As a Honey Shop, we were featured in the DUIC (The Utrecht Internet Newspaper), where we talked about our shop and the honey we sell.
Interested in the article? Then click the following link to read the full piece: Honingwinkel in de DUIC or read the transcribed version below:
Ahmet has more than 200,000 bees in Kanaleneiland
At the back of the garden, on top of the shed, are the beehives. The creatures are busily flying around them. Ahmet climbs a ladder onto the roof of the shed to show off the white hives. Hanife stays below. "Be careful," she advises. "The bees are also affected by the heat. It can make them grumpy."
Ahmet Taskan has been beekeeping for 20 years, simply as a hobby. "I enjoy doing it; it calms me down," he says. But then the coronavirus pandemic hit Utrecht in March 2020. "We were all suddenly at home. We had tons of time. So we started looking for something to do." Hanife and Ahmet's daughter (23) launched the webshop honingwinkel.nl. His sons (14 and 15) started a free advertising course from Google. And that's how the business got off the ground. "In the first few months, we sold €450 worth of honey per month. That amount grew every month. By September, it was already €7,000 per month. By March, a year later, we were selling €15,000 per month. And it's still growing."
Division of tasks
The whole family works on the webshop. "We have a division of labor," Taskan explains. "I'm responsible for purchasing and making our own honey. My daughter maintains the webshop, where she posts our products and photos. My sons spend about an hour and a half a day on marketing—in reality, it's often a bit less, due to exams and such. Hanife, my wife, makes sure all orders are packed and ready for shipment." Taskan finds it helpful to have a specific task. "Then you know exactly what to do."
The bees also contribute their share. They live in 12 hives on the roof of the garden shed. Each hive houses a queen and her colony, averaging 20,000 bees. Little is noticed. Taskan explains: "I inspect the hives regularly. I check if the queen is laying eggs and if the colony is strong and healthy. And I check if the bees have already made a lot of honey." When there's enough honey in the hive, he removes the frames. Frames are the vertical drawers that hold the honeycomb. He extracts the honey with a sling and collects it. "You have to remove the honey from the hives in time. Otherwise, the bees get lazy."
Billion flowers
And that's not the intention, that the bees become lazy. The term 'busy bee' isn't a coincidence. Ahmet sits back in his green garden chair. "For 1 kilo of honey, the bees have to make about 2 million contacts with a flower. If there's little pollen, that can go up to 5 million contacts." Taskan's bees together produce about 200 kilos of urban flower honey per year. That means his bees touch up to a billion flowers annually. "That's a lot, isn't it?"
Urban flower honey from Kanaleneiland-Noord is made from a wide variety of flowers. "In the city, you have a much wider variety of flowers than in the countryside. Heather, for example, is less diverse." Indeed, various flowerpots and containers filled with flowers already line the balconies and gardens behind Kanaleneiland, contributing to the honey's flavor. "In spring, the flowers are in bloom. You can taste that in the honey; it tastes like lime blossom."
On good faith
Taskan thinks he's reached his maximum capacity with 12 hives in his Utrecht backyard. "The neighbors aren't complaining, but you don't want to make things difficult for them either." To increase production, Taskan collaborates with beekeepers in Greece, Spain, and New Zealand. "I only buy my honey from people I trust. Because what I sell has to be good," says Taskan.
So what constitutes good honey? "There are eight parameters you look at to assess honey." These include moisture content, whether pesticides have been used, and the honey's age. The beekeeper straightens the regulations on his garden chair and explains: High moisture content means the honey was harvested too early. And pesticides used on plants also end up in the honey. And the older the honey gets, the worse it tastes. "Honey doesn't spoil. It never affects you. But if the honey is more than two years old, it starts to lose its flavor."
Satisfied customers
Hanife, who despite the tropical temperatures is constantly walking back and forth between the kitchen and the storage shed, returns with small jars of honey in her hands. "Just arrived from Turkey, our beekeeper, customer satisfaction, is the most important thing," says Hanife.
