The busy season for beekeepers has arrived! The bees have been busy collecting the  nectar of the forest. We are so lucky to have such beautiful flowering species that produce the bush honey of the Otways. With our young apprentices, we have successfully collected beautiful dark and strong flavoured honey. It has unique characteristic flavour that one could describe as bitter-sweet.

Some people might have noticed that Asian people are quite comfortable eating bitter food. There is a saying ‘良薬口苦 ‘Good medicine tastes bitter in the mouth’, looking at the colour and taste, I was especially excited by this particular honey.

Being a hay fever sufferer,I am really looking forward trying out how this honey might work for me during the hay fever season. In the past I suffered a lot with itchy eyes, a runny or blocked nose, and so my sense of smell would completely disappear. The worst reaction I would get was if I would get mosquito bites at the same time as the hay fever. The bites would become very inflamed. That  was 6 years ago. Since then I have been regularly eating and cooking with our local honey, and I don’t get such horrible reactions anymore. I don’t know exactly if it has been the honey or not that has led to my improved condition, but it is said from time to time by some researchers that consuming local honey can lead to a lessening of sensitivity to local pollen.  So perhaps honey for some people, pure untreated local honey like ours can be effective as a preventative medicine.

Shizu Broomfield Broomfield Honey