Our friends at @blyesbees emailed us this week with some pretty exciting news.

One of their hives had produced purple honey! This extremely rare occurrence is one of the great mysteries of the honey world. Why? Because no one really knows exactly what variable or combination of variables cause the change to occur, meaning it cannot be intentionally produced. You could have 50 colonies in the same region, pollinating the same area, and it only show up in one hive. It’s dark purple in the jar, but when held to the light has glowing tones of ruby and violet (see pics). It’s sweet, smooth, and lingers on the tongue with a floral finish. It is almost exclusively produced by bees in the Carolinas, so it’s a truly rare local treat that is coveted by honey lovers all over the world. Jim and Cindy will have very limited quantities of 3 oz jars at this week’s market before they list it on their website for wider sale across the country. Curious? Stop by and chat with them. Having the beekeeper himself to buy from is one of the many benefits of shopping at your local farmers market.