Wondering where to buy raw honey? If you’re looking to buy online, click here to go right to my recommendations.
If you’re not sure what you want to buy, or where to buy, just keep reading for some tips and links to more info…
More and More People Are Looking for a Source of Raw Honey…
You may have read about all of the marvelous health benefits of honey, and in particular, the benefits of raw honey.
And I know that people are looking for sources of raw honey that they can trust, because I’m contacted frequently by visitors to this website asking me where to buy honey.
Some want to know if I sell honey (I don’t anymore, but thanks for asking!).
So where can you buy honey that you’re sure is truly unprocessed and raw?
Unfortunately, you can’t really tell for certain that you’re getting raw honey (unless you’re buying comb honey). You’ll have to have a certain degree of trust in the source that you’re buying from. There’s really no way around that.
(If you haven’t already, you might be interested in reading these tips for buying raw honey).
Buy Raw Honey From Your Local Beekeepers
Your best option is to buy raw honey from a local beekeeper, someone who lives and works in your community.
Beekeepers are just people, of course; most are honest, and I’m sure there are some who are less than honest.
But most beekeepers I’ve known are decent people trying to earn some honest income from their bees, whether full-time or as sideliners. Seek out your local beekeepers, buy from them, and odds are very good that you’ll be getting what you pay for.
And you’ll also be helping out your local honey bee population by supporting your local beekeepers.
Everyone wins.
How Can You Find a Local Beekeeper?
You can often find a beekeeper or two selling at farmer’s markets.
Some beekeepers will run classified ads in the local paper, too.
You can also connect with beekeepers through your local beekeeping association (you can go to Google and type in ‘yourstate beekeeper association’ to see if there’s an association close to you.)
Where To Buy Raw Honey Online
If you can’t find a beekeeper in your area, or just prefer the convenience of shopping online, below are a few recommendations.
Understand that I’m basing my opinion of these products primarily upon customer feedback.
I don’t have any intimate knowledge of these companies, and I have no connection with them. (Though if you buy some of the products listed below, I may be paid a small commission.)
The products below are produced by relatively small, mostly family-owned businesses.
These businesses are dedicated to producing quality products, and also to promoting the welfare of the honey bee.
TOP CHOICE – Y.S. Organic Bee Farms:
Want to buy raw honey that’s organic?
All of the producers of raw honey listed on this page take pains to ensure that their honey is produced from chemical-free sources.
But only Y.S. Raw Honey is certified organic.
Why is that a big deal?
It’s because Y.S. Organic Bee Farms has demonstrated that they’ve met – and maintain – all of the requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic certification program.
And for beekeepers, achieving and maintaining organic certification is incredibly difficult – more so than for any other agricultural producer. In many regions it’s not even possible.
- To meet organic certification standards, Y.S. Farms cannot use chemicals in their hives.
- It also means that their hives must be placed beyond foraging distance from agricultural areas, golf courses, landfills – anyplace where the presence of pesticides or contaminants is likely.
- Hives that produce Y.S. Farms honey must also be kept isolated from genetically modified crops.
And all of the above means that Y.S. Farms honey is truly organic. (Many agricultural producers, quite frankly, are violating the law by labeling products ‘organic’ when they aren’t certified organic.)
Yes, Y.S. Farms’ certified-organic raw honey is pricey stuff. But trust me – they earn every penny of the premium they charge for maintaining organic certification.
Is it worth the extra cost to you for the comfort of seeing that Certified Organic USDA Seal on the jar? Only you can decide. But hundreds of happy customers on Amazon.com have given the product a huge thumbs-up.
Y.S. Organic Raw Honey is available online from Amazon.com. You might also be able to find it at your local health food store.
Really Raw Honey
Really Raw Honey contracts with multiple beekeepers in the northeastern U.S. to produce their honey. They emphasize that most of their beekeepers are family operations, and they all pack their honey with minimal processing.
And in fact, this honey is VERY minimally processed!
It contains chunks of beeswax (the honey comb cappings), bits of pollen, maybe a bit of propolis – and possibly even the occasional bee part.
The chunky stuff forms sort of a crust at the top of the jar, with creamy (crystallized) honey beneath. You can eat the crusty stuff, or just scrape it away (it’s perfectly healthy and nutritious to eat).
Not my cup of tea, quite honestly. (I like my peanut butter chunky, but I prefer my honey smooth!)
But lots of customers absolutely rave about this product.
And most of the chunks would be on the top rather than evenly mixed through the honey. So you can avoid eating the ‘chunky’ part if you wish.
It’s available online at Amazon.com, and I’m sure from other online stores as well.
I believe it’s also carried in some grocery chains, such as Whole Foods.
Stakich Raw Honey
Stakich Raw Honey is extracted from the comb, lightly strained and then packed.
It’s not heated and is completely raw, but doesn’t contain the chunks of beeswax (and other stuff) that some brands of raw honey contain.
So if you prefer your honey ‘smooth’ style instead of ‘chunky,’ this might be your best choice.
Stakich honey does contain small bits of bee pollen.
Hives that gather Stakich honey are located away from farming areas, so that the honey is produced from areas of unfertilized and unsprayed wildflowers (in Michigan).
You can order Stakich Raw Honey online from Amazon.com.
Wee Bee Honey:
Wee Bee Honey is a family-owned beekeeping operation that’s been in business for nearly 40 years.
They run around 2000 hives, some in Florida, and some in the state of New York.
Wee Bee uses no pesticides of any kind in their hives. And they state that they make certain to locate their hives beyond foraging distance from working farms.
They want their bees to forage only wildflowers, avoiding the risk of gathering nectar contaminated with agricultural pesticides.
Their honey is crystallized, so it’s solid with a creamy texture. And there might be bits of wax and pollen at the top of the jar.
I’ve sampled Wee Bee’s honey myself, and can certainly give it a thumbs up for flavor!
Wee Bee Honey is available at Amazon.com.
