Our honey comes from beehives maintained on a rooftop adjacent to Central Park. What started as a personal beekeeping project has grown into something special as neighbors and friends began asking to purchase our harvest.

Manhattan might seem like an unlikely place for honey production, but urban environments can actually provide diverse foraging opportunities. Our bees have access to over 800 acres of Central Park, plus street trees, rooftop gardens, and community green spaces throughout the Upper West Side.

Our Honey

City Hive Honey bees forage within a three-mile radius, primarily drawing nectar from Central Park's extensive tree canopy and the neighborhood's residential gardens. The primary nectar sources include linden trees (June-July), black locust (May), tulip trees (May-June), and seasonal wildflowers and ornamental plants year-round.

Like wine, honey reflects its environment. Spring honey tends to be lighter and more floral, while late summer harvests are typically darker and more robust. Each batch varies slightly based on weather patterns, bloom timing, and what our bees choose to forage.

Our Process

Each hive is inspected regularly to ensure bee health and optimal honey production. Frames are harvested only when honey is fully capped and moisture content is below 18%—the standard for premium raw honey.

After extraction using a centrifugal spinner, the honey is gravity-strained and allowed to settle before being jarred without any heat treatment or ultra-filtration. The entire process from hive to jar preserves the natural enzymes and flavor compounds that make raw honey unique. Every batch is hand-harvested and processed the same day.