Lavish Beekeeper

09/10/2026

09/07/2026

Late in the season, when the blooms have given up, lanternflies feed on the trees and leave behind honeydew. The bees, being opportunists with excellent taste, go and collect it. What comes out of the hive is nearly black. Smoky, faintly malty, with a finish somewhere between molasses and a good dark rum.

Then the scientists got curious. UT San Antonio tested nearly eighty samples of this honey against staph bacteria. More than half matched or beat medical grade Manuka in the dish, and almost every sample came back high in antioxidants.

Manuka travels eight thousand miles to reach you. This one came from my hives in Potomac, courtesy of an insect nobody invited.

I have a small number of jars from this season. 8oz, $28. When they’re gone, they’re gone until the lanternflies decide otherwise.

Want one? Comment LANTERN below or send me a DM.

08/30/2026

Echoing what La Ruche 🍯 recently posted. Honey can certainly be blended into one big extraction container. But why? Each extraction throughout the season is so unique! Commercial beekeepers may not be able to extract that frequently. But us local small producers, we most certainly can! Another wonderful reason to support your local beekeeper.

08/26/2026

We’re stronger as a hive. Comment on this post, follow each other, and let’s talk pricing, ideas, and the odd disaster. Nobody should be doing this alone.

08/23/2026

08/22/2026

Eighteen months ago I put one hive n my garden, told myself it was an experiment, and fully expected to be beaten by it. We are now eleven hives strong across three apiaries in Potomac Maryland, which is either ambition or a very charming addiction, and I have stopped trying to work out which. There is nothing quite like standing in the middle of it all on a warm morning, that low golden hum in the air, the smell of wax, and knowing that every jar on the shelf started here. We have grown slowly and on purpose, one product at a time, tasting and fussing and rejecting and starting again, because I would rather make one beautiful thing properly than ten things in a hurry. The new launches have been received so generously that I have occasionally had to sit down.

So thank you. To everyone who bought a jar, sent a photo of their toast, told a friend, or simply cheered from the sidelines: you have made this small sticky venture into something rather real. And to my ladies, who did all the actual work and have never once asked for a day off, I am, as ever, entirely in your debt.

I cannot wait to see where we go next. Bring a spoon.

08/18/2026

This is by far one of the most heartbreaking part of beekeeping, discovering that one of your hives is completely infested with Varroa Mites. I’ve never seen this level of infestation. Hoping the. Artisan strips bring those numbers down. I’m rooting for this hive, they are an amazing family.

08/13/2026

No need to buy Marshmallow Fluff when you can have Honey Fluff!

08/09/2026

Commercial Beekeepers are suing… I get why.

08/05/2026

There’s something rather thrilling about working with the bees this way, trusting them to fill a frame exactly as nature intends, then presenting it to you as it is. Honest. Unfiltered. A window into their world.

These beauties will be available next week at The Organic Butcher in Bethesda, though I must tell you, quantities are whisper-thin because this is our first proper go at it. That said, this is only the beginning. We’ve found our rhythm with this technique, and come next season, you’ll find these wooden-framed treasures becoming a permanent fixture in the Beaumiel collection.

For now though, if you’re nearby, do pop in. Get one while they last. There’s something rather lovely about owning something made just once before it becomes routine.