Do you mix your honey?

[Papakeith]

We all see different honey from different seasons.  Light, Dark, aroma variations etc.  Do you keep all of your different honeys separate or do just toss everything into the bottling tank? Is there any reason behind your preference?

[tbonekel]

Seeing as this will be my first extraction in a few months, I can't answer that question yet. I hope I can soon, though.

[Yankee11]

I do both. I have several hives that are nowhere near any kind of crops. I like to extract it separate. Pure wildflower.

The stuff from the soybean farms I usually blend it with some wildflower hives.  I can tell a difference in the taste from soybean
to wildflower.

[Perry]

Light and dark separate if I extract more than once. After the last harvest whatever comes out of the extractor gets mixed together.
I prefer light honey, but here on the East coast I am in the minority.  I keep them separate until it becomes a pain.

[brooksbeefarm]

I use to keep it separate , but anymore it all goes together. My honey is all an amber color and if some is darker it sells out first around here. Jack

[robo]

"wildflower" here too.

[Zulu]

Each extraction remains separate...

[riverbee]

once in awhile i will separate the boxes, but for the most part, it all goes together, and the cappings honey is always separate.  when i extract, the boxes are stacked, uncapped, and spun out.  i use 5 gallon pails and like to fill the pail with 2 medium supers, so happen stance sometimes that the buckets contain lighter honey, darker honey etc.  my honey is primarily wildflower. when one of my lease farmers plants soybeans, i can usually get a fair harvest from this as well, but it gets mixed in.

[blueblood]

Jack, I am glad my honey is not dark here.  I am very surprised folks like it that dark.  Keith, I have mixed honey from two extraction times and it all looks the same pretty much.  Just a shade lighter or darker than amber.

[minz]

Why is it I never have the same answer as everybody else? I usually harvest just after blackberry. The outside frames look like coffee the inside frames look like amber.  I am using a small hand crank extractor so it is not a big deal for me to do them separate. So I separate by color, not box. They are a distinctive different flavor.

[Papakeith]

I have two distinct flows. Spring with Black Locust and Fall with Goldenrod and Asters.

the spring is very light in color and sweet in flavor, the fall is Dark and pungent in aroma .  I liken it to white and red wine.  White you like because it is sweet, red you develop an appreciation for the complex flavors.
So far I keep the two separate.  People around here are definitely in one camp or the other.  I would think that the two would separate over time in the jar anyway wouldn't they?

[Woody Roberts]

I usually only run one super per hive. Sometimes not even that. When they get six or so frames capped I extract them and put the wet frames right back on the hive. Next week I'll do the same.

If a hive is not real strong they may not draw out a super. When they have the top box full I'll extract a couple frames. If they fill right back up I'll take a couple more. As soon as they stop filling them I stop taking them which leaves them plenty for winter.

I tend to bottle these as I go so each batch may be different. Certainly different from early to late.
The Buckbrush flow here isn't very heavy but it's my favorite honey so I definitely keep it separate.

[riverbee]

"I would think that the two would separate over time in the jar anyway wouldn't they?"

no keith, the honey does not separate.

[brooksbeefarm]

6 to 8 ten frame honey supers is all i want to extract at a time, that is 3 or 4 five gallon buckets full of honey. I have a two frame reversible extractor with a motor and elec. capping knife, maybe i'm just getting old but to me 6 to 8 supers can wear me down. I extracted over 40 five gallons of honey last year and could have done more, but got tired of capping and extracting and lifting 60 lb. buckets around, don't get me wrong, i'm thankful for a good year, but keeping light and dark honey separate would just add more work. I do have to extract one 5 gallon bucket of light honey for my wife, she likes it better, but i like the dark. Jack

[riverbee]

jack has a good point. i have a 9 frame and an 18 frame extractor, both radial, makes the work go faster, but if you are having to uncap and spin out a lot of supers, one doesn't really spend too much time separating boxes.  i don't do anywhere near as many as jack does, but i extract only once in the season, late summer, and can have 25 - 35 supers to do.  i might pull out some supers like i said earlier, or supers with bee balm, (great honey), but for the most part it all goes together.  uncapping and extracting 25-35 boxes is about a 4 day affair, working at it from sun up to sun down with your butt dragging.......

[Bamabww]

I've tried to keep my light and dark  separate and so far the light will sell quicker than the dark but it all sells. It is a lot of extra trouble though.

[LazyBkpr]

Good question!! Great replies! Nice thread!!!     

   I am NOT fond of goldenrod honey. If I had nothing else for my coffee i would use it.
   So normally I pull every bit of honey I can before goldenrod blooms. I let the bees bring in the vast amounts of goldenrod we have to refill their hives for winter. If they are lacking I put some of the frames I took of good honey back on, THEN extract.
   Early spring honey, like most have said is lighter, the clover and wildflower honey is a little darker, and the goldenrod is darker still.
   I always thought that the lighter color the honey the better it would be...
   I had a chance recently to try tupelo honey.. it was good. it was sweet, but.... it left something to be desired. Not enough flavor..   I tested it against local clover honey, and the clover honey won hands down, with no comparison or thinking about it.  Made me wonder why everyone touts it so highly...  perhaps what I tried was not from the best crop?
   In any case...  after that testing.. I will blend early and late honey, but will still keep the goldenrod separated. Something about goldenrod reminds me of old socks, and I don't want that in my coffee!!

[iddee]

Tupelo is light. Gallberry is lighter, and milder. I love Gallberry. You can almost drink it straight.

[pistolpete]

I get dark honey in the spring (fruit trees and dandelions) and light honey June and July (Alfa Alfa)   The frames are quite distinctive, so I usually extract them separately, but not religiously so.  we prefer teh mild light coloured honey. 

[apisbees]

If you have honeys that are offensive to the taste, by blending it can be made more palatable, I could extract the early spring dandelion and fruit thee blossom honey but then I would need to feed the bees so they would continue to build up to the main honey flows.
All the honey that is collected in my area is white in color when compared to the national color scale. When judging honey and checking the color of honey against the international color scale for honey, you would be surprised how dark the honey can be and it will still be classified as white honey. Honey color appearance can be effected by the container it is put in. A skinny container will make the honey appear lighter due to less optical density.
The other honey we would get in the fall was a beautiful light white Knapweed honey, but it left a real bitter after taste so it had to be blended. or the summer honeys stripped from the hives and the colony left to gather and store the knapweed honey for their winter stores.