The bees in their winter habitat. My hive is the green one at the far left.

Yesterday we drove to Langley to attend a honey tasting party and meet all the other bee-people who sponsored hives from the 3B Honeybee company. Art and Bryn had combined the honey from hives in each of the different localities (our was Kits/UBC) and provided samples of each one to taste.  There were about twelve different types arranged in a spectrum from the lightest to the darkest. We tried samples of each type and were surprised by the different tastes and textures. I wasn’t able to distinguish any individual floral notes or flavours, however I am not exactly known to have a discriminating palate. It all tasted great to me.

Kits/UBC honey. Fall larch in the background.

The Kits/UBC honey is the second darkest type. My hive produced 18 pounds of honey. This sounds like a lot until you realize that the highest producing hive produced over 200 pounds. I can’t complain though, as many hives didn’t produce any honey at all.

We headed home with our three jars of honey (that was the deal) plus a few extra jars for gifts.  It was fun to meet the other bee people and compare experiences. Every single person I spoke plans to host a hive again next year. I hope that I get the same hive (#32) back again in my garden again next year.

Anyway, big thanks to Art and Bryn for hosting the party and for making it possible to host a hive this last summer. It was definitely one of the highlights of my year!

Hive 32 in it’s winter home.