The union in the life and work of Ro and Ste was born from the passion for bees and the enthusiasm for an activity in contact with nature.
We have been beekeepers for 20 and 30 years and we manage our hives in Liguria on the hills close to the Golfo Paradiso, climbing along the Strada del Castagno towards Uscio and then descending into Valfontanabuona and in the hinterland behind Genoa, on the offshoots of the Ligurian Apennines up to the ancient salt roads.
Impervious territories, squeezed between the sea and the mountains, where to the east the Mediterranean scrub suddenly dives into the blue of the sea with the colors and aromas of tree heather, strawberry trees, thyme and rosemary. Where on the edge of the urban centre, on the border with the big city, our bees graze on still verdant lands surrounded by forests of graceful acacias and more recent exotic bees. Where the woods of majestic chestnut trees, robust oaks and scraggly ash trees suddenly welcome us.
The blooms foraged by our bees are exclusively of spontaneous flora from which we obtain, in the succession of seasons and blooms, monoflora honeys of tree heather, acacia, chestnut, honeydew and wildflower, each with its own personality.
We run our hives with respect and for the well-being of the bees, taking care of our and their territory and without using synthetic products. We dedicate ourselves to mainly sedentary beekeeping by practicing transhumance on the nearby Apennines in search of late nectar sources precious for bees.
Our products
Our honeys are the expression of this territory.
Heather (tree heather): as capricious as the season in which it blooms, between March and April, when the bees are not always ready to collect it for us too. With aromatic and spicy notes, with hints of anise and toffee and a very rapid crystallization which makes it delicately creamy. Not always available
Acacia (black locust pseudoacacito): harvested at the end of spring on the white and delicate flowers of locust trees. With a fine, almost imperceptible aroma, a sweet, sugary, delicate and not very persistent flavour, delicately velvety in the mouth. It remains liquid over time thanks to its high fructose content
Chestnut (castanea sativa): with the first heat of summer, on the inflorescences of the chestnut tree, the bees collect this overpowering honey, with an intense and penetrating smell, a marked, bitter and persistent flavor that pairs wonderfully with cheeses, both delicate and more mature ones.
Honeydew ( Of Metcalfa pruinosa): it is the honey obtained by bees by collecting the sugary substance that is deposited on the leaves of plants following the bite of insects that feed on their sap on hot and humid summer days. The color is dark, almost black, it remains liquid for a long time. The smell is vegetal, of medium intensity, reminiscent of dates, dried figs, cooked fruit. The flavor is not very sweet, slightly savory and malty. Rich in mineral salts and polyphenols. Millefiori : variable depending on the seasons and the nectars that compose it. There is no single 'wildflower honey' as there are many possible combinations of flowers. In spring, wildflower honeys in our areas can have hints of heather, wild cherry and other fruit trees, while in summer they take on darker colors and fruity notes with the presence of blackberry nectar, ailanthus, linden, privet.
Honey crystallizes naturally (faster if it contains more glucose than fructose)
The richness of spontaneous vegetation also offers us an abundant pollen harvest. During the winter season we dedicate ourselves to candle production with virgin wax from our hives.
Roberta and also Expert in sensorial analysis of honey, registered in the national register since 2011 and offers tastings and workshops for adults and children.
Contact info:
Ro and Ste Apiculture – Roberta Pareschi and Stefano Vercelli
- Phone 349 0646846
- Instagram: ro.bee.ste
- Where we are: Fraz. Terrile 38b – Uscio
- # ro.bee.ste
