Surfcoast Bees is a small, artisan producer of natural, untreated honey on the Victorian Surfcoast in Australia.
Artisan honey label Surfcoast Bees was started by Marc Carroll and Felicity Marshall about 13 years ago. This is genuine Surfcoast honey extracted from hives situated on private properties, gardens, forests and wild places from Anglesea to Lorne and the edge of the Otway Ranges. The bees gather nectar from the abundance of flowering native trees and shrubs such as Blue Gum, Messmate, Ironbark, Banksia, Stringybark, Leptospermum, Moonah to name a few - as well as domestic flowers and fruit trees.
The honey
Surfcoast Bees delicious rich honey flavours will vary seasonally due to the different flowering habits of trees and prevailing weather conditions. Flavour will also vary subtly from one hive to the next, even if they are in the same region. Bees love floral diversity and will travel to the flowers that hold most appeal to them. We believe this is what makes genuine artisan honey unique.
In order to retain all the micro-nutrients, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and genuine health-giving benefits of natural honey, we do not heat–treat our honey.
“Life is a Flower, of which love is the honey.”
— VictoR hugo
Hand extracted
Our honey is cold extracted from the frames, spun, and put in jars by hand. We then write on the label precisely the region and hive number. In this way we keep track of the individuality and subtle differences in flavour of each region and our customers can also. Many of our customers have developed favourite hives! Our honey is available to purchase in 500g and 300g jars. See our stockists list.
Gentle beekeeping
We love and respect our bees and are gentle and caring beekeepers. Great attention is paid to the maintenance, health and well-being of our bees and their hives to ensure that they are disease free and the bee colonies are calm and thriving. Happy bees, happy life!
Special things come in limited supplies
Surfcoast Bees honey has become extremely sought after and we often sell out before the new spring season starts. While we are sorry to disappoint our customers, we never substitute our honey with bulk heat-treated blended honey purchased from another source, as some other honey sellers do. Apart from the profound difference in quality and flavour of commercial honey, it is contrary to our beekeeping ethos. We just ask for your patience in waiting for the new season’s honey to arrive.
We are a small artisan producer and we do not sell our honey online. We also sell pure beeswax. Contact Marc for information.