NOT for Richard Murgatroyd the mass produced blended honey shipped in from China. The only type of honey he uses - and he uses no other sweetener - is that produced by his own bees.
But, for Richard, beekeeping is more about the bees than the honey.
"Bees are utterly intriguing. They are extremely interesting and sociable, much more than people.
"Although there are hundreds of books written about this complex insect I doubt whether we will ever know everything about them.
"They are completely unpredictable. I say that the bees are always a chapter ahead of us in the book. You think you understand them and then they do the unexpected.
"My only regret is that I didn't start studying them 20 years ago. They are truly amazing creatures to which our world owes a great deal.
"During the summer, the queen bee will lay between 2,000 and 3,000 eggs a day - a quantity in excess of her own bodyweight. She will be nursed by the worker bees. These female bees progress from nursing the queen bee where they busy themselves keeping the hive clean, to foraging for the nectar.
"They really do work themselves to death which is where the term 'busy as a bee' comes from. They carry on until they simply peter out."
In fact, the average life of a worker bee is a mere three weeks in the summer.
In contrast, the role of the males, called the drones, is limited to mating with the virgin queen bees. In late autumn, the worker bees refuse to let them back in the hive and they either starve or die off as the temperatures drop. Harsh this may seem but it is done for the good of the colony as it means less mouths to feed.
Richard explains: "The queen is an egg-laying machine.
"She can live up to about four years but she's generally most productive in her first and second year."
Where a queen bee is producing aggressive bees an experienced beekeeper will recognise the signs and replace her with a more docile queen, making the hive much easier to handle.
But even an experienced beekeeper would find it difficult to foresee a swarm.
"A swarm may occur for a number of reasons but frequently it is because there is insufficient room in the colony.
"The worker bees prepare for swarming by feeding royal jelly to a number of freshly-laid eggs to guarantee at least one new queen for the old hive, when the old queen leaves with the forager bees."
Initially, the swarm will find a temporary spot while scout bees seek out a more permanent home.
Richard explains: "The problem for us beekeepers is that if there are no foraging bees to collect the nectar there will be no honey so the hive will be out of action until the following year."
Swarms are often a topic of conversation at the Kidderminster Beekeepers Association, of which Richard is secretary.
"We actually have our own swarm co-ordinator who works closely with the local environmental health people. They notify us if a swarm is reported and we will remove it where we can."
The secret to containing and removing a swarm of bees is simple.
"If it's on a branch, for example, you will need to shake the branch into a box to get as many of the bees as possible into it. With a bit of luck you will have the queen bee and once you have her the rest will eventually follow.
"Place a sheet on the ground under the tree. Put the box upside down on the sheet wedging up a corner of the box.
"Those bees remaining on the branch will seek out the queen bee and once they are all in the box you can lift the sheet over it and place the lot in the boot of a car to take to their new home."
This is how the association has helped many new members begin their hive - by presenting them with the contents of a car boot.
Richard encountered his first bees when visiting a business associate in Sussex in the 1980s.
"I thought you took the honey off and there wasn't much more to it than that," he recalled.
Although he was enraptured by these small creatures it took more than a decade before Richard began keeping bees of his own.
"I built my first hive from some drawings. It produced just a few pounds but I now have 20 hives and I sell the surplus at farmers' markets.
"I never use sugar myself. I even use honey in my tea. I find it particularly good if I'm doing any heavy manual work. I pop inside and have a spoonful. I also use honey in cooking, it's particularly good in stir fries."
While honey might be good on toast and in tea, it appears to also work wonders on sores and cuts, as part of a traditional farmhouse cough remedy and, more controversially, as a way to relieve hayfever.
"My 93-year-old mother had ulcers on her legs and asked the nursing staff if she could try honey on a bandage. They agreed and within days the ulcers had gone. The honey had an antibiotic effect."
Richard explains that hayfever sufferers who regularly eat pure local honey may well find they build an immunity to the pollen in the area.
"If you look at pure honey you will see fine particles. These are pollen and by eating this honey all year round a slight immunity to the pollen may develop.
"If it works for you then so be it and a lot of people are seeking alternative remedies."
For information phone Richard Murgatroyd on 01299 841388 or the county secretary of the British Beekeepers' Association, Ursula Brand on 01905 772070.
