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 Great news, friends! We are a 2022 Scovie Award Winner!
We are thrilled to be recognized by the Fiery Foods Show for our Fiery Sweet Mesquite Honey as it has claimed 2nd place in the Sweet Heat - Unique category. The Scovie Awards honor the memory of Wilbur Scoville, the scientist who invented the Scoville organoleptic test in 1912 to determine the heat scale of chili peppers. Thank you to the judges and thank you to the Fiery Foods Show for this special regcognition!
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Friends, we are pinching ourselves! We're thrilled to receive not only one sofi Award, but two!
It's an honor to have won the New Product Award for our Tuscan Blue Rosemary & Black Pepper infused honey as well as the Gold Award for our Lucky Lime & Sea Salt infused honey. We are proud to be recognized by the Specialty Food Association (SFA). The SFA is the leading trade association and source of information about the $158.4 billion specialty food industry. Founded in 1952 in New York City, the SFA represents makers, importers, retailers, distributors, and others in the trade. The sofi Awards competition is open annually to members of the Specialty Food Association. The Awards have been given each year since 1972. They recognize extraordinary specialty food and beverage products and the people who create them. The SFA's 2021 sofi™ Awards included a total of 130 winners selected from nearly 1,500 entries across 49 product categories. Products were judged in an anonymous sampling for taste - including flavor, appearance, texture and aroma - ingredient quality, and innovation. The sofi judging was held at the prestigious Rutgers Food Innovation Center in April following strict safety guidelines.  Friends, we're excited to tell you about our latest creation! We proudly collaborated with Patty's Herbs in Pearsall, Texas and used their fresh cut rosemary to create this infused honey...and it's quickly becoming a favorite.
Our new Tuscan Blue Rosemary & Pepper infused honey is small-batched in 10-gallon batches and has a piney aroma with a distinctive sharp flavor. Just a hint of black pepper gives this honey an added earthy tone. It has a use in everything from meat and poultry, to vegetables, cheeses, baked goods, and even cocktails. It can be added to a marinade or combined with butter to melt over many finished dishes. Check out our recipe page and you can create your own fantastic dishes using our Tuscan Blue Rosemary & Pepper infused honey this holiday season!  It's been awhile since I've posted to our blog, but it's not because we don't have much to talk about...we've been staying pretty busy and that's a great thing. One of our latest adventures has been making new friends at The Chopping Block Premier Meat Market, located southeast of Houston in the town of Webster, about halfway to Galveston. Just recently opened, this market caters to folks who enjoy grilling and cooking all types of meats at on their own. If you're new to grilling or want to expand upon your robust cooking talent, you'll find comfort with the knowledgeable and very friendly staff. They offer a large variety of meats to select from and the enticing aroma in the store will get your creative grilling juices flowing for sure. This place has it all. Daily discounts are available to military veterans, first responders, nurses, teachers, and senior citizens. Stop in and say "hello" to the folks at The Chopping Block (14020 Galveston Road) and pick up our infused honeys while you're there!  For the past couple of years, we’ve been making our way throughout the Great State of Texas to spread the word about our tasty infused honeys. And now we are super excited to tell you that our Fiery Sweet Mesquite and our Lucky Lime & Sea Salt honeys are available at each of the Whole Foods Market locations in the entire state of Texas! This is a big deal for Lone Star Bee Company because it's now easier for YOU to get your hands on our delicious honeys. It's also a big deal for us because we enthusiastically appreciate and support Whole Foods Market's core values.
These are great traits that we can all appreciate. Click on our “Retailers” page to find the Whole Foods Market nearest to you! Our loyal followers already know that we have our infused honeys on several H-E-B Texas Grocery shelves in the Houston area, and we love it! Shoppers at these stores have had the chance to meet Hannah on many occasions, while she samples our infused honeys for them with a variety of fun foods. We're huge fans of Hannah. If you've had the privilege to meet her, then you know...she's got a cheerful and engaging personality with an infectious charm. When we're around her, we feel like we've made it to the party. She's a gem! If you're wondering when and where to find Hannah sampling, give us a shout and we'll get you connected.  It's almost hard to believe that the Weaver Family's been beekeeping since 1888, but it's true. They certainly know everything there is to know about bees, having five generations of beekeepers in the family. Over the past few years, Danny and Laura Weaver have created an inviting retreat in the Texas countryside where folks can come enjoy nature. Just a short one-hour drive northwest of Houston, BeeGoods Mercantile offers honey bees, queens, equipment, lessons, tours, demos, tastings and gifts. Each year, they host visitors from around the world to celebrate "Buzzfest" in May, "Infuzzed" in September, and "Holidazze" in December, whereby food trucks, musicians and vendors share in the bee experiences. Nearly every weekend, folks enjoy social time in the honey house and gift shop relaxing on the porches while sipping on refreshing drinks. For the adults, the honey gift shop sells Rohan Meadery's delicious mead from La Grange and Wildflyer's mead from Navasota. Bring the kids; they'll have so much fun they won't know that they're learning! We had a little fun in the bee yard a few days ago! Look at our girls working hard to make honey in their hive. We're asked quite a bit, "How do bees make honey?" Here's a very short and informative video that explains exactly how the bees do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPKg43uUUtA   Here's a great photo from one of our hives. These worker bees are situated on top of the queen's brood. You can see just beneath them are brownish, felt-like hexagons and some black hexagons. The brownish ones are baby bees yet to be born. The black ones are actually empty cells where baby bees were grown prior to emerging from their hexagon cell to join their new honey bee colony. Can you spot the queen bee in this photo? (Hint: She's quite a bit larger than her worker bees!)
 Us Texans know…when your taking a road trip across our state, one of your stops is going to be at a Buc-ee’s. Known for their exceptionally clean restrooms, Buc-ee’s super-sized convenient stores (actually, it’s much more than a convenient store) are a port of call for kids and adults.
There are more than 30 Buc-ee’s locations in Texas and they’ve just opened their first location outside of this state in Robertsdale, Alabama. Buc-ee’s does everything “Texas-style” and we love it. Take for instance their Katy, Texas location that opened just a couple of years ago. That store features 100 gas pumps and a 225 foot-long car wash. Inside, customers spread out within 50,000 square feet of space and can shop for Buc-ee’s Beaver Nuggets, beef jerky, fudge, kolaches, pickled quail eggs and so many more delicious treats. Shoppers can also peruse other merchandise including t-shirts, rain boots, reading glasses, deer corn, bar-b-que pits and our Fiery Sweet Mesquite honey. Check out the “Retailers” page on our website to find out which locations offer our honey. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the Houston Heights neighborhood, you're missing out. Houston Heights ("The Heights") is one of the most eclectic pockets of the entire city of Houston. There's something for everyone in The Heights! The neighborhood is Houston's oldest planned community, established in 1890 and was annexed to the City of Houston in 1918. Positioned just a few miles northwest of downtown Houston, the hip and earthy community celebrates a diverse culture, outstanding art, and trendy restaurants to satisfy a wide variety of palates. Folks look forward to participating in many reoccurring events like Heights First Saturday, White Linen Night, Mistletoe Madness, and Lights in the Heights. Some great Heights hangouts include We Olive & Wine Bar, Onion Creek, Boomtown Coffee and Heights Bier Garten. Alice Blue (a great place for date night) is a rather new eatery in the neighborhood, but once their doors opened they fit right in. The historic Heights Theater opened in 1929 and has housed a variety of venues since then. Today, it is used as an event space for intimate gatherings including private events as well as musicals and concerts that are open to the public. And the shopping! A favorite for the ladies is Jubilee, showcasing trendy, unique gifts and funky apparel. For the guys, Manready Mercantile is all the rave. Several antique stores line 19th Street, (that's the main drag).  A retailer that has been missing in The Heights neighborhood is grocery. But, that's not the case any longer. We're all very excited that H-E-B is opening their new two-story location on Shepherd Drive in just a couple of days. The store will not only fill a grocery void, but it will be bringing its Texas pride along with it, appeasing many of us cult followers.  And, we're thrilled to say that Lone Star Bee Company's infused honeys are already on the H-E-B Houston Heights' shelf. If you're planning a trip to Houston, or if you're already here and looking for a way to kill some time, make your way to The Heights. (While you're there, pick up some of our honey at H-E-B). It's a fun neighborhood for everyone! |
