Our company founder, Adam Kelwick was first introduced to Yemeni honey when he visited Yemen in the year 2000. The green mountains, mysterious valleys and deserts kept him there, transforming what was supposed to be a two weeklong trip into almost two years of adventures in the land known as Arabia Felix.

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During this time, he suddenly fell ill and simultaneously contracted malaria, yellow fever and liver jaundice. “I advise you to return to the UK and get urgent treatment there, you could die if you stay here.” Said the doctor. However, Adam had wise friend who suggested he should always get a second doctor’s opinion in Yemen, just to make sure. Upon taking this advice the second doctor advised “Get the best quality raw Sidr honey you can find and have three spoons each day and get some rest.”. This was the first time Adam had ever even heard of honey being used for anything other than spreading on toast or sweetening one’s drink.

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The more people he spoke to, the more they confirmed that Yemeni honey holds a legendary status in middle eastern culture and traditions for its medicinal qualities. He took the second doctor’s advice, bought the small jar of honey, stayed in bed and had a daily doctor visit to renew his nutritional IV drip and within two weeks he was fully recovered from his life-threatening conditions.

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This experience led to Adam exploring Yemen over the last two decades and travelling from the mountains of al-Dhalea to the valleys of Hadhramaut searching for the best quality honeys. Samples of Sidr honey were gathered from 12 different valleys from across the four corners of the vast country. Explorations were commissioned to extract hard to reach mountain honeys, including some of the rarest varieties in the world from the alien-like island of Socotra and the harsh terrains of  Juhaaf.

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For the last ten years, Adam would bring back the best quality honey and share with friends and family, all of whom would insist it was the best tasting honey they’ve ever tried. Then demand increased, the word spread and people would request small quantities for the medical benefits Yemeni honey is famous for.

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In 2019 Adam decided to bring the best quality honey from the Hadhramaut valley and invested in his first hives in the Gardaan Valley. With an increase in demand, together with a market without real quality standards and flooded with counterfeit or low quality products, Adam established the Kelwicks brand to produce and make the best quality raw Yemeni honeys available to the international market.

 

 

What a sweet journey it has been so far!