Our Story

Artisanal Delaware Honey

Kypseli Family Honey LLC is family-owned apiary and small-batch, artisanal honey farm in Greenville, Delaware -- the heart of Delaware's chateau country in the Brandywine Valley.

Our honeybees, which can forage a few miles from their hives, have unique access to some of the most renowned gardens in the country.  Our farm is across the street from Winterthur Museum and its 60-acre garden, a stone's throw from the Wilmington Country Club and the Delaware Museum of Natural History, and within minutes of Hagley Museum.  Our more adventurous honeybees might even make their way to the nearby 200-acre Nemours Estate, which features the largest formal French gardens in North America, Longwood Gardens' 1,077 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows, and Ashland Nature Center's 130 acres of woodlands, meadows, and marsh.

Three Varietals

As a result of the nectar and pollen within the honeybees' reach, our honey takes on the richness of seasonal blooms.  The honeybees produce a uniquely sweet and smooth wildflower honey that we harvest in small batches three times per year, creating spring, summer and fall varietals. Each harvest is carefully timed to maximize the flavor profiles of each variety.

Spring Honey

Our spring collection kicks off the season with honey that is as sweet and bright as the happy bees producing it--bees which are emerging from their winter in the hives excited to explore nature's bounty.  With spring comes the annual "spring flow" as millions of honeybees enjoying local blooms like daffodils, bluebells, winterhazel, hellebores, azaleas and peonies pollinate the local countryside.   The smooth, liquid texture reflects the delicate and light flavors of this sweet variety.

Summer Honey

As temperatures rise, our summer collection remains sweet and begins to darken ever-so-slightly in color and retains a thicker texture--perfect in a cold glass of iced tea to enjoy those warm, hazy summer months.  The bees start to slow down in June, July and early August as the annual "spring flow" comes to an end.  During this time of year, bees enjoy roses, daylillies, and late-blooming azaleas, bugbanes, hostas, hydrangeas, and other natural wildflowers that dot the rolling landscape.

Fall Honey

Fall honey is rare.  By this point in the season, the honeybees are scurrying about to make the last bit of honey they will need to survive the winter.  A careful beekeeper must pull only very modest amounts to ensure that the honeybees are well-stocked for colder months.  

Fall honey is coveted not only for its rarity, but also its rich, luscious flavors. Fall honey is deep and dark, with even more body than its spring and summer siblings.  In August and September, our honeybees enjoy dogwoods, maples, bugbanes, goldenrods, and perhaps even a few fall daffodils and early blooming mums.

Pure, Raw, Unfiltered

Many bulk packers and large-scale commercial producers heat honey to high temperatures and use advanced filtering techniques to make the extraction process easier. Some even dilute honey with corn syrup and other additives to stretch their harvests and increase profits. Others add flavorings after the extraction is complete. 

We do not. After removed from the hive, our honey is coarsely strained to remove large wax pieces and other particles and simply poured into glass jars.  As a result, our honey is 100% pure, raw, and unfiltered.  And each batch looks and tastes a little different depending on what's blooming.

Greek Roots

Curious about our name?  We are a family operation with Greek roots.  Our parents and grandparents emigrated from Greece and settled in southeast Pennsylvania and Greenville, Delaware. Greece is also known for producing some of the best honey in the world.  Our name honors that heritage as the word kypseli (κυψέλη, pronounced keep-SEH-lee) is the Greek word for “hive.” 

From our kypseli to yours, we hope you enjoy! Καλή όρεξη! Enjoy!

-The Caras and Kirifides Families

*Honey should not be consumed by babies less than one year.

 

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