About Natasha Lyon
Bio of a Bee Guardian
When I was a child, I followed honey bees for hours, armed with small glass bottles. As soon as the bees settled down to collect pollen, we would scoop them up and close the lid in a flash. I was about 11 years old, and the “winner” bee was the one with the most pollen on her hind legs. How bittersweet those memories are - Poor honey bees!
Nowadays, I still find myself following after the honey bees - a journey which has seen me fly around the world to follow the bees - and my passion - albeit without the jars to catch them. Rather, those jars are now filled with their spectacular and sacred produce: honey.
While the bees have flown in and out of my life for decades, they came to find a home in my heart in 2016. I came across an article about the natural health benefits of consuming local raw honey - how it is believed to help with seasonal allergies due to repeated exposure to pollen - and I was fascinated. There is an abundance of research and writings which both validates and opposes this view - nevertheless, I was intrigued.
Sometime after reading that article, a swarm of honey bees moved into our irrigation box. Not wanting our guests to turn their holiday into a home, I called on our local beekeeper, Andrew, whom I knew would carefully (and quickly) relocate them.
On the evening they were removed, I received a special parting gift from the swarm - a perfect piece of honeycomb, which allowed us to taste honey directly from its source…. A first for me and the whole family - WOW, what a treat! Tasting those first golden drops straight from the honeycomb coupled with the glorious scent of fresh honey will stay with me forever... I was hooked - and still am today.
Roll forward a few years to the present day and I am proud to be a beekeeper, bee guardian and South Africa’s 1st Honey Sommelier; a passion and profession which allows me to showcase and share the art and beauty of raw, honest South African honey. I do this to fulfill my true north; sparking deep care and consideration in people for our precious bees and beekeepers.
This passion plays itself out in Honey Tastings, Bee Workshops, Honey Sensory Analysis and various consulting and creative roles across our beautiful country.
It’s all about the bees and all for the bees. All of it.
Natasha Lyon is a Beekeeper, Bee Guardian and South Africa’s 1st internationally trained Honey Sommelier. She trained through the “National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey,” in Bologna, Italy and has quickly established herself as a leading authority on honey, bees and bee conservation in South Africa and around the world. She is the founder of Lyon Raw Artisan Honey, as well as the heart and soul behind various other bee-benefitting brands and business endeavours.
