Welcome to MarElla Honey Bees
ABOUT US
Let us introduce ourselves: we are Marcin and Ella (Elzbieta), your local beekeepers.
Marcin’s
beekeeping experience is quite substantial - almost 44 years of it.
Both his grandfathers were beekeepers, his parents were beekeepers - and
now he himself is a beekeeper.
And
it is not just experience, it’s deep knowledge of the craft as well,
since Marcin has graduated from Bee-keeping College in Kluczbork
(Poland).
Ella's beekeeping adventure is somewhat shorter - it started just 7 years ago when she’s got stung by one of Marcin's bees.
So much about us, now about the bees.
ABOUT BEES AND THE HONEY
We
maintain quite a few honeybee colonies in Bay Area - mostly in Concord,
Walnut Creek, Antioch, Pittsburg, Brentwood, Bethel Island, Oakley and Richmond
(Contra Costa County, CA), Berkeley and Oakland (Alameda County, CA) and Benicia and Fairfield (Sonoma County, CA).
We offer various products and services related to bees, such as:
- locally produced honey,
- beeswax products,
- swarms/ colonies removal,
- tips for raising healthy bees...
- and much more.
All inquiries are welcome.
We are using all-natural beeswax to help our bees in making honeycombs. We do not use any chemicals in our beehives or in honey processing.
Our honey is pure and unadulterated - raw, unheated and unfiltered.
It is produced, 100% naturally, only by the bees
Honeybees collect flower nectar and convert it into honey, which they store in honeycombs.
Bees produce much more honey than they need to survive - and that extra honey is harvested by us.
After
being extracted from honeycomb the honey is slowly drained through a
fine sieve, in order to remove bits of wax (mostly the tops, or “lids”
of honeycomb cells, removed to get the honey).
During
entire process the honey is never warmed above normal internal
temperature of beehive (which is in the range of 25-38°C/ 77-100°F).
This protects natural enzymes present in the honey - and these enzymes
are very beneficial to health.
The
color and flavor of honey varies, depending on the nectar source.
Normally, bees collect nectar from many different plants that flower at
given time, and this “multiflower” honey is golden-yellow with sweet
flowery aroma.
However,
nectar from plants like accacia, linden tree (Tilia) or rape plant
result in almost colorless honey (off-white after crystallization) with
mellow flavor, while honey made from nectar collected from buckwheat
flowers is dark-brown in color and has very distinctive aroma. (Most
valued honey is honeydew honey, dark in color and very much prized for
its medicinal value.)
Natural Honey exist in several forms
• Honey comb - in its original form. (The beeswax comb is perfectly edible! - even if of little nutritional value.)
• Cut Comb Honey - liquid honey that has added chunks of honey comb in the jar.
• Pure Liquid Honey - free of visible crystals - extracted from the honey comb by centrifugal force, gravity or straining.
•
Naturally Crystallized Honey - honey where part of the content has
spontaneously crystallized (crystallization is typically triggered by
low temperature). It is perfectly safe to eat and it is as good as
liquid honey. If you want to convert it back to the liquid state simply
place the jar in warm water and stir until crystals dissolve.
Honey has been used by humans for ages - as food sweetener, as medicine and as cosmetic.
It’s an entirely natural product and it has both anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties.
ABOUT BEESWAX
In the course of honey production there’s a very useful byproduct - beeswax.
Beeswax
is used for variety of products - cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, various
“polishes” (shoe- or furniture polish) - but its main use is
candle-making, and this is what we are using it for.
Our candles are of quite unique design, as we make our own candle molds.
Why choose beeswax candles?
• Beeswax does not contain harmful petrochemicals, and beeswax candles burn without generating smoke or soot.
• Beeswax candles burn significantly longer than paraffin candles (30-40% longer).
Beeswax has a pleasant, natural aroma (honey-like scent), so no aromatising additives are needed
• Beeswax candles can be burned around people who are sensitive to strong chemical scents.
• The light emitted by a beeswax candle is much stronger and brighter than that of a paraffin candle.
And you don’t need to throw away beeswax candle-ends - whatever remains can be reused, and you can use it for:
- lubricating nails, screws or pegs when driving them into hard wood;
- lubricating wooden drawers slides;
- waxing working surfaces of skis, toboggans, runners, surfboards - and such;
- rustproofing steel tools;
- keeps needles and pins sharp (don’t ask me how... ;-)
-
rubbing into a thread (particularly a thick one) to make easier
threading a needle - and it also makes sewing thick canvas or leather
much easier
BEEKEEPING SUPPLIES
In January 2013 we have opened beekeeping supplies store, the first in entire Contra Costa County.
Stop by if you need hive boxes, frames, foundation or beekeeping tools.
Here you’ll find probably everything you need for your beekeeping needs.
MarElla
Honey Bees is focused on providing high-quality service - we and our
bees will do everything we can to meet your expectations.
With
a variety of offerings to choose from, we're sure you'll be happy
working with us. Look around our website and if you have any comments or
questions, please feel free to contact us.
We hope to see you again! Check back later for new updates to our website. There's much more to come.
