Chrisman Apiaries — Raw Toyon Honey

Honey from a plant that only grows here.

Toyon is the native chaparral shrub sometimes called California holly, the plant Hollywood was named for. It blooms in early summer across the hills of California and nowhere else, and bees that work it make a rich, amber honey with a deep, slightly tangy, almost caramel flavor you will not find in a supermarket jar.

Chrisman Apiaries keeps it completely raw. The honey is never heated or filtered, so the pollen, enzymes and antioxidants that raw honey is known for stay in the jar. Raw honey has been used for thousands of years as food and as a traditional remedy for sore throats and coughs, and local raw honey is what people reach for during allergy season.

Who this is for

• You want a single-source varietal honey with real character, not a blend
• You buy local raw honey for allergy season
• You are replacing processed sugar with something that carries its own nutrition
• You are looking for a California gift that tastes like the place

Details

1 lb glass jar. Raw, unfiltered, unheated. It may crystallize over time; set the jar in warm water to re-liquefy. Not for children under one year.

Chrisman Apiaries is a small California beekeeping operation using Flow Hives, which let the honey run straight from the comb into the jar without disturbing the bees.