Coffee Blossom Honey

You might say Francisco Cardona, known in the local community as “Chico Cardona”, was born picking cherry.  At the age of fifteen he was picking full time and working neighboring farms.  Having grown up impoverished, Chico Cardona dreamed of owning his own land.  Ten years after saving his first quetzales, he bought a tiny ten square meter plot and began cultivating coffee. Don Francisco has been producing honey for twelve years.  In conversations with neighboring producers, he had learned about the secondary income they were making selling their honey, in addition to significant improvements to coffee production.  He began with twenty five frames, and in the first years nearly lost his colonies entirely.  Over many years he taught himself how to partner with the bees, and over time fell in love with them.  Now Chico Cardona has three apiaries, and around 150 hives. Made in Guatemala,  Weight: 12 oz

Ana Maria Ortega grew up with bees. The apiary was close to the house and she recalls consuming the sticky rich honeycomb as much as inhaling the intoxicating fragrance of coffee blossoms. Her father lovingly kept the apiary, but when Ana Maria was just seventeen, her parents died tragically. The farm was hers and she poured her grief into running Finca Los Angeles, waking up before dawn to pick and process cherries, raking in her parchment after dark. But the bees floundered. The hives nearly died out as Ana Maria had no idea how to care for them. Through years of hard lessons and support from neighbors, she learned how to successfully partner with both coffee plants and bees. Now, Ana Maria highlights these challenges as catalysts for her growth into the leader she is today. Aside from cultivating excellent coffee at Los Angeles and Piedra Partida, Ana Maria Ortega is proud to share her delicious honey. Made in Guatemala,  Weight: 12 oz