Nestled in the vast fruit plantation of Suphattra Land, a 40-minute drive from Pattaya, is a bee farm where millions of bees are engaged in a sweet operation. The bees here gather nectar from the flowers of durian trees, working to produce honey that is light amber in color with a mildly floral taste. And if you were wondering, the honey has no trace of the durian fruit’s pungent smell and flavour.
Every three days, honey is harvested from the hives. The removable frames containing the honeycomb are pulled out from the hives and transferred into a large centrifuge to extract the honey. Next, bottling takes place on the spot. One hive houses about 30,000 worker bees and one queen bee, and is capable of producing more than 20 kilogrammes of honey in a good season, while the average yield is about 12 kilogrammes.
Suphattra Land
70 Moo 10 Tambol Nang La Lok, Amper Bankai, Rayong 21120, Thailand
HONEY GINGER TEA
Spice up the day with a cup of homemade honey ginger tea. As one of the world’s oldest sweeteners, honey is high in antioxidants to enhance the immune system. Ginger helps in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol as well as staves off colds.
The addition of bael fruit, commonly found in India, Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia, aids in cleansing the digestive system and relieving flatulence.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 litres of water
- 2 slices of fresh ginger
- 2 slices of dried bael fruit
- 3 tablespoons of honey
Serves about 6 to 8 cups
METHOD:
- Heat the water and bring it to a boil.
- Throw in the ginger and dried bael fruit slices and let them simmer for about an hour to bring out the flavour.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the honey until it dissolves. It is ready to be served.
Courtesy of Rock Spa, Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya
