Bee Friends Farm

We are local full-time beekeepers and a Florida licensed honey packer based in Jacksonville, Florida! We are migratory beekeepers which means we move our bees depending on what plants are in season. Our bees are always traveling around Florida, picking out the best blooms for you! We bottle everything from our hyper-local Jacksonville Wildflower, Black Mangrove, Tupelo from White Tupelo trees, Saw Palmetto and Orange Blossom! Our goal is to manage about 600 healthy colonies of bees during the peak season! We would love to have folks out to see our bees. We partner with Congaree and Penn on the Northside and have seasonal beekeeper experiences. Your experience includes a lecture about bees and beekeeping as well as hands-on up-close with the bees. Of course, we will suit you up in a bee jacket and veil. Contact us for more information. The best honey for allergies is always local honey from your neighborhood beekeeper. For us, here in Jacksonville, Florida, that is our hyper-local Wildflower honey. It is perfect for allergy season in Jacksonville because it comes from wildflower nectar farmed within the 295 beltway. If you ask, "Why is raw honey so good for allergies?" we answer that here! Check out our recipe section for cooking with honey. When talking about savory or sweet cooking you can always substitute honey for sugar in your recipes - you can even try a little less than the amount called for. Honey is a little sweeter than processed sugar! For some simple recipes to whip up at home try Bee Friends Farm honey in a salad dressing, marinades, cocktails and more! Add it to coffee or tea for breakfast or use it as an afternoon pick-me-up! Each of the honey varietals is named after the plant the nectar comes from. Each honey has a very specific flavor profile because it comes from one specific plant. For example, for our Orange Blossom, we place our bees in an Orange Grove. Bees only fly about 3 miles to forage, which ensures that honey will be predominantly from those plants. In other words, the more concentrated the plants are, the more we be can be sure that the honey produced will be of a specific varietal. We also do pollen testing on our honey to determine its veracity. Of course, our beekeeper is highly experienced so he can always tell by the taste. Each honey has a specific taste profile, almost like a fingerprint. Check out our "Raw Honey Varietals" honey store for all of our amazing Florida varietals! Our creamed honey is a refined crystallized version of our delicious Jacksonville Wildflower honey! We then add in a flavor infusion like Cinnamon, Lemon, Mexican Vanilla and Chocolate. There is no added sugar or dairy, just pure honey with the addition of organic spices and extracts! It creates a rich, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture that is pretty amazing to taste. How can I use Creamed Honey? Use a spoonful of creamed honey just as you would liquid honey! It melts nicely in coffee or tea. It is a good addition to oatmeal, as an icing, smoothies and more! How long does honey last? FOREVER! Literally! Honey is one of the only foods that does not spoil. Archaeologists have actually found honey in the pyramids that are still edible. Yes, really! What do I do if my honey becomes crystallized? Have no fear, we love to see a little crystallization in our honey. It's an indication of how pure our honey really is and there's an easy fix! Our honey comes in a glass jar - which is more eco-friendly. That glass jar makes it easy to warm the honey bottle safely. Simply heat water gently in a small saucepan. Allow the jar of crystallized honey to sit in the water, melting back to its liquid state. Make sure to keep the water at a low temperature to maintain the honey's raw properties! Pure beeswax is a product of the hive! Beeswax can vary in color and our candles can be a rainbow of pale white, bright yellow to a darker tan! Learn more about beeswax and its natural color differences. We may be a little biased, but we really do think that beeswax candles are the best kind of candles to burn! Not only do they have a long, lasting flame but they also provide unexpected health benefits. Learn more about beeswax and beeswax candles here. If we haven't quite answered all your questions, get in touch! give us a call at 904-446-5883 or stop by our store.