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In a quiet creek off the Savannah River, tupelo trees arch over still black water. I guide a group of kayakers into what locals call the tupelo cathedral. Overhead, bright leaves catch the sun like stained glass. The trees will bloom for only about a week — just enough time for bees to gorge on their sweet nectar and make one of the world’s most sought-after honeys.
Tupelos, whose name comes from a Muskogee phrase for “swamp tree,” tower up to 50 feet out of the muddy creek bed, and alligators lurk in their roots. They grow densely enough to yield honey in just a few spots in south Georgia and northeast Florida, where, every spring, beekeepers launch their hives into the swamps. They cross their fingers for good weather. The short-lived white blossoms are so delicate that a strong wind will send them fluttering into the water, ruining their honey yield.
We raft up our kayaks, and I pass around a taste test of different samples: wildflower honey, which can help tame allergies; saw palmetto honey, which startles with its medicinal tang; and queen of them all, the Southeast’s liquid gold — tupelo honey.
Bees love the tupelos, which produce more nectar than nearby flowers. They’ll buzz between hundreds of blossoms a day to collect nectar, which will eventually become the gold goop that will sustain their hives through the winter. They’ll have plenty to spare for us — a healthy hive can make as much as 70 pounds more than it needs.
Any honey that’s more than 60% from tupelo nectar will have the buttery floral flavor that’s made tupelo honey a delicacy. As the percentage goes up, so does the price, which can top $100 a bottle. Luckily, it’ll last — tupelo honey doesn’t crystallize.
Some of the kayakers hadn’t tasted it, but they’d heard of it, from Van Morrison’s 1971 album Tupelo Honey. “She’s as sweeeeet as tupelo honey,” he sang. He probably knew that love, like the golden-green honey, is a product of perfect timing, hard work, and seemingly miraculous forces. Our paddles make ripples in the mirror surface as we leave the cathedral. An ethereal sweetness lingers on our tongues, and then it’s gone. – Allison Braden
Savannah Canoe and Kayak offers honey tours on Ebenezer Creek year-round.
A worldwide hive is working to protect our pollinators and provide ethically sourced honey. Read The Buzz About Honey to find out more.
