Honey, a wonderfully rich golden liquid is the miraculous product of bees and a natural alternative to sugar as well as a useful antimicrobial agent and antioxidant.  Although it is available throughout the year, it is an exceptional treat in the summer and autumn when it has been harvested and often at its best.

It was as a young boy of 11 years that Rod Yates of Australian Honey first saw a bee hive… and he was hooked.  He can still recall the sound emanating from the rustic wooden boxed housed at the back of a neighbours’ property, “it vibrated and hummed like a jet engine”.  Rod believes that “all children are fascinated by nature and have an intrinsic understanding.”  Given the right exposure, they can develop an interest that lasts a lifetime.

Establishing the independent packing and distribution company, Australian Honey, was a natural progression for Rod whose journey includes forays into Accounting, Art Education, building the first mud brick house in NSW and completing a design degree at UTS.  he has also been keeping bees on and off for 49 years.

Bees are “flower constant” in that on any one foraging trip from the hive, they will only collect nectar from one type of plant and Rod’s bees have a penchant for Eucalyptus tree flowers. The different and distinctive honey varieties available in Australia are the result of migratory beekeeping.  Colonies of bees are moved by truck to locations where particular trees or plants are about to flower.  Sites are selected so that one particular species dominates the crop at that time.

As with all foods, flavour and health benefits depend on the integrity of producers, distributors and any processing.  Australian Honey packages and distributes honey from beekeepers along the east coast as far south as Tasmania to the northern tip of Queensland.

If you have ever had the privilege to enjoy a honey tasting, you will appreciate the vast array of flavours available in Australia.  None of Rod’s honey is too sweet and never bland.  Varieties include the light golden and subtle flavoured White Box, smokey Mallee, the exotically full flavoured and dark hued Leatherwood.  Yellow Box drizzled on baguette instantly conjures memories of childhood.

But why don’t we see these gourmet honeys in our supermarkets?  ”For whatever reason, major honey packers and retailers in Australia believe they need to manufacture a product with an consistent taste”, an attitude knows as the ‘McDonald’s factor’.  To achieve this, bland varieties are blended and often diluted with other substances.

Competing with inferior cheaply made products leaves beekeepers turning to international markets where honey varieties are prized and where producers can obtain a fair price for what is undoubtedly an arduous labor of love.

Rod Yates recognises the Australia has superior honey for which there is great international demand.  he would also like to see Australians enjoy locally made, sustainable, clean and delicious honey, “I would love to introduce Australians to the complexities of the various flavours of honey and show them the many ways of enjoying it” - as a marinade for meats and fish, used in place of sugar when baking, served with cheese.  One of Rod’s particular favourites is honey ice-cream although a spoon dripping in Leatherwood honey and dipped into thick double cream is a taste sensation!