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Charis Honey Farms is located in Rowlett, TX, which is a suburb east of Dallas, between Garland and Rockwall, and is operated by Bob and Sally Michel. We don’t have a farm. We have a tiny back yard, but we have friends who have farms, or acreage, who graciously let us put hives on their property. I got started with beekeeping in 2011 while I was unemployed. My brother, who had recently started beekeeping in Oregon, suggested I look into it. I began to read about it and talk with people in the business, and decided to start with a few hives. At first I wasn’t sure about the idea of working with tens of thousands of stinging insects. But, once I started my first hive and got to look in and see what the queen was doing, watch the life cycles in the hive, and witness the creativity and resourcefulness of the bees, I was hooked. I find it immensely rewarding to work with the bees. It is refreshing to get out in the country, enjoy the quiet, soak up the sunshine, and listen to the hum of bees at work while I study what they are doing, and evaluate what I need to do for them.
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| Since that first year, I have added more hives and expanded to additional locations. We currently have hives in four locations; Rowlett, Wylie, Whitewright, and Sherman. Other people have invited me to add hives to their properties, so in 2016 I will be adding hives in Mesquite and a farm north of Kaufman. If you live within the region that runs from Waco to the Red River, and from just west of Fort Worth to Greenville, all of our honey will be local for you, based on the similarity of the foliage and pollens. |
| People ask how we create the different flavors, and we tell them it’s just the bees. Most honey producers tend to mix all their wildflower honeys together. We like to keep our honeys separate by locations. Bees will fly up to 5 or 6 miles from the hive to gather pollens and nectars. Depending on the mix and concentration of the flowers from which the nectar is collected, each location has a distinctly different flavor. Selling the honey by location allows people to discover the delightfully different flavors honey can have. When we sell at open air markets, we have people taste the different honeys before they buy. People often say, “Honey is honey.” But after they taste it, they typically respond with, “I had no idea honey could taste so different.” |
| While all the flavors are very delicious, everyone tends to have their personal preferences. Some prefer sweeter, lighter honey, while others prefer ones that are bolder and sometimes less sweet. Depending on the intended use, people sometimes get a variety of flavors; lighter ones for tea, sandwiches, desert pastries, or darker flavors for baking or barbequing. |
| People ask what we do to make our honey taste so good. It isn’t something we do. It’s more the lack of processing that makes it so good. Most commercial honeys found on store shelves have been heated to around 160 degrees so it can be super filtered to remove all microscopic particles that cause it to sugar or crystalize over time, which also includes the pollens. Since the beneficial enzymes of honey are destroyed above about 120 degrees, the commercial processing results in a honey flavored sweetener with all the nutrients, pollens and enzymes removed. |
| When we harvest the honey, it runs through a coarse screen to strain out the large pieces of wax and other particulates, but it is not heated or pumped through filters. The honey is kept raw so all the nutrients and beneficial qualities are not compromised. All the original enzymes and the multiple pollens naturally integrated into the honey remain. Because of this, the honey will eventually sugar if it’s not used within several months. When it sugars, our grandsons call it “crunchy honey”, and it’s their favorite on toast and waffles. We just stir it with a knife and spread it. But, if you’re not a “crunchy honey” lover, you can heat the container in a bowl of hot water and the sugared honey will liquefy again. Just don’t let the honey get over 120 degrees. |
Before we started producing our own honey, we were not big fans of it because we bought the least expensive honey on the store shelf. Sally would make granola with it, but we rarely ate it otherwise. After experiencing how real honey tastes, we have concluded, if you don’t like honey, chances are you haven’t tasted raw, local honey. Try ours. We’re sure to have a flavor that will become a favorite. |
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