Grenada Spice Island Honey ranked with best in the world
LONDON, England — A panel of expert judges at the UK’s 81st National Honey Show has awarded a Grenadian apiary with the prestigious Silver Star honour for its honey and also awarded that apiary a commendation for the quality of its honey bee wax candles.
Jessamine Eden apiary, located in Grenville Vale St George’s, which is part of the Jessamine Eden Tropical Botanic Garden, received the honours from the English judges during the exhibition and competition, which was attended by leading suppliers, producers and hobbyists at the annual event.
The family-owned and operated apiary has been producing honey for two years and entered the event for the first time in the clear honey category that was open to competitors from around the world.
“While we always believed that our honey was special and the feedback from our patrons was always positive, it is quite another thing to be recognized among the top of the world for the quality of our honey,” said Dr Valma Jessamy of Jessamine Eden Apiary.
Jessamine Eden Apiary practices natural organic beekeeping and only extracts the ripened honey stores from its hives and does not feed the bees any artificial foods.
“Our honey is raw, pure and never heated so that it retains its healing properties with a floral bounty that is easily discerned from the aroma and taste,” said Jessamy, an environmental engineering scientist and co-owner of the award-winning apiary with her husband, attorney Jerry Edwin.
Jessamine Eden Apiary is located in a micro-climate environment with a rich diversity of fruit trees, medicinal plants and wildflowers such as gloricida, cutlet, kakoli, galba, mango, campesh, Moringa (known as the tree of life), Neem, nutmegs, tropical palms, avocado, citrus and local herbs.
According to Jessamy, who is also the president of Grenada’s Beekeeper’s Association, the combination of flora in the Grenville Vale botanic garden represents a vast cross-section of the island’s flora, providing rich pollen and nectar for the bees of their apiary. This abundance of food throughout the year has contributed to healthy bees and a rapid increase of the award winning apiary to over 75 hives in a short time period.
Currently, Jessamine Eden’s honey, bee pollen and value added products are bottled under the Spice Island Honey TM and Eden Botanicals TM labels. They are available at Jessamine Eden Botanic Garden and will soon be on the shelves of the island’s leading supermarket.
Feeling positive about their chances for gold at the National London Honey Show in 2013, this Grenadian apiary plans to once again enter its products and its chances appear excellent for top honours the second time around.
Source: http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com
All images courtesy: Jessamine Eden
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