Buzz Honey: Keith puts his taste buds to good use in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia
The Adelaide Hills Food Produce Trail is a geographical degustation of all things that the Mount Lofty Ranges offers. But next time you're in the hills, keep driving through the quaint little town of Nairne and through the rolling tree-studded hills towards Dawsley. Turn off at Ding Dong Road and you won't believe you're only an hour from a city of a million people.
We've been driving around South Australia for fifteen seasons now on Postcards and never have we come across a prettier name for a by-way. Ding Dong Road in Dawsley. Why are we down here? Because it's a gateway to some of the sweetest places in South Australia - if you're a honeybee.
Meet Jude and Tim Crowe, owners of local success story - Buzz Honey. Jude and Tim are big employers in this region. In fact, they have millions on their payroll - literally. Buzz Honey hives are a common sight in paddocks and orchards around the state and the award winning glorious golden honey they produce finds its way into a range that's a unique window into our distinct regions. Orange Blossom from the Riverland, Meadow Honey from the summer fields of the Limestone Coast, Blue Gum from the sentinel eucalypts of the Adelaide Hills, and the bold flavours of the Bush Mallee. Jude reckons it's those regional flavours that sets Buzz Honey apart.
Jude Crowe, 'Buzz Honey': "I can talk about the nuances in the honey and I can trace that back to the paddock that those beehives were sitting in and the landscape that plant was growing in."
The ancient art of bee keeping hasn't change much - bees simply collect food for the colony in the form of nectar and pollen and convert it to honey. Tim simply gives them a convenient play to do it. He covers thousands of kilometres every year moving his apiaries around as the season and weather dictates.
Tim Crowe, 'Buzz Honey': "If you want to know what flowers are where ask a beekeeper. Because the bluegum here flower at a different time to Meadows and they flower differently in the upper southeast. They flower at a different time down near Bordertown or near Kingston. So if I want to know when the mallee is flowering come to a beekeeper."
When the bees have done their job Tim swaps the boxes over and brings the honey-laden cargo back to Buzz Honey at Dawesley. It's a very hands-on operation. In the extraction shed the frames are removed from the hive, and loaded into a machine where the wax seal the bees make to protect the honey is cut off. The wax falls onto a gently heated rack where it's melted and separated and sold as a by-product. The honey-laden frames are then loaded into a spinner, which rotates at a relentless pace - extracting the pure, natural, unadulterated honey.
No hi-tech gizmos in the packing shed either. Jude and Tim say their personal hands-on approach enables them to maintain the regional flavour of each batch of honey.
Jude Crowe, 'Buzz Honey': "I think people are curious about honey. I think there's a mystery isn't there? How do bees do this? Why do they do this? They really are the portal through which we can taste the nectar of the tree. And to me, it's pretty special to be able to go that far into what a tree has to offer."
And you can track that too on the Buzz Honey blog. It's a honey lover's travelogue where you can read all about exactly where your favourite flavour comes from and the trials and tribulations Tim and his team went through to get it.
While we were filming a new batch of Queen Bees arrived in the post. They'll keep the remarkable cycle of life that we can enjoy thanks to Buzz Honey's millions of enthusiastic employees.
You'll find the Buzz Honey range at Foodland, leading fruit and vegetable stores and selected gourmet stores. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
Buzz Honey
Ding Dong Rd
Dawesley
Ph 8388 0274Published 8th November 2009
