Ratel River is the river that runs through our farm into the sea in Cape Agulhas. "Ratel" also happens to mean honey badger in Afrikaans. So, we figured it was fate and teamed up with the little rascals. Ratel River Honey is raw in the true sense of the word. Nothing is added, nothing is tampered with, and the source of pollen is hectares upon hectares of wild fynbos. (Our farm borders with Cape Agulhas National Park). We can't help but think our bees are the luckiest bees.

During processing, we rely on a Honey Extractor that uses centrifugal force whereby the drum holds onto a basket of heavily laden and freshly uncapped frames and, once spinning, flings out fine threads of golden honey. This way, the wax comb stays completely intact so that they can be easily reused by the clever worker bees. We don't believe in removing any more than is necessary. (Bees use 7 times more energy to make wax, than they do to make honey). Follow us at @ratelriverhoney for other bee-related wisdom. :)

Our eccentric Bee whisperer happens to be a retired diplomat - so it comes as no surprise that he likes to practice a bit of international honey relations by hand painting a flag on each of his hives. Each hive represents a country and an apiary represents a collection of member countries. Featured is the EU apiary. In short, we like to think of our farm as host of the ongoing Honey World Cup!