Why Turkish Honey?
Why Turkish Honey?
Turkey is a land rich in fine Honey, bees produce more of the sweet stuff in Turkey than any other country except China. However Chinese suppliers have become notorious over the years for selling and exporting adulterated Honey that is not Pure. Bee keeping does not only produce Honey but also pollen, royal jelly, propolis, bee venom and wax which are all important products for nutrition and health.
It's not surprising that Turkey with its beautiful landscape and vast land mass has kept and protected its bee keeping traditions and they have survived over the generations.
The climate in Turkey is ideal and it's geographical location gives it the advantage to take the best from a few different continents. Turkey is 'slap bang' in between Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Caucasus, for this reason the varying climate and landscapes allow for differing plants, trees and vegetation to thrive and grow.
Turkey borders eight different countries and the Turkish peninsula is bathed by four seas: the Mediterranean to the south, the Aegean to the west, the Sea of Marmara between the European and Asian land masses, and the Black Sea to the north. The entire coastline spans more than 8,000 kilometers (approximately 5,000 miles) in length.
When Mountain Honeys first began there journey researching Turkish Honey, I was amazed by the sheer choice and varieties available. Not just 'Mono-floral' but also of the 'Honeydew' type too, each Honey unique in colour, smell, texture and taste.
The most common Honey by far easily available in all supermarkets and harvested mainly on the West coast of Turkey near the Mediterranean sea is PINE Honey. This accounts for 90% of the worlds Pine Honey, the Pine tree also produces Pine nuts and together with sweet nectar from its sap is highly valued and cherished by Turks.
Looking at the general infrastructure of Turkey almost a fifth of Turkeys 82 million population live in Istanbul, there are also the other major cities such as Ankara, Izmir, Konya etc that have a sizeable population.
It is interesting to see while travelling through Turkey the distinct and different cultures, traditions and ways of living. There is still a reasonable number of people living in smaller villages and remote areas further out in the countryside and mountainous areas. It is here that you will find many of the Bee farms hidden away, the bee hives offered protection from the noise, hustle and bustle and pollution of the modern world.
Turkey in recent years has really begun encouraging its domestic industries and local producers to eye customers overseas so as to showcase and strengthen Turkish products. Europe is a big buyer of Turkish Honey namely Germany (which has the largest number of ex-pat Turks), Spain, Belgium, Holland etc, however surprisingly there are much less exports to the U.K market.
As we experienced first-hand and what gave us more confidence in our product is the export procedures in Turkey. These are very strict and stringent in order to ensure that the Honey is pure, quality procedures are followed and the Honey lives up to customer expectations. Testing and analysis is carried throughout the whole export procedure from once the Honey arrives from the farm up until it is loaded onto a container to be shipped.
Together with its unique Honeys and its determination to offer genuine and Natural products to the world, I believe Turkey will succeed in its efforts and we are proud to be involved in bringing this to you.