Hello, I wonder if there are any local beekeepers in Bangkok and surrounding areas. I want to get some raw good quality honey. 

 

Thanks in advance. 

Genuine question, but is there anything for bees to eat in Bangkok? I don't see many flowers growing in Bangkok.

 

If all else fails Villa sells honey, although I am sure there will be other shops selling similar products.

Had been a hot topic in recent times in Oz, that a lot of honey tested fake and even debate about testing not being precise enough to really tell real from fake. Only one way it seems. Get your own bees.

I dont mind to drive a bit outside Bangkok. The honey in the supermarkets are mostly preserved by high temperature. Im looking for raw honey. Sometimes I see vendors on the outskirts of Bangkok for example on the way upcountry who sell honey in old hong tong bottles, but from the taste and structure I have the feeling they mix it with water or sugar.

If your taste is so discernnig, I assume it also applies to food that has more weight as sugary honey (nam phung in thai), so the best advice is to go to the OToKo certified organic market, open daily beside Chatuchak weekendmarket, easy to go by MRT.

Next i can think of: not BKK, but BMA area, near Prapradaeng. Bang Krachao half-isle, as there is a soi named Nam phung there-area is for BKK still very un-city and has many biketours going there. Traditionally in Thai these names mean that such trademen live there-though this may be of many years ago and superceded. can also go there by rickety ferry from end of Klong Toey harbour

On 3/6/2019 at 9:49 AM, CanNot said:

I dont mind to drive a bit outside Bangkok. The honey in the supermarkets are mostly preserved by high temperature. Im looking for raw honey. Sometimes I see vendors on the outskirts of Bangkok for example on the way upcountry who sell honey in old hong tong bottles, but from the taste and structure I have the feeling they mix it with water or sugar.

@CanNot I'm guessing you've solved your problem by now, but I'm out at Soi Watcharapol/Ram Intra and we have a lady at the local market selling organic forest honey that is truly the best honey I've ever tasted. It's absolutely pure and clearly has nothing added to it, and it's ฿250 for a 500g jar. The label says "Bee Favour" Organic Wild Honey, and if you DM me I'll give you her email and phone number. She's based in Rama 2 area at Bangkuntien but sells all over Bangkok.

 

Now, if YOU happen to know anyone who can move a bee hive and a bunch of bees who have moved into my property and setup shop right next to a pathway, I'd be grateful for the details too. One bite is enough :)

You can find thai raw honey on Lazada.

 

I'm not sure this one is raw but I tasted their 3 kinds and it's good: https://s.lazada.co.th/s.ZFFGm

 

This one is raw but never tried it: https://s.lazada.co.th/s.ZFoor

 

If you don't want to buy from Lazada you can still use it to find store and farm then visit them. 

 

I wonder how much fake honey is an issue in Thailand but it is a problem worldwide. China export more honey than they produce... 

 

 

Even right out in the sticks in Isaan, the honey sellers have caught on to adding sugar syrup to honey, even the buy out of a bucket with honeycomb & grubs still in has, mostly, been diluted with sugar syrup. So good luck trying to find the real thing here...

Happy Mate honey advertises as raw and organic on the label. Whether it is accurate I really don't know. I buy it at Foodland and Villa Market. None of the other honey on sale there advertises as raw and organic. I recently brought some honey back from Guatemala and, side by side at the same temperature, the Guatemala honey crystallizes and the Happy Mate does not. I don't know what that means either.

 

Edit: A quick look at google said unfiltered honey will crystallize faster than filtered honey. It also may have a higher sugar content. Quicker crystallization may indicate the honey is raw and more pure, so a good sign. 

It is not the lack of flowers or indeed bees. This Thailand... no money - no honey.

 

Actually, King Bhumipol used to keep bees and produced some really good honey, sold with the royal crest on the label. I used to buy it in The Mall. Sadly, neither King Bhumipol, nor his honey have been seen in a while.

Some off topic posts have been removed. 

All of the honey I've tasted in Thailand has no flavor at all. I'm convinced that it is all heavily watered down with sugar syrup.

There is honey made by the Kings Agricultural Project and I also  buy mine from a ' farmer' who passes my condo in Pattaya and drains the honey from the comb, dead bees and all! Both are excellent.

On 11/29/2019 at 6:41 AM, ColeBOzbourne said:

Happy Mate honey advertises as raw and organic on the label. Whether it is accurate I really don't know. I buy it at Foodland and Villa Market. None of the other honey on sale there advertises as raw and organic. I recently brought some honey back from Guatemala and, side by side at the same temperature, the Guatemala honey crystallizes and the Happy Mate does not. I don't know what that means either.

 

Edit: A quick look at google said unfiltered honey will crystallize faster than filtered honey. It also may have a higher sugar content. Quicker crystallization may indicate the honey is raw and more pure, so a good sign. 

I thought crystallization indicated sugar

I once bought some Cambodian honey, the brand with the forest hunters on the label. It was incredibly good, the best I have tasted in Asia.

On 3/5/2019 at 11:48 PM, stud858 said:

Only one way it seems. Get your own bees.

Then you know it will be the "bees knees"!

On 11/29/2019 at 1:41 PM, ColeBOzbourne said:

Happy Mate honey advertises as raw and organic on the label. Whether it is accurate I really don't know. I buy it at Foodland and Villa Market. None of the other honey on sale there advertises as raw and organic. I recently brought some honey back from Guatemala and, side by side at the same temperature, the Guatemala honey crystallizes and the Happy Mate does not. I don't know what that means either.

 

Edit: A quick look at google said unfiltered honey will crystallize faster than filtered honey. It also may have a higher sugar content. Quicker crystallization may indicate the honey is raw and more pure, so a good sign. 

It depends on which honey. Pure Locust-tree honey, my favourite, may take decades to crystallize, while multi-flower, the most common, takes a year or so.

In theory, it's a good sign if it crystallizes.

 

On 11/28/2019 at 8:23 PM, Buffy Frobisher said:

@CanNot I'm guessing you've solved your problem by now, but I'm out at Soi Watcharapol/Ram Intra and we have a lady at the local market selling organic forest honey that is truly the best honey I've ever tasted. It's absolutely pure and clearly has nothing added to it, and it's ฿250 for a 500g jar. The label says "Bee Favour" Organic Wild Honey, and if you DM me I'll give you her email and phone number. She's based in Rama 2 area at Bangkuntien but sells all over Bangkok.

 

Now, if YOU happen to know anyone who can move a bee hive and a bunch of bees who have moved into my property and setup shop right next to a pathway, I'd be grateful for the details too. One bite is enough ????

@Buffy Frobisher Greetings! I have a group coming to Thailand this month for an agricultural tour, and one of the group members is a beekeeper. He is very interested in visiting with a fellow beekeeper during their stay in Bangkok. Would you please share this woman's contact information? (I tried to send you a private message, but the system would not allow it.) Thank you!