Thank You!
Thank you for joining the Kypseli family! Your jar contains 100% pure, raw, and unfiltered honey harvested across the street from Winterthur! Learn more about our varietals, the different blooms that contribute to each varietal's unique flavor, and how we harvest our honey in small, hand-bottled batches to maximize flavor and honor the tremendous effort of the honeybee.
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. Our honey is neither heated nor pasteurized. We do not add any flavors. We do not add any syrups or sweeteners. Instead, after removed from the hive, our honey is coarsely filtered 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.
Storing Honey
Honey is one of the easiest items to store and is perfect for the pantry. Honey is best stored in a sealed container at room temperature, between 64-75°F (18-24°C). Cooler temperatures, between 35-60°F, hasten honey's natural crystallization process. Honey stored at temperatures above 85°F for extended periods of time will darken in color and be subject to subtle flavor changes. Honey does not need to be refrigerated. In fact, it is easier to handle at room temperature because refrigeration can cause the honey to solidify.
Crystallization, a marker of high-quality, pure, raw, unfiltered, and unheated honey, is a natural phenomenon that happens when glucose, one of three main sugars in honey, spontaneously precipitates out of the supersaturated honey solution. That precipitation forms crystals, attaching to pollen, wax, and other particulates that were captured in the bottling process. As a result, pure, raw, unfiltered, and unheated honey has a natural tendency to crystallize over time, especially if pollen counts are high and honey is only lightly filtered and not pasteurized. The type of nectar the honeybees used to create the honey can also impact crystallization rates. Crystallization is not harmful, and is not an indication that honey has spoiled.
Honey can be enjoyed when crystallized. To liquify crystallized honey, place the honey jar in a pot of warm water and gently heat until the honey liquifies. Do not boil and do not overheat; excessive heat may alter the honey's flavor and color and can induce caramelization. Using a microwave is not recommended as it can overheat the honey too quickly.