Tupelo Honey

The tupelo trees along the Gulf Coast of the US require wet, swampy soils to thrive.  Its popular name derives from two Creek Indian words meaning tree (eto) and water (opelwu), and its latin name, Nyssa aquatica, means Water Nymph. 

The Apalachicola River is the center of Tupelo Honey production in the United States, with abundant growths of white tupelos.  Each spring, beekeepers place their hives on stands or riverboats in order to access this wonderful, light-colored honey that contaings just a hint of lemon.

In order to get the highest-quality Tupelo Honey, ALL honey stores must be stripped from the hive just as the tupelo bloom begins.  This causes high-grade Tupelo Honey to fetch a premium price, since the beekeeper must move the bees into the swamps and monitor the bees each day until the bloom starts.

White tupelo produces a honey with a high ratio of fructose to glucose, preventing this honey from crystallizing.  If there is even just a few days of the previous wildflower remaining on the hive, it will cause the Tupelo Honey to crystallize.  Purity is determined by pollen analysis by the Department of Agriculture.  Anything greater than 50% can be declared as Tupelo Honey, but our supplier routinely falls in the 80-95% purity range.