Sweetness From Across Kenya’s Landscape.
It’s the small things in life that really matter so we keep hearing. A truer statement has never been said especially when I think of bees. Where I come from, the conversations around honey are not necessarily about the kind of honey but its authenticity. People are always skeptical that it’s been adulterated and store bought varieties are well, for emergencies.
Since Covid-19 broke out all over the globe, there’s been a surge in colds and flu around here.
A favourite way to treat flu and common colds around here is using dawa- Swahili for medicine.
It’s a brew made with honey, ginger and lemon as the primary ingredients. I like to add cinnamon, nutmeg and turmeric for increased potency. You can very easily make it at home if your pantry is well stocked.
However, on this particular day when a friend called me with the news that their family had tested positive for Covid -19, I remembered Bree’s Bee Honey . I know, not the first thing that would pop in your mind after receiving such news. Bree’s Bees Honey source and pack raw honey and make the most potent dawa I have tasted yet. I’d been meaning to try them out for a while and this happened to be the perfect moment, albeit in the wake of scary news. I ordered my friend some honey and dawa. Am so glad I did as that ordering process turned out to be a whole lesson in the variety of honey in my own backyard.
After going through their offerings, I decided to try the Mangrove honey.
Mangrove honey is collected from the coastal forest and apiaries. It’s dark, not to sweet with a tart taste. Bees forage from mangrove trees, known to absorb lots of nutrients from the sea — which in turn are transferred to the honey from the nectar by the bees.
They say the darker the honey, the higher the antioxidants, making this variety medicinal in value. ~~ Source: Bree’s Bees Honey Instagram page.
A taste of the ocean in a scoop of honey? C’mon! How can anyone resist that? You don’t have to be a honey connoisseur to take note of the exceptional darkness to it. I’d never seen that richness before. There’s an undeniable subtle saltiness to it too that’s just delectable. Before you think that the description would predispose one to a certain way of thinking, they did send in samples of the other varieties just so you don’t take their word for it.
Bree’s Bees Honey traverses Kenya’s landscape to source for honey and harvest it in its most natural taste. Their growing offering so far includes: Kasira Honey, Mangrove Honey, Stingless Bee Honey, Alale Honey, Kacheliba Honey, Embu light honey, Embu dark honey, Mt.Elgon Honey and their newest addition, Lolgorian Honey from the world famous Savannah wilderness.
Fun Fact — The stingless bee honey is made by stingless bees in the ground as opposed to a hive which makes this honey a rare kind.
After the oceanic Mangrove honey, am looking to try the stingless bee honey mainly because all the bees I’ve known to this point have been the stinging kind. Some sweet peace for a change yes?😄
Which kind are you curious to try first? Do let me know and be sure to order through their social media pages.
