It is one of the unfortunate ironies of Irish life that whilst our beekeepers produce magnificent honeys from native Irish bees, many people are foolish enough to pay over-the-odds to buy imported manuka honeys of dubious origin.
If you want the health benefits of good honey, then you need pure Irish honeys, and one of the best we have tried recently is Beeactive, produced by Conan O’Donnell and Michael Geary, who work respectively in Adare, County Limerick, and in the Golden Vale in Tipperary. It is a raw, ivy honey, it is not pasteurised, and only lightly strained, and whilst you could happily eat it from a spoon and enjoy its herbacous, pollen saturated waxiness, the fact that it is sourced from nectar where the bees have been feeding on ivy flowers means the honey is filled with saponins, which are known to be helpful for people who are troubled by a persistent cough, or who have issues with bronchitis.
Organoleptically speaking, Beeactiv is a beauty, with a deep, resonant taste and a lingering aftertaste which is scarcely sweet but filled with oil-laced, herbaceous notes. You can buy it direct from their site, where you will also find their blossom honey, and the company’s ivy honey and lemon lozenges. Beeactiv honey is also stocked in a wide range of health food and wholefood stores througout the country: see the site for a complete list. On the site, Mr McDonnell tells his story of how he came to study and make honeys, and it’s a charming tale that has resulted in a truly superb product.
Beeactiv Honey
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