There’s just something about honey that makes people happy. Maybe it’s the bees and blossoms, maybe it’s that beautiful golden color, or maybe it’s simply one of those foods that still feels connected to the place it came from.
And apparently, people are eating more of it. According to USDA data, Americans consumed about 1.9 pounds of honey per person in 2025, nearly twice as much as we did in 1990. That’s something we’re seeing firsthand at farmers markets too.
Underneath all the romance of bees and honey is a fascinating agricultural product. Honey really does taste like place. What’s blooming around the hives, the season, rainfall and weather all influence the nectar available to bees. Even honey produced by the same colonies can vary in color, aroma and flavor from one harvest to another as the landscape changes around them.
Here in the Southwest, that landscape can include everything from alfalfa fields and mesquite to native wildflowers and agricultural crops. Even cotton produces blossoms that bees can work. What eventually ends up in the jar is, in a very real sense, a little snapshot of what was growing and blooming in that place at that particular time.
Perhaps that’s part of the appeal. Honey isn’t just sweet; it has a story behind it. Yet while Americans are eating more honey than they used to, nearly 80% of the U.S. honey supply now comes from imports. That makes knowing where your honey comes from a little more meaningful.
We’ll have plenty of recently harvested raw honey with us this Saturday at the Los Ranchos Growers Market from 8–11 AM, along with bee pollen and Power Honey. If you’re curious about the differences between honeys, ask us for a taste. Better yet, make it a little honey flight and taste them all!
Bee happy!
Brenna & Kenny
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