Grampa's Gourmet Desert Wildflower Honey

Flower Sources

ocotillo, cactus, broom weed, burro weed, desert buckwheat, desert bird or paradise, mimosa, and mesquite.

Terroir

Rodeo, New Mexico

The Terroir: Rodeo, New Mexico

Tasting Notes

• Aromas of chutney, baked fruit, some coffee hints
• Thick, not as sweet as other honeys
• balanced and layered with orange, orange peel and starfruit

Color

Amber colored.

More Information

In the fall, as the weather gets cold in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado we take the bees to Rodeo, New Mexico.

Rodeo is located in the San Simon Valley, at the base of the Chiricahua Mountains, on the border of New Mexico and Arizona about 30miles South of I-10. We came here as a result of fortuitous events. In the 1970’s a man by the name of Dan Shultz moved to Rodeo and started keeping bees. He liked the desert and especially liked that the desert provided an abundance of organic forage for the bees. Over 20 years he ran Rodeo Honey Company, supplying towns in the area with quality local honey. Dan passed away in 2007 at the same time we were looking for new place to winter the bees. We subsequently bought the remaining bees and locations.

The bees, after a hard summers work “vacation” in the warm desert where their chances of survival through winter is substantially increased. This move extends the fall forage late in to early November and by late November the bees are begin to wind down and go dormant for winter.

There are two scenarios that typically happen in the Chiricahua desert in the spring. The first scenario is that the desert receives good winter and spring rain and as a result it comes alive with flora and flowers. When this happens the bees collect hundreds of different nectars at the same time and make what we call “Desert Wild Flower”. Among the plants are: ocotillo, cactus, broom weed, burro weed, desert buckwheat, desert bird or paradise, mimosa , and common mesquite.

The second scenario is that there are virtually no winter or spring rains but the previous summer rains were good. In which case the wild flowers do not bloom but the common mesquite, the most hardy of almost any desert plant, will bloom. The deep roots of the mesquite can tap the ground moisture from the previous summer. When this happens the bees make pure mesquite honey. Pure mesquite is water white and a taste that so unique it is indescribable. It granulates with a natural creaminess. We sell very little of this honey opting instead to use it as a catalyst for cream honey.

This year the first scenario played out. The honey was a true wildflower but you will notice that it granulates fast and smooth and has an incredible finish. This is due to the large amount of mesquite that the bees collected along with the other nectar.