I recently returned from the beautiful island of Ikaria where I spent time with the family who produces our honey.

I was joined by a film producer and crew from CBS who came to do a story on the famous Ikaria honey (more to come on that – stay tuned!)

I love exploring the hives which are tucked away on small plateaus at high elevations in the mountains, among the wild flora, which includes medicinal herbs. It is a pure and serene environment with stunning views of the beautiful Aegean Sea. A stark contrast to the commercial mono-crop farms where large scale honeys are produced.

In addition to spending time with the honey producers, we met with a 107 year old Yia Yia (Greek grandmother) who works on a loom in her studio every day and eats a spoonful of Ikaria honey every morning!

The Ikarians treat this “superfood” honey as a daily medicine. A delicious natural health supplement. The flora on the island of Ikaria is unique, many of the herbs and plants which are endemic to the island have medicinal properties and they have been used as such by the Ikarians for hundreds of years.

After visiting hives we took the CBS crew to the small processing building where the precious honey is removed from the frames by our beekeeper via a gentle centrifugal process and then gravity fed directly into the jars manually. It is the most minimal handling possible. Unlike production honeys (some of which claim to be raw), there is no heating of the honey to accommodate high-speed filling - this is Ikaria and there's no rush!

We really enjoyed showing CBS how and where this rare honey is produced and can't wait to see the episode.