The History of Raw Honey in California

California's relationship with honey stretches from Indigenous stewardship to modern regenerative apiaries. Understanding that lineage connects every jar on your shelf to generations of beekeepers caring for the land and the pollinators that sustain it.

Indigenous Traditions with Honey

Long before European settlers arrived, California's Indigenous tribes gathered wild honey from native bees. Honey served as both food and medicine, blended with herbs to treat wounds and used ceremonially to honor the natural world. This respect for pollinators still influences how responsible beekeepers think about their craft today.

California Beekeeping Through the Centuries

Commercial beekeeping took off during the Gold Rush when settlers brought European honey bees west to pollinate orchards. By the late 1800s, California had become one of America's top honey producers, shipping clover, sage, and orange blossom honey across the country.

In the mid-1900s, migratory beekeeping expanded, with families moving hives seasonally to chase blooms. NorCal Nectar's founders were part of that wave, tending bees across orchards and wildflower fields from the Central Valley to the Sierra foothills.

NorCal Nectar's 4 Generations of Beekeeping

Today, NorCal Nectar remains a fourth-generation family business. We prioritize sustainable practices: rotating apiary sites, planting pollinator habitats, and harvesting honey only when our colonies have surplus. That stewardship philosophy preserves the legacy of California honey while protecting bees for the next century.

Want to see what sustainable beekeeping looks like today? Read What Makes Beekeeping Sustainable? for an inside look at our apiary practices.

Call to Action

Taste the history in every spoonful. Explore Our About Page to meet the beekeepers behind the brand, then Shop Raw Honey crafted in California since 1952.