KEY POINTS:
If you thought a boutique beekeeping business meant that every bee had its own room (a boutique Bee&Bee), you'd be several thousand out: there's up to 100,000 bees in a single hive. By boutique, Andrew and Sue Williams, owners of 309 Honey near Whitianga, mean they do everything themselves.
"From hive to pot," says Sue. Their shop - a hut with an honesty box at the bottom of their garden - pretty much runs itself. "Though some people come knocking on our door with questions," she smiles.
The Williams went into the honey business unintentionally. The land they bought to build on came with 200 hives.
"Andrew was a plumber at the time but I saw the hives as an additional income," says Sue. Now, they have 800.
Bees are dormant during winter so the Williams are busy repairing hives and constructing new ones. The floor in the storage room is tacky under foot and the smell of floral honey is unmistakable. The Williams distribute the hives around the 309 Road and the peninsula, ready for the bees to start filling them with nectar in October.
The 309 - so-named, the story goes, because it used to take a horse and cart that number of minutes to cross it - cuts across the Coromandel. It's largely unsealed, but the drive through the tranquil green hills is worth the pot-holes and lively gravel. "In Spring, the hills are so white with manuka flowers, it looks like it's snowed," says Sue. Manuka, with their tiny white flowers, are pretty special if you're in the honey business.
"It makes honey that's strong and intense," she says. Bees like it too; they'll fly up to 3km to collect its nectar. Some manuka honey can be "active" - that is, containing natural anti-bacterial properties, known to ease digestion and even used to treat stomach ulcers. There's no way of knowing if your honey contains this intangible quality unless it's tested at the lab. "Everyone wants active, but you get what you get," accepts Sue.
The Williams have always used Italian bees but are gradually introducing another type: the carnica. "It's the bee of the future," Andrew grins. "The Italians can be a bit lazy - if they don't fancy going out, they won't. But the carnicas always work hard."
A bee can live for around six months in winter; just six weeks in spring. "If a bee is born in February, it should make it through to August," Andrew estimates.
When collecting honey, a gentle approach is advised. "Oh, they still don't like it though!" Andrew laughs. The honey is spun off in a machine, then filtered and potted. Ideally this is done within 48 hours, so the honey retains its natural warmth from the hives and flows easily. Mass honey producers spread the production out, often reheating the honey; some even freeze it before potting.
Filtering removes all kinds of things. "Bees legs and stings mainly," says Andrew.
Being stung doesn't bother the Williams. They recall the time Andrew turned a fallen hive over and suffered 60 stings in one go. "I got a thrashing," he chuckles. "The bees were used to the hive being the wrong way up so, to them, we were turning their home upside down."
No bee products have ever been imported into New Zealand, which is why Kiwi honey is free from a deadly disease which wipes out entire colonies of bees.
Incredibly, though, there's talk of importing Australian honey for use in the food industry.
"A disaster for New Zealand," Andrew says grimly, citing predictions that the disease would be rife after just three shiploads of imported honey.
Need to know
309 Honey will last for two years if kept cool and dry. And like wine, it needs to open out and breathe before being enjoyed.
You can find 309 Honey at 1644, 309 Road. Ph (07) 866 4800 or www.309honey.co.nz
- Detours, HoS
