Will my honey granulate?

All pure liquid honey will granulate in time, especially if prepared like our honey using gentle warmth. If desired you can return it to liquid by gently warming it. Its nothing to worry about though and doesn’t affect the taste.

Is your honey heated?

We use minimal heat in processing our honey, but sometimes have to warm it back to close to the temperature it was at in the hive just to get it to flow so it can be jarred. Certain honeys will set hard so we gently warm them to allow jarring, or to allow further processing to make them a soft set honey. All of our honey could still be classified as ‘raw’ but this is a term we prefer not to use as there are no strict definitions for raw honey.

Do you add anything to your honey?

No, absolutely not.

Is honey suitable for babies?

Infants under the age of 12 months should not be given honey. There is a very small risk that the bacterium, Clostridium botulinum, is present in honey which, if consumed by infants can cause botulism. This is incredibly rare but still not worth the risk.

Why local bees?

We want bees that will cope with our short season and often severe winter, so find that locally bred bees are best. Imports are blamed for introducing bee diseases and beekeeping in Scotland is hard enough without additional pests and diseases to contend with. 

What is your favourite honey and how do you eat your honey?

A difficult question! We have a selection of honeys always on the go and tend to alternate each day. We have honey in our porridge every morning and love honey on freshly made scotch pancakes!! Delish! Oh and in yogurt with fruit is wonderful too!

Do you have bees for sale?

locally grafted and mated queens, nucs, and full colonies are available to purchase – just send us an email and we’ll try to help.

do you sell beeswax candles?

we make and sell beeswax candles using beeswax from our own bees. the candles have a lovely honey aroma. 

Do you run beekeeping courses?

Royal Deeside Bees and Honey don’t run beekeeping courses but Sarah does help organise and mentor at the courses run by Tarland Bee Group.  

Official stuff:

We are registered with Aberdeenshire Council as a food business, have a Pass for the Food Hygiene Information scheme and hold the Elementary Food Hygiene Certificate.

Can i help?

Sarah is often on the lookout for new apiaries, so if you have land and would like to have around 7 hives on your land please do get in touch. Please do bear in mind that there must be good vehicular access to sites – bee boxes full of honey are incredibly heavy!

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