Honey Harvest & Extraction
Honey doesn’t begin in a jar.
Long before harvesting takes place, thousands of honeybees have spent weeks collecting nectar from blossoms, hedgerows, wildflowers and crops across the Lincolnshire countryside.
Once the bees have transformed that nectar into honey and stored it within the hive, the next stage of the journey can begin.
This is how honey travels from the hive to the jar.
When Is Honey Ready To Harvest?
Bees do not store nectar as honey immediately.
After nectar is collected, worker bees repeatedly pass it between themselves while enzymes begin breaking down the natural sugars.
As moisture is gradually reduced, the nectar thickens into honey.
When the honey reaches the correct consistency, the bees seal each cell with a thin layer of wax known as a capping.
For beekeepers, these capped frames are one of the clearest signs that honey is ready to harvest.
Only once the bees have finished their work do we begin ours.
Removing The Honey Frames
During the honey season, colonies store surplus honey in boxes known as supers.
These frames are carefully removed from the hive while ensuring the colony retains enough of its own stores.
Every hive, season and harvest is different.
Some years produce abundant honey, while others depend heavily on weather conditions and forage availability.
Beekeeping often teaches patience.
Nature decides the harvest.
Extracting The Honey
Once back at the honey room, the wax cappings are carefully removed from the surface of the comb.
The frames are then placed into a honey extractor.
The extractor spins the frames at speed, using centrifugal force to gently remove the honey from the wax comb without damaging it.
This allows the comb to be returned to the bees for future use.
The honey collects inside the extractor before flowing into settling tanks.
Lightly Filtered, Never Heat Treated
Freshly extracted honey naturally contains tiny pieces of wax and other particles collected during harvesting.
To create a clean finished product, the honey is lightly filtered.
This removes larger particles while allowing the honey to remain as close to its natural state as possible.
We do not heat treat our honey.
Nothing is added.
Nothing is taken away.
Just honey produced by our bees.
From Settling Tank To Jar
After extraction, the honey is allowed to settle naturally.
This gives any remaining air bubbles and fine particles time to rise to the surface.
Once ready, the honey is carefully jarred, labelled and prepared for customers.
From this point, the journey continues from our Lincolnshire apiaries to homes across the UK.
Why Every Harvest Is Different
No two honey harvests are ever exactly the same.
The flavour, colour and aroma of honey are influenced by:
• Seasonal weather
• Local forage
• Flowering conditions
• The timing of nectar flows
• The landscape surrounding the apiary
Because honey is a natural product, each harvest reflects a unique moment in time.
This variation is one of the things that makes genuine local honey so special.
From Hive To Jar
At Stax Of Wax Ltd, we believe the best honey begins with healthy bees and a thriving landscape.
Every jar starts with forage collected by our bees across Lincolnshire before being carefully harvested, extracted and packed by hand.
From blossom and hedgerow to hive and jar, every stage plays a role in creating the honey you enjoy.
Would you like to learn more?
