Sharing Life’s Sweet Journey
We’re excited to announce a new partnership with local beekeepers Joe and Sue Kappler. In 2014, Joe and Sue’s brand Heartsease Hill started as a small apiary selling honey and handcrafted soaps at the Westmoreland, NY Farmer’s Market. As homebrewers and a former brewery employee, their interest in mead blossomed and soon several experimental batches were fermenting. Recognizing that there weren’t many meaderies around, Joe and Sue started researching and made several road trips to meaderies in New York State and Vermont. The Honey and Pollination Center at UC Davis in Davis, California offered a beginning meadmaking course that coincided with their early experimental meads and the rest is history!
Joe and Sue take pride in their connection to the local farming community and now supply Grand Colonial Bed and Breakfast with a variety of local honey and mead products which we have paired with many of our homemade breakfast foods and now offer our guests as premium toppings. Honey connects us to nature in a way that is direct and pure and honest. Local honey is a true reflection of the flowers in a region. Joe and Sue harvest their honey in the rural town of Plainfield, New York.
We currently offer two varieties of honey- wildflower and knotweed. The wildflower honey is light in color and contains a mixture of wildflower nectars. The jars of knotweed honey have already become a guest favorite. Knotweed is a mild-flavored, local specialty honey that is harvested once a year. The bees produce a unique dark, reddish honey from the tiny white flowers. Knotweed is an invasive species in New York State, but the upside of this plant is that it is a plentiful and nutritious food source for the bees right before they head into winter.
Joe and Sue’s Mead Jelly is truly a treat you must try for yourself. This jelly is light in color and made with Heartsease Hill mead. It pairs great with cheeses, bread, and appetizers, and makes a unique gift to take home and share with friends and neighbors.
In addition to tasting delicious Heartsease Hill honey and mead jelly with breakfast, guests and locals alike can purchase Heartsease Hill products from us to take and enjoy at home. We offer a variety of jar-styles and sizes ranging from 8 ounces to 2.5 pounds. We hope to see you soon!
