S&T’s Bees opens up a honey bar Saturday in celebration of National Honey Bee Day. The bar offers patrons the opportunity to taste honey from all over the world as well as locally harvested honey. Trying honey from Italy are, from left, Riana Bobes, Susan Bobes and S&T’s Bees owner Stephanie Bender.
ELKINS, W.Va. — Have you heard the latest buzz? S&T’s Bees, located at 221 Davis Ave., across from Davis Trust Company, is offering its patrons a new chance to try honey from all across the United States and the world, as well as locally harvested honey.
The honey bar opened Saturday, keeping with the celebration of National Honey Bee Day. Those stopping in to test the sweet new offering all agreed the honey bar is the “bee’s knees.”
“The buzz is we are offering a honey bar now,” S&T’s Bees owner Stephanie Bender said. “You can try West Virginia honey from our own hives. We also decided to carry honey from all over the world and several different states.”
Bender said they have honey from Italy, France, Spain and Romania, as well as honey from Maine, Oregon, Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas.
“It is all different and some of it is so good it will make you smile,” Bender said.
The honey bar premiered on Saturday and will continue each day S&T’s Bees is open, Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We offer three free samples,” she said. “Each honey has a different flavor depending on the plants the bees work. The blueberry flavor comes from Maine where they haul the hives to the blueberry fields. It benefits everything. It makes a very good honey and the growers get several more thousand pounds of fruit because the bees are there pollinating.”
Bender said in France they send the bees to the sunflower fields.
“Another interesting honey is the tupelo honey. This honey was rare this season because the tupelo season was very short because of the weather. Tupelo honey comes from Florida,” Bender said.
She said they have buckwheat honey that comes from Pennsylvania.
“It’s very popular. Dr. Oz is really into the buckwheat honey.”
“The most healing honey we carry is from the black locust trees in Romania,” Bender said. “They all taste different. All honey tastes different because of the plants the bees work.”
Bender said one of the all-around favorites has been the blueberry honey from Maine. She said a bus load of visitors to the area visited on Friday, and she completely sold out of that flavor of honey, but said she will have more in stock by the end of the week. She said at first, the blueberry honey tastes mild and sweet and at the end, the blueberry flavor shines through.
S&T’s Bees sells all supplies needed for beekeeping as well as honey, lip balm, lotions, soaps and other items made from honey. They also sell honey comb which some people chew. They sell some wood items, primitive items, crocheted items, purses and jewelry.
S&T’s Bees is owned by Tim and Stephanie Bender. They currently have 42 hives of their own.
“Our own honey is raw and unfiltered,” Bender said. “That means all the good stuff is still in them. People like that.”
Additional information about S&T’s Bees is located on Facebook or by calling 304-637-2335.
