There's a moment during every honey harvest when the extraction room fills with the most extraordinary scent — warm beeswax, wildflowers, and something ancient and sweet that's impossible to describe. This summer, we're taking you behind the scenes of our 2026 harvest from our home apiary here in the Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The Supers Come Off
It begins with the supers — the upper boxes where our bees store their surplus honey. Each super is lifted carefully from the hive, heavy with the season's work. Our bees have been foraging across the wildflower meadows and hedgerows of the Wolds all spring and summer, and you can see the results in the rich amber colour of the comb.
Capped and Ready
Before we extract, we check that the frames are fully capped. When bees seal each cell with a thin layer of white beeswax, it's their signal that the honey has reached the right moisture content — typically below 20% — and is ready to store. A fully capped frame like the one pictured is a beautiful thing.
Uncapping the Frames
The first step in extraction is removing those wax caps. We use an uncapping fork to gently scratch across the surface of each frame, breaking the wax seal and exposing the honey beneath. The wax cappings we collect are saved — they'll eventually become our handmade beeswax candles and lotion bars.
Into the Extractor
The uncapped frames go into our radial extractor. As it spins, centrifugal force draws the honey out of the cells and onto the walls of the drum, where it runs down and pools at the base. It's a satisfying process to watch — and the smell in the room at this point is something else entirely.
Filtering and Settling
Once extracted, the honey is poured through a coarse filter to remove any remaining wax particles or debris. We don't heat it, and we don't fine-filter it — that would destroy the natural pollens, enzymes, and beneficial compounds that make raw honey so special. What you see pouring into the settling tank is exactly what came out of the comb.
It then rests for 24–48 hours to allow any air bubbles to rise to the surface before we jar it by hand.
Why Raw Matters
Most supermarket honey is pasteurised — heated to high temperatures to prevent crystallisation and extend shelf life. That process also destroys much of what makes honey nutritionally interesting: the natural enzymes, antioxidants, and local pollens. Our honey is never heated above hive temperature. It will crystallise over time, which is a sign of quality, not a flaw. Simply place the jar in warm water to return it to a liquid state.
The 2026 Wildflower Harvest
This year's spring wildflower harvest from our Lincolnshire Wolds hives is now available in 100g and 227g jars. Stock is limited — we only jar what our bees produce, and we never supplement with bought-in honey.
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