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Everyone knows honey. Most people know beeswax. But mention propolis and you get blank looks.

“Propo-what?”

Propolis is the bee product you haven’t heard of — but should have. It’s the secret weapon of the hive, a substance so potent that bees use it as medicine, construction material, and embalming fluid. Yes, really.

What Exactly Is Propolis?

Propolis (from Greek pro “before” + polis “city” — “before the city”) is a resinous substance bees collect from tree buds, sap flows, and other botanical sources. Think of it as bee glue — or bee medicine.

Bees gather resin from:

• Poplar and conifer trees
• Horse chestnut buds
• Birch sap flows
• Various other botanical sources

They mix this resin with:

• Beeswax — for pliability
• Pollen — for protein
• Bee saliva — containing enzymes that activate beneficial compounds

What Bees Use Propolis For

1. Hive Defence (The “Bee Glue”)

The primary use is sealing cracks and gaps in the hive. Bees are obsessive about climate control. Propolis creates an airtight seal that:

• Prevents drafts
• Keeps moisture out
• Maintains hive temperature at exactly 35°C
• Strengthens the hive structure

If a mouse gets into the hive and dies, bees can’t drag it out. So they encase it in propolis — effectively mummifying it to prevent decay and disease.

2. Antimicrobial Protection

Bees are fanatical about hygiene. Propolis lines the inside of the hive, creating a sterile environment. Its natural antimicrobial properties:

• Kill bacteria
• Inhibit fungal growth
• Prevent viral spread

The Science: Why Propolis Works

Propolis contains over 300 active compounds, including:

Flavonoids & Polyphenols

Powerful antioxidants that fight free radicals, reduce inflammation, and support immune function.

Phenolic Acids

Including caffeic acid and ferulic acid, which have antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Terpenes

Aromatic compounds with antimicrobial effects.

Propolis Benefits for Humans

1. Immune Support

Propolis stimulates the immune system, increasing antibody production and activating macrophages.

2. Wound Healing

Propolis accelerates tissue regeneration and prevents infection. Effective for minor burns, cuts, cold sores, and mouth ulcers.

3. Oral Health

Propolis reduces plaque and gingivitis, fights bacteria that cause tooth decay, and soothes sore throats.

4. Cold & Flu Prevention

Regular propolis consumption may reduce the frequency and severity of upper respiratory infections.

5. Skin Health

Increasingly used in skincare for acne treatment, anti-aging, and eczema relief.

How to Use Propolis

Propolis comes in several forms:

• Raw Propolis — Small chunks, can be chewed or made into tinctures
• Propolis Tincture — Dissolved in alcohol, easy to use
• Propolis Capsules — Convenient for daily immune support
• Propolis Ointment/Cream — For external use on skin
• Propolis Spray — Throat spray for sore throats

Our Harvesting Method

At Bramble Farm Bees, we harvest propolis using propolis mats — thin plastic screens placed on top of the hive. Bees fill the gaps with propolis. We remove the mats, freeze them, and the propolis becomes brittle and easy to collect.

This method doesn’t stress the bees and allows them to replace propolis easily.

Ready to Try Propolis?

We offer raw propolis chunks harvested from our Kent hives. It’s the same propolis our bees use — no processing, no additives.

Shop Propolis →

Or explore our full range:

• Raw Wildflower Honey
• Beeswax Candles
• Beekeeping Experiences

Questions about propolis? We’re always happy to talk bee products.

Luke and the Bramble Farm Bees team

Walk into any supermarket and you’ll find shelves of golden honey. Clear, runny, consistent — and nothing like the honey that comes from a beehive.

The truth is, most commercial honey has been so heavily processed that it’s barely recognisable as the superfood nature intended. At Bramble Farm Bees, we’re often asked: What’s the difference between raw honey and processed honey? and Is raw honey actually better for you?

The short answer: yes. The long answer? Keep reading.

What Is Raw Honey?

Raw honey is honey exactly as it exists in the beehive. It hasn’t been heated above natural hive temperatures (around 35°C), and it hasn’t been heavily filtered. It contains:

• Pollen — trace amounts from the flowers the bees visited
• Propolis — the bees’ natural antibiotic resin
• Royal jelly — nutrient-rich secretion from worker bees
• Bee pollen — protein-packed flower pollen collected by bees
• Enzymes — over 22 different enzymes including diastase, invertase, and glucose oxidase
• Vitamins & minerals — B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, and more
• Antioxidants — polyphenols and flavonoids that fight free radicals

Raw honey may be cloudy, crystallise over time, and vary in taste and colour from batch to batch. That’s not a flaw — that’s proof it’s real.

What Is Processed (Regular) Honey?

Processed honey (sometimes called commercial, regular, or pasteurised honey) has typically undergone:

1. Pasteurisation

Heated to 70°C or higher, then rapidly cooled. This kills yeast cells that could cause fermentation, but it also:

• Destroys beneficial enzymes (including glucose oxidase, which produces hydrogen peroxide)
• Reduces antioxidant content by up to 30%
• Eliminates vitamins and minerals
• Kills beneficial bacteria

The result? Honey that never crystallises and stays liquid on shelves for years. But also honey that’s essentially sugar syrup with none of the health benefits.

2. Ultrafiltration

Passed through fine filters under high pressure. This removes:

• Pollen grains (which contain protein and help with allergies)
• Propolis particles
• Air bubbles
• Everything that makes honey beneficial

Ultrafiltration exists primarily because pollen acts as a fingerprint. Without it, you can’t trace where honey came from — which is convenient if you’re importing cheap honey and calling it local.

3. Blending

Most supermarket honey is blended from multiple sources — often multiple countries. That consistent taste? It’s manufactured, not natural.

The Health Benefits: Raw vs Processed

Raw Honey’s Unique Benefits

1. Natural Antibacterial Properties
Raw honey contains hydrogen peroxide (produced by the enzyme glucose oxidase), low pH, and high sugar content — all of which inhibit bacterial growth.

2. Local Allergy Relief
There’s evidence that consuming raw local honey may help with seasonal allergies. The theory: small amounts of local pollen act like a natural vaccine.

3. Digestive Health
Raw honey contains prebiotics that feed beneficial gut bacteria.

4. Sore Throat & Cough Relief
Raw honey is as effective as over-the-counter cough medicines for soothing sore throats.

How to Spot Real Raw Honey

Look for:

• Crystallisation — raw honey crystallises over time
• Cloudiness — may contain tiny particles of pollen, wax, and propolis
• Variation — real raw honey varies by season and batch
• Label says raw — obvious, but necessary
• Local source — imported honey won’t be raw

Be wary of:

• “,”:”pure honey” — means nothing legally
• “Natural honey” — equally meaningless
• Honey that never crystallises
• Very cheap honey

Why Raw Honey Costs More

Real talk: raw honey is more expensive than supermarket honey. Here’s why:

1. We don’t over-harvest — we leave enough honey for the bees
2. No shortcuts — no heating, no filtering, no blending
3. Labour intensive — small batch extraction, careful handling
4. Seasonal variation — if it’s a bad summer, yields are lower
5. Local provenance — you’re paying for transparency

Our Promise

When you buy our raw Kent wildflower honey, you’re getting:

✓ Truly raw — never heated above hive temperature
✓ Strained, not filtered — pollen and propolis intact
✓ Single-origin — from our hives in Kent
✓ Seasonal — taste changes with the flowers
✓ Sustainable — we put the bees first

Ready to Taste the Difference?

Join our Honey Club for regular deliveries of seasonal raw honey throughout the year.

Join the Honey Club →

Or browse our full range of raw honey, beeswax candles, and propolis products in our shop.

Shop Raw Honey →

Questions about raw honey? Drop us a message — we’re always happy to chat.

Luke and the Bramble Farm Bees team

There is something almost magical about honey. That golden, sticky sweetness that tastes of summer meadows and sunshine — but how do bees actually make it?

As beekeepers here at Bramble Farm Bees in Kent, we get asked this question constantly. And honestly? The answer is even more impressive than you would think. These tiny creatures are nature’s most efficient factory workers, and what they accomplish in their short lives is nothing short of extraordinary.

It All Starts with a Flower

The honey-making process begins when a forager bee leaves the hive in search of nectar. Using her proboscis (a straw-like tongue), she sips nectar from flowers and stores it in a special second stomach called the honey stomach or crop.

This is not her regular stomach — it is purely for transporting nectar. A forager can visit up to 100 flowers in a single trip and carry up to 70 milligrams of nectar, nearly half her body weight. Imagine carrying half your weight in shopping bags. Now imagine doing that while flying.

The Enzyme Transformation Begins

Here is where the chemistry starts. Inside the honey stomach, enzymes begin breaking down the complex sugars in the nectar. The main player is invertase, an enzyme that converts sucrose (table sugar) into glucose and fructose — the simple sugars that make honey sweet and easily digestible.

This enzymatic process is crucial. Raw honey contains over 22 different enzymes, all working together to transform floral nectar into the superfood we love.

Back to the Hive: The Handover

When the forager returns to the hive, she does not just dump her load and clock off. Instead, she passes the nectar to a house bee through a process called trophallaxis — essentially, regurgitating the nectar mouth-to-mouth to another bee.

Yes, honey is essentially bee vomit. We prefer to call it transformed nectar, but the process is the same. And it has been working perfectly for about 100 million years.

Processing and Ripening

The house bee continues the enzyme work, adding more invertase and other enzymes. She then spreads the nectar throughout the honeycomb cells, creating a thin film that maximises surface area for evaporation.

Here is the critical part: nectar is about 80% water. Honey is about 17% water. That water has to go somewhere.

The Evaporation Process

Bees are master engineers when it comes to climate control. They fan their wings furiously at the hive entrance, creating airflow that circulates through the hive and evaporates water from the nectar. The temperature inside a hive stays around 35°C — perfect for honey production and exactly what the fanning achieves.

This process can take several days. The bees test the honey’s moisture content by repeatedly checking the cells. When it reaches the magic 17-18% moisture level, they know it is ready.

Capping: Sealing the Deal

Once the honey is ripe, the bees seal the cell with a thin layer of beeswax. This capping is airtight and waterproof, preserving the honey indefinitely. Archaeologists have found edible honey in ancient Egyptian tombs — that is how good bees are at food preservation.

Why Honey Never Spoils

Honey’s longevity comes from three factors:

1. Low moisture content — bacteria and mould need water to grow
2. High acidity — honey’s pH (around 3.9) inhibits microbial growth
3. Natural hydrogen peroxide — bees add glucose oxidase, which creates small amounts of hydrogen peroxide when honey is diluted

From Hive to Jar: Our Process

At Bramble Farm Bees, we take our role as stewards seriously. When we harvest honey:

1. We only take excess — bees need honey to survive winter. We leave them plenty.
2. We never heat our honey — heating destroys enzymes and beneficial compounds. Our honey is truly raw.
3. We strain, not filter — we remove wax and debris but keep pollen, propolis, and all the good stuff.
4. We jar immediately — from hive to jar with minimal handling.

Why Raw Honey Matters

The honey you will find in most supermarkets has been pasteurised (heated to high temperatures) and ultrafiltered. This creates a uniform, clear product that stays liquid on shelves — but it destroys the enzymes, removes the pollen, and strips away the characteristics that make honey special.

Our raw wildflower honey from Kent? It is exactly as the bees made it. Different batches taste different depending on which flowers were blooming. Spring honey is light and floral. Late summer honey is darker and richer. That is the beauty of real honey.

The Numbers Behind the Sweetness

To put the bees’ work in perspective:

• One bee produces about 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
• One pound of honey requires bees to visit approximately 2 million flowers
• One hive can produce 25-50 pounds of surplus honey per year (in a good season)
• A forager bee makes about 10 trips per day, visiting 50-100 flowers each trip

The next time you drizzle honey on your toast, remember: you are tasting the life’s work of thousands of bees, countless flowers, and millions of wing beats.

Experience It Yourself

Want to see honey-making in action? Our beekeeping experience days let you suit up, open a hive, and watch these incredible creatures at work. You will taste honey straight from the comb and understand why we are so passionate about what we do.

Book a beekeeping experience

Or if you just want to taste the results, join our Honey Club for regular deliveries of seasonal raw honey throughout the year.

Join the Honey Club

Have questions about bees or honey? Drop us a message — we could talk about this stuff all day.

Luke and the Bramble Farm Bees team