Liquid Gold at Red Bee

Over the weekend I attended a honey tasting at Red Bee Apiary in Weston, CT. The beekeeper, author and honey sommelier, Marina Marchese first gave us a background on the honey bees and how she found herself trading city life for farm life after her first experience being around a hive.

Honey bees aren't native to the United States, and Marina's bees are Italian. The worker bees are all female, and don't stray much more than four miles from their hive. Because of that fact, farmers can plant four miles of a specific flower which will result in the bees creating a honey with a distinctive flavor profile.

Four our honey tasting, we tried Orange Blossom honey, which is floral, fruity and rich in vitamin C with goat cheese, rosemary, and mandarin. I really enjoyed this pairing, all the flavors worked well together, sweet, tangy, savory. Of course I love goat cheese, so I might be biased.

Then we sampled Blueberry Blossom honey, which is fruity and a good source of antioxidants with brie and blueberries. Even though I'm not the biggest blueberry fan, this was delicious too.

The darkest and most unusual honey sampling was the Buckwheat honey - robust and a good source of iron, the smell was unlike a typical honey and it reminded me a lot of molasses. We sampled it with a piece of dark chocolate and almonds.

The most common honey, clover, was presented in a different way, in its crystallized state. The Creamy Clover honey that would take longer to melt on the tongue presented an amazing sensory experience and paired with shredded coconut was like eating the most delectable dessert.

Finally we sampled raw Gold leaf honeycomb, another unique way to enjoy honey with bits of the honeycomb.

Marina also uses the honey and beeswax to create skincare products, which we got to sample in the second part of the event. The balms are so moisturizing and I got a sample of the lip balm and body oil to take home. Because it's been so cold and dry lately, these are just what I need!

Honey is such a unique product, it can offer some health benefits, especially if you have honey from your local bees, as it can help reduce seasonal allergies. Now that I know all the work that goes into creating honey, I understand why it's referred to as liquid gold, and I really enjoyed experiencing all the different varieties of honey. I also happily brought home a jar of honey from Marina's italian bees, and I'm excited that I can enjoy it every day!

 Red Bee Honey Weston Connecticut-12.jpg Red Bee Honey Weston Connecticut-13.jpg Red Bee Honey Weston Connecticut-11.jpg Red Bee in Weston CT Red Bee in Weston Connecticut Red Bee Honey Weston Connecticut-14.jpg Red Bee in Weston CT Red Bee in Weston CT Red Bee Honey Weston Connecticut-15.jpg Red Bee in Weston Connecticut Red Bee in Weston Connecticut Red Bee in Weston Connecticut dark floral maxi dress as duster over black jeans, sweater and boots for winter-8.jpg dark floral maxi dress as duster over black jeans, sweater and boots for winter-11.jpg dark floral maxi dress as duster over black jeans, sweater and boots for winter-12.jpg dark floral maxi dress as duster over black jeans, sweater and boots for winter-10.jpg
The Rundown
Floral Shirtdress Banana Republic
Merino Wool Sweater Gap
Black Jeans Old Navy
Booties "Calixta" Cole Haan similar
Bag "Lewis Drive Michela" Kate Spade similar
Leather Pom Matine
Double O-Ring Belt Express
Gold Herkimer Diamond Ring c/o Lumo
Chevron Ring Etsy via Silver Canyon Jewelry




and

19 comments

  1. This will sound ridiculous, but I love honey so much that one of my friends jokingly calls me Winnie-the-Pooh. As I type this, I have three jars of different kinds of honey in my cupboard, and I use one at least every day, if not two. So basically, the event sounds absolutely heavenly to me. I love honey paired with basically anything, but especially savoury things like cheese - goat cheese and honey is a definite favourite of mine, so I can imagine why you loved it. What a cool experience! Wish I could have joined in :)
    xox,
    Cee

    ReplyDelete
  2. That sounds like such a fun way to spend an afternoon! I seem to go through phases with honey - once every year or two I just get a huge craving for it and consume a lot of it but it only lasts for a month or so and then I barely touch it until another craving strikes. It has weirdly been like that since I was a little kid.

    Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a fabulous place to visit. Honey is supposed to be so good for us, and it's great on everything!!!
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. This was such a fun event!! You did a much better job at remembering all the details than I did, haha!
    http://www.closet-fashionista.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh hey, we are belt twins! I only wish I had purchased that belt in black before it sold out in my size! And this experience sounds so cool and unique! I do love honey but have never tried anything like some of the unique flavors you described. I might have to look around for something similar!
    Gina || On the Daily Express

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm love good quality honey (especially with cheese)! I'll have to see if we can get this brand down here!

    District of Chic

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ooh a honey tasting! That sounds like fun and I've never done anything like that before. I'm with you on the goat cheese--that with anything, please! I love how you wore your dress as a duster here, what a gorgeous look!

    ReplyDelete
  8. How fun! A honey tasting would be such a great activity! I've never tried honeycomb before and would love to sometime!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Buckwheat honey! That does sound quite unusual, but still very interesting. I've done some honey sampling before but not a legit honey tasting.

    www.ohtobeamuse.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I saw this on your insta and was literally drooling :) The samples look and sound so good. I am a big honey/cheese fan so this would be so much fun to try!

    http://www.mylittlenest.org

    ReplyDelete
  11. Isn't honey amazing?! I never really appreciated them until I learned more about it last year. There's so many amazing benefits that honey can provide! I've never been to a honey tasting though and now I want to go look for one by me!

    www.rdsobsessions.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a fun place to visit and I'm obsessed with your shirt dress! This looks like such a fun activity..I'll have to see if they have one by me :)

    Shauna

    www.lipglossandlace.net

    ReplyDelete
  13. I always love honey.
    Seems like a great experience.

    Much Love,
    Jane | The Bandwagon Chic

    ReplyDelete
  14. Okay, I need to go to a honey tasting STAT! How fun and you learned so much!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

    ReplyDelete
  15. Looks delicious! Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing your experience!
    Magda

    https://www.gloryofthesnow.com/

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh goodness. This all looks delicious and your beautiful floral cardigan/duster is just lovely. I didn't know there were so many different kinds of honey and that their flavors could be so unique--I would love to try that sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Looks like a really fun event. The place is amazing. As a big fan of honey, I Would love to visit their soon. And oh by the way, your floral shirtdress is really pretty dear!

    Jessica | notjessfashion.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your photographs are outstanding and i am a fan of your outfit.
    In my case I did not care much for honey until about 10+years ago when I began consuming real honey instead of maple syrup.
    We get it from my husband's uncle who has a tiny produce.
    One of my goals, that i refuse to write down, is to become a bee keeper.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love the way you styled that shirt dress and that belt (almost resembles a Gucci dupe!) Honey is a pantry staple of mine I have it in my tea every single day. What a fun event that was!

    Sydney
    www.classiccitychic.com

    ReplyDelete