The Local Honey Myth

One thing that comes up very often when talking to people about honey is a preference for a local variety to help with hay fever and other allergies. On the surface this seems to make sense as honey bees collect pollen and that finds its way into a jar of honey so if you’re exposed to small quantities it builds up your resistance right? We thought this way for a while too until we found out the pollens we’re allergic to aren’t the same types that honey bees will collect.

Pollens that cause hay fever are wind born from trees and grasses that release the pollens into the air in the hope they will eventually mingle with another plants to germinate and also get up our nose and in our eyes!

Honey bees collect pollens from plants which rely on insects to move them from one plant to another. As they drink the nectar deep inside the flower pollens get caught on the body of the bee and then transferred to the next flowers they visit.

Generally though a local honey will only be coarse filtered and unpasteurised which means it's good quality. Also buying any local produce means lower food miles and supporting producers in your community which should always be encouraged and having a nearby beekeepers honey to enjoy is a real treat. But you’ll always be restricted to a limited variety of honeys that can be produced on your doorstep and there are so many delicious types to enjoy!

That’s why at Black Bee Honey we offer a range of very different honeys produced by responsible beekeepers from different regions of the country so you can experience the magic of all of that variety and deliciousness.