That is one of the questions we hear often at the farmers market - especially when someone notices that our bottles of honey are not always the exact same color.

We just finished our 2026 honey extraction, and once again, the bees gave us a beautiful reminder that honey is not a factory-made product. It is a reflection of a place, a season, and what was blooming when the bees were gathering nectar.

Honey can be lighter, darker, more floral, more earthy, more delicate, or richer depending on the nectar sources available at that time of year. Spring honey may be influenced by flowering trees and early blooms. Later honey may reflect clover, garden flowers, wildflowers, herbs, goldenrod, asters, and other late-season plants.

That is why two bottles of local honey can look different and still both be pure, natural honey.

At the market, people often ask, “Why are these bottles different colors?”

The simple answer is: the bees visited different flowers.

The color of honey is influenced by the nectar source. Lighter honey often has a mild, delicate flavor, while darker honey can have a deeper, richer taste. Neither is “better.” They are just different expressions of the landscape around the hives. Each color tells the story of that season.

For our Wildflower Honey, one of the biggest spring contributors in our area is likely the Black Locust tree. When Black Locust blooms well, it can produce a light, fragrant nectar that bees love. Some other trees that are in our area that add to our delicious honey are Tulip Poplar and American Linden. But because this is wildflower honey, the final flavor comes from many sources — trees, clover, flowers, neighborhood gardens, and whatever nature offered that season.

That is one of the things I love most about small-batch local honey.

Every harvest tells a slightly different story.

A jar of local honey is not just something sweet for tea or toast. It is a taste of the weather, the blooms, the trees, the gardens, and the work of thousands and thousands of bees within flying distance of the hive.

So if your local honey looks a little different from one season to the next, that is not a flaw.

It is a taste of the bees’ work, the neighborhood blooms, and the season itself.

That is the beauty of authentic HONEY.