Good morning!
Ready to start a new week? We are! We've already shipped the first Valencian tomatoes, and luckily, they arrived in perfect condition. It's just a matter of waiting a few days for them to ripen to experience the true flavor of the garden 🍅.
Today I'm going to tell you about something very sweet and its properties. Mainly because I was surprised to learn about them and I want to share it with you.
But first, two things.
👉🏽 The first has to do with shipping. We have stopped 24-48 hour shipping because the weather no longer allows it; we will return to 14-hour shipping.
In case you didn't know, at the beginning of the year we lowered the minimum purchase amount for free shipping to €19. We did it to help with the January financial strain and, until now, we had been able to maintain it, but we have had to raise it back to €27, as it always was.
The thing is that one or two-day shipping compromises the quality of our products... Because, as you know, it's already hot at this time, and that affects the quality of our fruits and vegetables.
👉🏽 The second thing I want to tell you is to keep in mind that we are still harvesting blueberries and the season isn't very long, so reserve your harvest of these blue delights.
Now, let's get to what I want to tell you today. I was talking to Raquel, our beekeeper colleague, again, and I learned about the benefits of honey that I want to share with you because—truthfully—I didn't know them. When it comes to honey, you tend to think it only cures a sore throat, but it turns out that's not all.
If you think of honey, you might imagine the golden and shiny color of typical wildflower honey... But there's another lesser-known category, more intense and with incredible properties. I'm talking about dark honeys, like heather honey or forest honey.
These honeys are not only different in color or taste, but they hide a chemical composition much richer in minerals and antioxidants than lighter ones.
Raquel has many years of experience among beehives, and she states it clearly: The darker the honey, the more medicinal properties it has. These are denser, more potent honeys, full of health. It's not a popular saying or country poetry. It has a scientific basis, and I'll explain it to you in simple words.
We know that the dark color in honey usually comes from its floral origin: plants like heather, oak, or chestnut, which produce nectars richer in mineral salts. Some of the most present in these honeys are iron, potassium, zinc, and magnesium.
These minerals not only add flavor but are part of our essential diet.
And if we add to that the fact that these flowers also provide many natural substances good for the body, such as antioxidants and phenolic compounds—which help protect our cells—we have a honey with a greater ability to defend us from the damage caused by free radicals.
By the way, the famous free radicals are related to molecules that age and wear out the body, something known as oxidative stress.
And here's the best part: these honeys also have a remarkable antibacterial action. The honey's own low pH, its low moisture content, and the natural production of hydrogen peroxide (something like hydrogen peroxide) hinder the proliferation of bacteria.
But Raquel, who closely handles every jar that leaves her plot, tells us that when bees collect from heather areas, there's like an "extra fortress": These beehives are more resistant, and the honey that comes from there proves it every time you use it for an irritated throat, a wound, or a weakened immune system.
Heather honey is less common in supermarkets because heather flowering is shorter and more complicated, and because beehives are usually in mountain areas, far and difficult to reach with machinery. But Raquel insists: It's worth every effort, because what comes out of there is pure natural medicine.
Many clients have asked us what they can do with this honey, and she has given us a very simple answer: You should take a teaspoon every morning on an empty stomach, just like that. And if your throat hurts, a spoonful with a little lemon. It's not a miraculous remedy, but it supports the body in what it needs.
There's no laboratory chemistry here, just grandmother's wisdom, patience, and mountain flowers.
So now you know, the next time you see a jar of dark honey, like heather or forest honey, don't pass it up because of its intensity or potent flavor. Remember that behind that dark color is an arsenal of minerals and antioxidants, and that jar is the result of thousands and thousands of trips by hardworking bees.
And remember something important: real, artisanal honey, unfiltered and unpasteurized, retains all its properties intact.
At Campos del Abuelo, we are proud to take care of every detail so that all our products arrive with all their benefits at their peak, directly from the field to your home.
Thanks for being on the other side, see you next week.
A big hug!
