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Raw Honey FAQ

Q: What is the best way to store your honey once the jar has been opened?

A: Most people keep their honey at room temperature as refrigeration is not necessary. If you like your honey thicker, the fridge is your best bet. Most raw honeys will crystallize over time; cooler temperatures can speed this process.

Q: What is the shelf life of honey? Does it expire?

A: No, honey will never spoil and has even been found in ancient Egyptian tombs.

Q: Why does the honey look like there are two different layers?

A: The honey is starting to crystallize and become lighter, which is natural and happens to all raw honey.

Q: My honey has crystallized, what should I do?

A: Warm some water and set your jar in it for a warm-water “bath”. To preserve the rawness of unheated honey, keep the water below 95°F, which is the highest temperature we've recorded in bee hives.

Q: Is your honey organic?

A: Our honey is not certified organic. Although our sage and buckwheat honey meet standards to be certified organic, we do not currently certify them for the following reason. Due to the drought our production of these honeys are very low, even with the high prices we must charge we often sell out before the new crop. Therefore, we do not wish to increase the cost of the honey by going through the certification process and then have to pass that cost on to the consumer.

Q: Are your products free of pesticides and chemicals?

A: Yes!

Q: Do you treat your bees humanely?

A: We treat our bee friends as humanely as possible and keep our interference in their lives to a minimum.

Q: Do you use antibiotics in your honey?

A: No, our bees are healthy and antibiotic free!!

Q: Do you feed the bees sugar in the off-season?

A: We feed our bees only when it’s absolutely necessary to keep the hive alive and never when they are making honey.

Q: How long will Royal Jelly keep in the fridge?

A: We recommend you keep Royal Jelly for no more than six months in the fridge or up to two years frozen.

Q: Is your honey fair trade?

A: None of our honey is from a developing country; therefore, we are not fair trade.

Q: What is the difference between Grade A and Grade B Honey?

A: Grade A honey has to be super clear, defect-free honey and can only be done with heat and hyperfiltration. Grade A is what most people consume and are the cheapest honeys.

Our Honey is Grade B honey because it's raw, unheated and unfiltered. We believe honey should be unprocessed, raw, and as close to eating out of the hive as possible. Our honey is beautiful, but unprocessed honey can't get a grade A.

Q: Some of your honeys are more viscous than others; does this mean they were heated?

A: All raw honeys have different viscosities depending on the floral source. The moisture level can vary from 13 percent to 20 percent. Our cold packed honey is not heated.

Q: How do you get the different varieties of honey?

A: We specialize in placing bees in areas that contain only one floral source. The bees will only work that type of flower, which gives us the varieties. Due to uncontrollable circumstances like rain, sun, wind and plant growth, the taste, viscosity and color of the honey will change from year to year. Keep an eye on the local news, if they are predicting a bad year for a certain crop it's also going to be a slow year for that type of honey.

Q: Where do you keep your bees?

A: We keep most of our hives in the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. During the spring, we move the hives to orchards and wildflowers in the local mountains.

Q: Where can I buy Honey Pacifica Honey?

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