The Honey Wanderers

Die Honigwanderer: Organic migratory beekeeping for German varietal honeys

Die Honigwanderer is an organic migratory beekeeping brand for German varietal honeys. From mid-May to late summer, a network of around 70 bee colonies travels across Germany to acacia, linden, sweet chestnut, and honeydew sources – six varietal honeys, each representing its specific forage area. Managed by Stefanie and Simon Weber since 2024.

Die Honigwanderer is a German organic migratory beekeeping brand that brings varietal honeys from clearly defined forage areas to market. Stefanie and Simon Weber have managed the brand since 2024, curating a network of organic partner apiaries throughout Germany. Each varietal honey comes from a specific natural region – from the Hersbrucker Alb and the Märkische Schweiz to the Palatinate Forest. Naturally pure and certified organic, it is gently spun at temperatures below 40 degrees, never heated, and bottled without any additives.

Migratory beekeeping for German varietal honeys

Migratory beekeeping means the bee colonies travel to the forage area, not the other way around. As soon as the black locusts bloom in the Märkische Schweiz in mid-May, a partner apiary moves there with its hives. Three weeks of acacia, then on to the linden trees on the Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide. This is how varietal honeys are created that, with their aromatic profiles, stand for a specific region – rather than anonymous blended honey of unknown origin.

The concept works because bees are floral constant: they forage within a radius of about three kilometers from a predominant plant species. If the beekeeper hits the right time window, the honey becomes almost pure-variety, often with over 60 percent content from a single forage plant. At Die Honigwanderer, the partner network's approximately 70 bee colonies travel to five foraging locations between May and August – Hersbrucker Alb, Märkische Schweiz, Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide, Welzheimer Wald, and the Palatinate Forest.

The transport of the bee colonies takes place in the cool of the night so that the animals can swarm out again at the new location early in the morning. This keeps stress for the bees low while maintaining good yields. In dry years, the bloom is sparse, while in wet years it is abundant – varietal honey is always a limited-edition natural product that cannot be mass-produced at will.

Six varietal honeys from six forage areas

The range includes six varietal honeys in 250-gram jars, each with its own aromatic profile. The Organic Spring Blossom Honey comes from the meadow orchards of the Hersbrucker Alb, harvested at the end of April, creamy and mild with a fruit blossom note. The Organic Acacia Honey from the Märkische Schweiz – a nature park founded in 1990 – is the lightest varietal honey of all; it is sweet and floral, and remains liquid for months.

The Organic Linden Honey from the over 23,000-hectare Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide carries the minty notes typical of linden honey in the finish and is creamy-stirred. The Organic Summer Honey from the Welzheimer Wald is a multi-floral honey from 8 to 12 main bloomers – clover, yarrow, chicory – malty with blackberry and raspberry notes.

The Organic Sweet Chestnut Honey from the approximately 180,000-hectare Palatinate Forest is dark and tart, with a slight bitter note. And the Organic Forest Honey from the Welzheimer Wald is a honeydew honey, dark and resinous – the only variety that is not created from floral nectar. Honeydew is formed by aphids and other sap-sucking insects that ingest the sap of conifers and leave behind a sugary drop on the needles, which the bees collect and refine in the hive.

Each honey represents the character of its home through its aromatics. Taste that cannot be reproduced anywhere else is what makes naturally pure honey special.

The brand history from Jonas and Daniel to Stefanie and Simon

The brand Die Honigwanderer was founded by Jonas and Daniel Scholz in Kainsbach in the Franconian Nuremberg region. The Scholz family had been beekeeping for three generations, and the migratory concept was the two men's personal signature. In 2018, the brand's Spring Blossom Honey received bronze in the "Bavaria's Best Organic Products" competition held by the LVÖ Bayern – at that time still under Scholz management, alongside only nine other winning products out of 47 entries. Documented by the press release from the LVÖ Bayern.

In 2024, Jonas and Daniel handed over the company to Stefanie and Simon Weber, who have themselves been running the beekeeping operation with the "Goldnote" in the Bavarian Forest for over ten years. Simon Weber, a qualified environmental engineer, is familiar with beekeeping practice from his own manufacture in Röhrnbach. With the takeover, the concept remained the same: the variety philosophy, forage areas, and organic migratory logic remain, as Simon describes the concept in discussions about the product range. What changed was the leadership team and the partner network.

Organic standards and gentle processing

All six varietal honeys are certified according to the EU Organic Regulation, organic control body DE-ÖKO-037. This means: no synthetic pesticides in the forage area, near-natural colony management, the farm's own beeswax, and no plastic in beekeeping wherever possible. Spinning takes place at temperatures below 40 degrees to preserve enzymes and natural aromas.

Creamy-stirred varieties such as Spring Blossom or Linden honey are stirred multiple times immediately after spinning during the crystallization phase, often over several days. This creates pure-variety organic honeys with no additives, no flavorings, and no blending with EU or non-EU honeys. Stefanie and Simon Weber personally vet the partner apiaries, as Stefanie emphasizes – every location is visited before being accepted into the network, and every batch is tasted.

The 250-gram jar contains honey whose forage location, beekeeper, and harvest period remain traceable. Queens are bred in a species-appropriate manner in small bee colonies, not in single-comb boxes, which keeps the population healthy and strong. Should a honey crystallize in the jar, it is a hallmark of quality, not a flaw: it shows that the honey has not been heat-treated and has retained its natural composition.

Die Honigwanderer work in harmony with nature. The goal of the beekeeping is not the maximum honey yield, but the healthy and natural development of their bee colonies. In addition to sufficient food through the collection of pollen and nectar, this also includes allowing the bees to follow their natural instincts, such as comb building.

For the bees, the combs are not just honey storage, but also brood rooms, nurseries, living spaces, and food pantries. Thus, Die Honigwanderer ensure that the combs consist of clean wax and natural material such as wood with organic glaze.

Enjoyment tips for German varietal honeys

The light, mild varieties such as Spring Blossom and Acacia honey are classic breakfast honeys – on bread with butter, in yogurt with berries, in tea. Linden honey goes well with hard cheese because its fruity sweetness plays against the salty note. Summer honey is perfect for quark dishes and drizzled over grilled fruit; you will recognize its blackberry-raspberry notes immediately.

The dark varieties – Sweet Chestnut and Forest honey – belong on the cheese board and in marinades. They complement game dishes, glaze loin of lamb, and can stand up to the spice of aged mountain cheese. A scant teaspoon is enough because their aromatics are intense. Always dissolve them in water below 40 degrees so that the delicate aromas are preserved.

If you want to collect varietal honey, it is best to start with three varieties in parallel: one light, one creamy, one dark. This will reveal the flavor profile of each individual honey to you. The entire organic honey range at norgutes.com complements the Die Honigwanderer selection with other apiaries from Germany and Europe.

Store all varieties in a dark, cool place between 10 and 18 degrees, and the organic honey will remain faithful to you for many months. On a cheese board, three varietal honeys side-by-side show most impressively how different German forage can taste – add a slice of pear, a few walnuts, and a glass of dry white wine. If you particularly like one variety, it is worth looking at the entire Die Honigwanderer range for the upcoming season, because every vintage is different.

Organic honey from Germany – with heart and origin. Die Honigwanderer stand for certified organic quality and true varietal diversity.

Organic control body DE-ÖKO-037 German Agriculture