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HONEY RANGE

Available now.
All honeys are South African, pure, unheated, un-irradiated and un-clarified. RAW

Indigenous Plants

Exotics

Creamed Honeys

Honey comb

Supplied in:

Bulk

Raw Honey & Nuts

Roasted, grounded & creamed with raw honey (No sugars, butters, emulsifiers or dairy products and preservatives)

Raw Honey & Nuts in 350g glass jar

Raw Honey & Nuts per Kg

Raw Honey, Raw Cocoa & Nuts in 350g

Raw Honey, Raw Cocoa & Nuts per Kg

Other goodies

COSMETICS

These days the Australian people are experiencing unprecedented high levels of skin cancer. Research is starting to blame this condition on the extensive use of sun blocks and its ingredients, specifically the Chemicals used as UV Absorbers. Due to UV radiation, within two hours of application these chemicals break down and form new compounds, which subsequently get absorbed into the deeper layers of the skin. A sunscreen of factor 8 blocks 95% formation of the essential cancer preventing Vitamin D.

The NEW WAY for sun protection is:

• Use creams with researched and proven natural products with anti-radiation properties like propolisand oils with high phenolic content.
• Avoid mid-day sun as much as possible. If not possible wear a hat and sun-blocking clothing.
• Early morning and late afternoon sunlight should be regarded a food, as it metabolises the Vitamin D.
• Drink green tea often with squeezed lemon peel on and in it, as research says it offers perhaps the best skin cancer prevention there is. Tomato paste with olive oil is also highly recommended.

MEAD

The drink of the gods. Outstanding and sherry like.
Most probably the very best there is for sauces.
Available in 750ml.

A Brief History of Mead
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mead

The history of Mead is as long and rich and captivating as the beverage itself. Mead is thought to be the oldest alcoholic beverages know to man. It was most likely discovered quite by accident, when some thirsty hunter-gatherers discovered an upturned beehive, filled up with rainwater. They drank the sweet water completely unaware of what fermentation and alcohol were and experienced the first intoxication. In a quest to replicate this experience the art of mead-making was begun. Unfortunately, fermentation was not understood until the mid 1800’s. Consequently, two things occurred: First, fermentation was very unpredictable. And second, fermentation took on mystical and religious qualities.

The ancient Greeks called mead, Ambrosia, or Nectar. It was believed to be the drink of the gods, and was thought to descend from the Heavens as dew, before being gathered in by the bees. Because of the believed ties to the gods, it is easy to see why the ancient Greeks believed mead to have magical and sacred properties. The Greeks believed that mead would prolong life, and bestow health, strength, virility, re-creative powers, wit and poetry. The bees themselves, we are told by Virgil’s Georgics are driven to the sky to honour the goddess Aphrodite. And, the prophetess’ at Delphi are suspected of drinking mead made from a honey from slightly toxic plants in order to induce their prophetic states, and visions of the future.

Ancient mead kettle

Mead declined in production in the south of Europe, where grapes were discovered as a less expensive, more predictable source of wine production. But, in the north where vine fruits were less available the popularity of mead continued.

In Norse/Aryan mythology a draught of mead, delivered by the beautiful divine maidens, was the reward for warriors that reached Valhalla. And, the Norse god of poetry, Brage, is said to have drunk mead from a Brage-beaker, later called the bragging cup. While the great Norse god, Odin, was said to have gained his strength but suckling Mead from a goats’ udder as an infant. Celtic mythology tells of a river of mead running through paradise, while the Anglo-Saxon culture held mead up as the bestower of immortality, poetry and knowledge.

In fact the mythology of mead exists in our culture today, unnoticed by most. The very term “honeymoon” comes from the ancient tradition of giving bridal couples a moons worth of honey-wine. This was long ago thought to ensure a fruitful union. In fact the payment to the meadmaker was often increased, dependent on the promptness and the male-gender of the first-born child.

Bees were thought, by most European cultures, to be the messengers of the gods. Therefore, even as mead production declined it was still used for the temples rites, and the grand ceremonies, while ales were used for every day life. The same mystic properties that kept mead in the temples, made mead a natural adjunct to early ideas of western medicine. In England there were a number of meads, flavoured with specific herbs that were used to cure any number of ailments. For example, mead made with balm was thought to aid digestion and expel melancholy, and mead made with borage was used to revive hypochondriacs and the chronically ill. The name for these spiced meads is Metheglin, and comes for the Welsh word “medcyglin”, meaning medicine.

The Middle Ages took mead to different heights. The stature afforded to mead can be seen in the fact that the King’s mead cellar was under the direct care of the Steward of the household, who was the chief officer of the court. And, payment for meadmakers was as high as one third of the mead made for the customer. Unfortunately, during this same time the demand by the church for bees wax candles helped the decline of mead-making by creating an economic incentive to rob the bee hives of their honey laden wax.

The tapestry of mead history is rich and wonderful. References are littered throughout history and literature. Chaucer speaks of making Claret sweeter with the addition of honey. In 1771 Smollett writes that knowledge of mead-making is considered one of the arts of a true country gentleman. Queen Elizabeth was known to have her own favourite recipe, including rosemary, bay leaves, sweet briar and thyme. But perhaps Howell, Clerk to the Privy Council, said it best in 1640 when he wrote, “The juice of bees, not Bacchus, here behold, Which British Bards were wont to quaff of old; The berries of the grape with Furies swell, But in the honey comb the Graces dwell.”

Wood Products

Wood Polish

Beeswax, natural turpentine & raw linseed oil.

The classic and best wood polish.

Supplied in 250gr trays.

Wood Cream

Supplied in 250gr trays. Beeswax, natural turpentine, soap, water

Cleans shines & protects.

BEE REMOVALS

When required I can remove wild bees. Afterwards those swarms will be placed into new working hives.

The price per swarm removal within the Northern Suburbs of Jhb is R350.00. This price is dependent on the ease of access to the swarm on site. For locations further away a quote will be given.

Advice will also be given on site in how to avoid further unwanted swarms.

To recieve a Bee Removal quote or to arrange a removal date please contact me directly,