Punjab, Balochistan & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Pakistan
Two honeys from the same country that could not be less alike: orchard Beri, kept and harvested like a crop, and wild comb cut out of cliff cavities by people who climb to it.
Field notes
- Region
- Beri orchards across Punjab and Balochistan; wild cliff colonies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Floral source
- Beri, the local jujube (Ziziphus), and mixed wild forage for the cave honey
- Harvest
- Beri in late autumn after the bloom. Cave comb only when a colony is mature, which is not every year
- Extraction
- Drained from the comb at ambient temperature and strained for wax
- In the jar
- Beri is mid-amber and pourable; the cave honey is darker, denser and faintly resinous
The jujube belt
Sidr and Beri are the same tree by two names, both are Ziziphus, and Beri is what the jujube is called across Punjab. The difference is terroir and scale: Pakistan's groves are bigger, more accessible, and yield more per hive than anything in the Hadhramaut.
That is why Pakistan Sidr sits where it does in the range. Same botanical family as the Yemeni honeys, a fraction of the cost, and the honest way into the style if you have never bought Sidr before.
Cut from the cliffs
Cave honey is not farmed. Wild colonies build in rock cavities and overhangs in the hills of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the comb is cut by hand by people who know which cliffs hold which colonies.
It tastes like that: darker than any of the orchard honeys, mineral and slightly bitter at the end, closer to a treacle than to a table honey. It also means supply is irregular. When a batch runs out there is no reorder, there is a wait.
Traceability
How a jar gets here
Single-origin means the chain is short enough to describe in full. This is every step between the grove and your kitchen.
- OriginA named valley, grove or forest, not a country, and not a blend of several.
- BeekeeperBought from the families who keep the hives there, by the harvest rather than by the tonne.
- HarvestTaken once a season, while that floral source is actually in flower. Nothing is fed or forced.
- In the jarStrained for wax, never heated or pasteurised, then sealed. Pollen and natural crystals stay in.
Independent batch testing is not part of this chain yet. When it is, it will appear here as its own step rather than as a claim on the label.
Start with the Beri
Pakistan Sidr is the best-value jar in the range and the one to buy first. The cave honey is the interesting one, try it against a sharp cheese rather than in tea.
Shop Pakistani honey