A few days ago I received a call from a lady wanting to purchase some "Pure Local Raw Honey", preferably "Mesquite Honey" she said. She then went on to say that the beekeeper she normally buys honey from was sold out and she was desperately looking for some Mesquite Honey for her holiday cooking. As a beekeeper I have always wondered how other beekeepers know that their bees honey is without a doubt 100% "Mesquite","Clover", "Golden Rod" or for that matter specifically from any other source. Having been a beekeeper for many years and coming from two generations of beekeepers, I've had the opportunity to taste honey from many different sources. I can say from experience that not all honey has the same taste,texture or color and I for one cannot 100% say what the source was that the bees were working when they produced the honey. The truth is when there is a nectar flow on here in South Texas when one species of plant, tree or flower is in bloom there can be any number of others in bloom also in the same area. It's not uncommon when Mesquite is in full bloom for the bees to not even touch it if another source is found that better meets the bees nutritional requirements. The fact is the only way to tell exactly what the honey was made from is to have a lab test the pollen content. The only problem with testing is that it is extremely expensive and very few labs exist that can test for pollen. In the end I had to tell the lady that I had Pure Local Raw Honey for sale but I couldn't guarantee that is was Mesquite Honey. She politely said no thank you and remarked that I must not be a very good beekeeper if I didn't know kind of honey my bees produced. I could say I have Local Mesquite Honey for sale but then again I may not be able to sleep well at night knowing I sold something that may well not be what I represented it as. So if your traveling through Seguin and see a sign that simply reads "For Sale, Pure Local Raw Honey" it just may well be mine.
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