Oh Honey! - "Miel de Rota".

Only a few meters away from the sea, live these happy bees.

Jose Hernandez, is the bee master in Rota.  His hives are located by the beach.  Just a few bushes of rosemary and a couple of yards of sand, separate the waves from the bee colonies. When we arrived, Jose was busy working on the last batch of honey before he is done for the year.  He moves around quickly and efficiently.  He is most of the time alone and I think he likes it that way.  He is short, strong, has bushy eyebrows and cannot stay still, just like a bee.

He's been doing this for quite some time.  His second child introduced him to this hobby.  Jose junior was just 13 yrs. old when he became interested in apiculture and Jose (father) helped out. 

The colony is much smaller now that the honey has been collected

Now José senior, is the one with the business. First, he shows us, one of the bee colonies.  We can see the bees buzzing in and out of the wooden boxes. None pay attention to us, a good thing.  Some even have their legs covered in pollen.  Then, we head to a room where he stores wooden frames (supers) that fit in the hives, that later the bees use to make their honeycombs.  The one he shows us is a frame full of honey.  First thing he must do, is remove the wax seal from the honeycomb, and immediately the honey stars oozing from the hexagonal waxy cells.  I try a chunk, suck on the honey and chew the wax.  Its delicious, chewy and, wait… Do I swallow this?  I ask.  He nods, you can, but it's a laxative, he says.  Umm, no thanks. I spit it out. :-)

The was plug that covers the honey cells is removed

The frame with the newly opened honey cells go into the centrifuge where the honey is extracted and it is collected in the container below. 

José's honey is never heated, it has no additives, it is very pure and golden, excellent quality.  It has a humidity of 15 -16 %, which is really good. More honey, less water, which means more flavor.  Some other world honeys have up to 25 % water (adulterated, probably) and are of light color and hardly any flavor.  Rota bees feed mainly on rosemary, prickly pear, and eucalyptus, as well as wild flowers from Rota's country side.  His controls are rigorous, and samples are taken to Germany where it is tested for any chemicals present, and then certified for quality and purity. His grade?  An A+.

The honey filled wooden frames are place in the centrifuge to extract the honey

Then you have to flip the frames to extract the honey on the other side

The centrifuge collects the honey and then it has to be filtered several times
 to eliminates bits of wax and other debris. 

The honey is filled by expert hands.  Not one drop is waisted.

Next step, is to bottle the honey in sterilized jars and slap a label on it.  It is ready for us.  So simple so wonderful and sweet.  I didn't always like honey, especially the grocery kind.  But of course I was eating the wrong kind.  This is what honey is supposed to taste like.  Look for his honey around Rota stores, fruit stands and markets.

*** December 2014 Update. ***
Jose's honey just got another report card back form Germany.  His honey is outstanding, and so pure, the lab folks also bought honey from him!  That certainly says a lot about his product! Congratulations Jose.

Once the labels are on, they are ready for the market.  Here is my stash.
Miel de Rota.  How sweet it is.

Around the same time of my visit, this publicity stunt appeared in town, where a bus stop was decorated like a patio with plants and an intense honey perfume was sprayed, to advertise a drink. It smelled really sweet.

Out of curiosity I searched the word honey "miel" to see if I could find a sevillana that had the word honey in it.  And I found several:

Ay que te como, from "El Mani". 

Ay,que te como y te como,
que ay, que te voy a comer.

Esa carita tan bonita
parece un terrón de miel,
parece un terrón de miel,
ay, que te como y te como,
que ay,que te voy a comer…

Warning: Words may get lost in translation…

Oh, I'm going to eat you, I'm going to eat you

Oh, I'm really going to eat you,

Such a beautiful face

it looks like a chunk of honey

it looks like a chunk of honey

Oh, I'm going to eat you, I'm going to eat you

Oh, I'm really going to eat you,…

and the video:

Another example, is a sevillana from "Rafael del Estad", Anhelo

Entre las entretelas, de mi sentío

De mi sentío
Entre las entretelas
De mi sentío
Vive una mujer
Que es el sueño mío

Que es el sueño mío
Y cierro los ojos
Y la estoy besando
Y cuando los abro
La sigo buscando

...Morena tiene que ser
Con ojos negros rajaos
Talle fino de mujer
Labios acaramelaos
Y dulces como la miel…

Again a loose translation:

In between the fabric of my senses 

lives a woman, who is my dream

she is my dream

I close my eyes

and I'm kissing her

and when I open them

I look for her

She is brunette 

with black almond eyes

small waist 

with lips like candy

and as sweet as honey...