A Bittersweet Introduction to Malta’s Celebrated Honey and Bees

Malta pure honey honeycomb bees

Our first encounter with Malta’s revered honey was destined to offer a bittersweet lesson.

At a Christmas market in the Mediterranean country’s capital city, Valletta, we first met third-generation beekeeper and retired science teacher, Michael Muscat. On that chilly evening, girls dressed in holiday hues sang familiar Christmas tunes, peppered with Maltese lyrics. Politicians delivered their Christmas speeches in the open air, and I shook the country’s president’s hand three times. (She was making the rounds throughout the crowd, Shawn and I were moving about as well, thus the comical trio of salutations.) Inside an adjacent tent, vendors sold everything from handmade jewelry, to carob-infused wine, to candles. And as we edged towards the booth operated by Michael and his wife Mary, they literally had their last jar of honey in hand.

Shawn and I had been wanting to purchase Maltese honey (għasel) for several weeks, but in light of cautions about fake Maltese honey, we didn’t know where to find the real stuff. Now that a kind and articulate producer was standing before us, instilling confidence about his honey’s authenticity, we purchased the jar without hesitation.

Exchanging pleasantries, we learned that Michael had been beekeeping for 46 years. Because Michael has the same surname as Malta’s prime minister, I asked him if they are related. (Muscat is a very common last name in Malta, and it turns out there is no connection.) Ever since seeing the eye-opening documentary, More Than Honey, Shawn and I had developed an interest in visiting an apiary. When Michael learned of this wish, he thoughtfully offered to show us around one of his six apiaries in the coming months.

Malta’s Sweet Namesake and its Honey, Revered for Millennia

Malta has been known for its remarkable honey since ancient times, and it’s believed that the Phoenicians first introduced the practice to the island. Speculation exists that the name Malta even evolved from names given to it thousands of years ago. The ancient Greeks referred to the island as Melite (Μελίτη), translating to ‘honey sweet’. During the Roman period, that morphed into Melita. Remarkably, apiaries dating to the Punic times, cut out of living rock, still exist near Xemxija. And a map dating to 1154 described Malta as an island full of “pastures, flocks, fruit and above all in honey.”

Visiting Michael’s Apiary During Malta’s ‘Driest Winter on Record’

Once an unusually-dry winter had turned to spring, we made plans to meet at Michael’s apiary. In the months since our December introduction, Shawn and I had quickly become Maltese honey fans, enjoying delicate dollops of Michael’s magnificent honey on plain yogurt and in bowls of oatmeal. By March, we had nearly finished our jar.

Ahead of our meeting, I emailed Michael to ask if we could purchase more honey. His reply demonstrated the current drought’s detrimental effect, something that hadn’t been as apparent to us since this was our first Maltese winter.

“I have none left. Considering the rainfall pattern this year, I doubt whether there will be any honey harvest coming this spring and summer,” he wrote.

Knowing that there would be no more of this outstanding and unique-tasting honey for the near future, Shawn and I cherished the last spoonfuls. Feeling rather bittersweet, we went to meet Michael’s bees the next morning, near a small city called Siġġiewi.

Historically, Michael said, his Siġġiewi apiary had been one of the most productive. However, Malta’s driest winter on record had led to a lack of wild flora, causing some of Michael’s bees to starve to death, despite him intervening and giving them a syrup supplement.

“It’s been disastrous,” he said, as we slipped beekeeping hats over our heads. “Normally, we get about about 24 inches of rain (600 mm) in a year. Up until now, it’s been about 8 or 9 inches.”

As we trudged through his property studded with Mediterranean flora like cactus plants, plus fig, olive, orange, and eucalyptus trees, Michael continued in delivering the dire news. “Now, the landscape is brown and dry, but usually there’s more green this time of year.”

Spotting several wooden beehive boxes, painted in neutral hues reminiscent of Malta’s ubiquitous limestone, I asked Michael approximately how many bees there were at this apiary.

“About 8,000 to 10,000 bees live in each hive, and here, I have about 25 colonies,” he said. As I calculated the figure in my head, Michael opened the cover on one of the hive boxes, causing more bees to buzz about.

With my gloved hands and the beekeeping contraption on my head, I felt a bit like an astronaut. Surprisingly, despite having an irrational fear of spiders and other insects, I wasn’t too nervous. Bees collided with my protective hat’s plastic eye shield as I awkwardly fumbled to find my camera’s shutter button with my gloved finger.

“One of the colonies here is critically ill – it is beyond rescuing,” Michael said, showing us a frame with dead bees inside.

Continuing to do his hive maintenance, Michael explained that bees usually fly within a 1.5 to km radius, in search of nectar and pollen.

This made me wonder if honey flavors varied greatly between one Maltese corner to another, but Michael said that this wasn’t the case.

“Since Malta is a small island there is little difference, if any, between honey from one apiary to another. The aroma and flavors of the honey depend primarily on the source of nectar. Since the flora in spring is the same throughout the island, the difference will be negligible. However, if clover is abundant close to one apiary, while citrus is predominant in another, the honey collected will show subtle differences.”

In a good year (that is when Malta has plenty of rain that’s evenly distributed, and there is no untreated disease) Michael may be able to harvest an average of ten kilos of honey per hive.

Michael and his wife have three daughters, all architects. Mary has never been to any of his apiaries, but Michael said she enjoys marketing the honey with him, as she was the night we first met Michael.

He believes that the knowledge gleaned from his 44 years as a science teacher “complemented his beekeeping” well. Today, he continues to sell honey – and related products – at fairs. He has acquired repeat customers over time.

When I asked him what he most likes about the hobby, his response came easily and quickly.

“I most enjoy actually handling the bees and exchanging ideas with my customers,” Michael said with a smile. “I also appreciate the rapport I’ve been able to develop with them. Often, people will say, ‘I like your product better than the one I bought in the store'”.

“Are there any drawbacks to beekeeping?” I asked.

“Honey’s limitations – one cannot ensure it’s produced,” he said.

Indeed, as we left Michael’s apiary, longing to have another jar of the special honey in hand, we too had learned the lesson of honey’s limitations.

How You Can Help Your Community’s Bees

Plant bee-friendly flora. According to this site, everything from lilacs to lavender, sage to wisteria, and rosemary to mint are desirable.
Do not use pesticides or chemicals in your garden.
Buy honey locally, if possible.

Further Resources:

Maltese Beekeepers Association (website)
Melite: Sweet and Sour Documentary, a video about Maltas bees and honey, by Ana Rita Garrido and Diogo Vargas
Why Bees are Disappearing, a TED Talk by Maria Spivak
Why do honeybees love hexagons?, a TED Ed video by Zack Patterson and Andy Peterson

We made it to beekeeper Michael Muscat’s Christmas market stand just in time. Here, he and his wife, Mary, sell their last jar of honey to us, in December 2015. It featured Malta’s autumn flora. With its faint carob taste and hue, it was unlike any honey we’ve ever had. Quite extraordinary.

Siġġiewi’s main street and church.

Wildflowers fill a plot of land near Michael’s apiary outside the city of Siġġiewi. He also has apiaries elsewhere on the island. He explained that flavor differences occur between the spring, summer, and autumn honey because the flora is different. “Summer honey comes primarily from the thyme, thistles and the flora found in the garrigue. The autumn honey comes from the eucalyptus and the carob trees, and from the wild vegetation that normally appears after the first rains in September,” he said.

Several of Michael’s beehive boxes, which he crafted himself. A bee colony inhabits each box, and there is only one queen bee per colony. Michael raises his own queens, but some beekeepers buy them from dealers. Bees are incredibly intelligent creatures, apparently having a “kaleidoscopic memory of every flower for miles.” Michael mentioned that each hive has its own smell, “so when bees from a neighboring colony accidentally enter the wrong one, they realize it.”

A complex, fragile but strong honeycomb. “I marvel at the precision the bees demonstrate when making these honeycombs. It’s an instinctual process, but it’s like there is a supernatural power behind it,” Michael said. The hexagon-shaped wax cells of the honeycomb not only hold the larvae, but also the bees’ honey and pollen. The honey is extracted from the honeycomb. Incredibly, Michael estimated that this apparently delicate honeycomb sample could hold about 1.5 kg (3.3. pounds) of honey.

The morning of our visit, Michael was removing strips he’d applied several weeks before, which are designed to combat mites which can kill bees. “The hive is so rich in food – a beekeeper must protect against mice and viruses,” Michael explained.

Maltese bees

Michael pulls out a frame brimming with bees.

During our visit, Shawn and I mentioned the German gingerbread-eating wasp that we nicknamed Bart, which we had mistakenly identified as a bee five years earlier. “He must have had a sweet tooth,” Michael said, smiling.

Bees that have succumbed to starvation, even despite Michael providing a syrup supplement to help them through the drought.

Some of the tools of the trade, including a bee smoker (left and right) and beekeeping hat (right). Beekeepers use the smoker when they need to work inside the colony’s box. As Michael explained, “When there is smoke in the air, the bees think there is a forest fire. They fill their stomachs with honey, and then leave the hive. In theory, they won’t attack the beekeeper.” Despite taking precautions, Michael said he’s typically stung every day.

The honey bee species that Michael tries to keep is Malta’s indigenous black honeybee, the Apis Mellifera Ruttneri. However, he noted that since the mating of the queen bee occurs in flight, a beekeeper only has control of half of the genetic pool of the offspring. He noted that his observations “show that our bee is dominant and within years, a hybrid colony will eventually become the indigenous black Ruttneri honeybee.”

Shawn and Michael prepare to get suited up.

When we bought a jar of reddish-caramel colored honey back in December, I wrongfully assumed that there would be more when we planned to later visit Michael’s apiary a few months later. As a result, I didn’t take a picture of the jar when it was full to the brim with honey. Here, the empty jar (right) serves as a bittersweet reminder that production cannot be forced.

Our Video of This Experience:

Where in the World?

Planning Pointers:

Malta has been known for its honey since antiquity. If you are visiting the country and would like to purchase a jar of Michael’s raw honey, which is not pasteurized, you can reach him by telephone (+356 7927 9671) or by email: muscatma {at} gmail {dot} com. In addition to honey, Michael has sold other bee-related products including mead (an alcoholic beverage made with fermented honey), propolis (the bees’ glue-like sealant, which people use in traditional medicine) and a beeswax cream blended with essential oils. Of course, his product line is subject to availability, something that’s heavily dependent upon recent weather.
If you do not purchase honey directly from a beekeeper, ask questions about the honey’s origins to be sure it is Maltese. (It’s reputed that some jars of honey are being branded as though they are Maltese, but if you look more closely, their labels may indicate that they come from another geographic location.)
Need more inspiration? This link contains an index of all my posts from Malta.