey is harvested at Leo's Honey House starting at the end of June with our final harvest near the end of September.

At the Honey House, frames are removed and the cells of the honey comb are removed enmasse with a hot knife. The frame is then put in a device called an extractor that uses centrifugal force to "spin out" the honey. The empty frames are given back to the bees for refilling and the honey is bottled and ready to eat.

Pasteurization
Pasteurization is a process sometimes used in the harvesting of honey. It involves heating the honey quickly and sustaining the temperature for a period of time to kill microorganisms and slow down the crystalization (sugaring) process. While some people find this beneficial, this kind of heating has a detrimental effect on the honey's flavor, enzyme structure and vitamin content.

More and more people prefer to consume honey that has not been pasteurized. Pure raw honey has been the standard of Leo's Honey House since the beginning. Recently there is a new trend involving raw honey that has not been filtered. After extraction, honey is usually put through a series of filters to remove the bits of honeycomb, propolis and pollens. This leads to the familiar crystal clear liquid that most of us know. "Ultra" raw honey is harvested and bottled right from the extraction with no filtering. This product is a "full-flavor" honey and thought to have added health benefits because of the properties of the propolis and pollens. This honey crystalizes quickly and the jars usually have some degree of crystalization when purchased. Container size is limited and the flavor is only wildflower.