Why I Choose to Enjoy My Tea with Two Simple Teaspoons of Local Honey

For years, I’ve kept one simple daily tea ritual: two teaspoons of local honey. It’s a small habit that takes only a few seconds, but it has become one of my favorite wellness traditions in so many wonderful herbal, grain, and colored teas (black, yellow, and green).

People often think of honey as just a natural sweetener, but quality local honey is much more than that. It has been valued for thousands of years for its nutritional and medicinal properties. It helps mitigate allergy symptoms caused by local allergens, helps with general health (antioxidants) and heart health (iron and calcium). While it isn’t a miracle homeopathic ritual, incorporating a modest amount of local honey into a balanced lifestyle can offer several meaningful daily benefits.

Why Local Honey?

Choosing local honey means supporting nearby beekeepers while enjoying honey produced from the flowers growing in your own region. My uncle Dick was a beekeeper, engineer, Korean War Air Force veteran, teacher and bus driver. My memories watching him tend to the hives and harvest honey are some of my most treasured childhood memories. He laid the foundation for my mid-life discovery of the benefits of local honey, and I learned about the demise of bee colonies while serving as the Executive Director of the Dahlem Center, Jackson's Nature Place. Michigan State University in Lansing boasts some of the global experts on bee colonies.

Every jar of local honey tells the story of local wildflowers, fruit blossoms, clover, goldenrod, milkweed, chicory, Queen Anne's Lace, mugwort, and countless other nectar sources that change with the seasons.

I appreciate the minimal processing needed to harvest honey like my uncle Dick. This natural harvesting process retains more of the honey's natural enzymes, antioxidants, pollen, and flavor than highly processed commercially blended honey.

The Benefits I’ve Come to Appreciate

A Natural Source of Energy

Honey contains natural sugars — primarily fructose and glucose — that provide a quick source of energy. Two teaspoons can be an excellent way to start the morning or provide a gentle afternoon boost.

Here's The Roderick Way:

Step 1:

Brew your choice of tea, my favorite with local honey is the Chamomile Mint loose leaf tea

Step 2:

Pour a cup of tea into your favorite mug or tea cup and stir in a full teaspoon of honey

Step 3:

Scoop out another teaspoon of honey and dip it into the tea for 10 seconds allowing some of the hot tea to dissolve and mix with the honey.

Step 4:

Put the spoon of honey and tea in your mouth and take a sip of tea. 

Let the flavors blend in your mouth and on your tongue, a perfectly joy-building feeling of the benefits of local honey interacting with the elements of the tea to make me healthier, homeopathically. The antioxidants from the honey, the soothing elements of the chamomile and the rich refreshing notes from the spearmint, peppermint, and lemongrass. Divine joy in one cup of tea.

How does this all make you healthier?

• Raw and minimally processed honey contains beneficial antioxidants such as flavonoids and phenolic acids. These compounds help protect the body’s cells from oxidative stress, which plays a role in healthy aging and overall wellness.
• Honey naturally contains antimicrobial and antibacterial compounds. While it’s not a substitute for medical treatment, it has long been used to help support the body’s natural defenses.
• One of honey’s best-known uses is soothing irritated throats. Research has shown that honey can be effective at calming nighttime coughs in children over one year old and adults.
• Honey may support digestive health by acting as a prebiotic, helping nourish beneficial bacteria in the gut. A healthy microbiome contributes to digestion, immune function, and overall health.

Year-round Wellness

I enjoy local honey because I believe regular exposure to small amounts of local pollen helps my allergy-symptoms-prone body adapt during allergy season, which for me seems to be year-round. You can support a local beekeeping farmer and take better care of your body, simply by choosing to buy local honey at your local farmer's market. 

Why Just Two Teaspoons?

Moderation matters.

Two teaspoons provide many of honey’s enjoyable qualities without adding excessive sugar to the diet. It’s enough to enjoy the flavor and potential benefits while fitting comfortably into my balanced dietary plan focused on protein, fruits, vegetables and nourishing teas. I enjoy half a pot of hot tea in the morning, and the pleasures of iced teas with great flavor in the afternoon, followed by Chamomile Mint loose leaf tea in the evening with Amanda.

For me, it’s become less about the quantity and more about the consistency of daily honey consumption. The regular honey helps me feel better, emotionally and physically.

Choosing Quality Honey

When shopping for honey, I look for:

• Raw or minimally processed honey
• Local beekeepers or farmers’ markets
• Honey that naturally crystallizes over time (a sign that it’s genuine, not spoiled)
• Clear labeling that identifies where the honey was produced

If crystallization occurs, simply place the jar in warm (not boiling) water until it returns to a liquid state.

A Few Important Notes

Honey is wonderful, but it isn’t appropriate for everyone.

• Never give honey to infants under one year of age because of the risk of infant botulism.
• People with diabetes should enjoy honey in moderation and discuss it with their healthcare provider since it still affects blood sugar.
• Honey is best viewed as one simple healthy habit — not a panacea.

My Daily Ritual

Every day at home includes at least one cup of tea with two teaspoons of local honey — a habit learned from both my grandmothers named Ruth. My maternal grandmother Ruth Tyrrell Carroll and my paternal grandmoher Ruth Adams Donley Malloy.

Thinking of the butter cream iced chocolate birthday cakes made for all seven grand-childen, butterscotch haystacks, date-filled cookies, and peanuts for the squirrels of my maternal grandmother Ruth fills me with pride, love, and joy.

Thinking of my paternal grandmother Ruth's love for classical music, especially Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major, and her passion for social justice activism which has guided me in the journey to become a documentary filmmaker, I am full of pride, love, and joy.

I think of both of my grandmothers in those simple, small moments that remind me to slow down, appreciate the work of local beekeepers like my uncle Dick, and accent my day with something both delicious and supportive of bees, one of the key component of health, vitality and life as we know it.

Sometimes the simplest habits become the ones that last the longest. For me, this daily spoonful of local honey has become one of those enduring traditions—sweet, uncomplicated, and worth sharing.  Thank you, Ruth.  Thank you, Ruth.