The Buzz About Honey

KATEE KLEIBER got her start tending bees in Amarillo, Texas. “I kept hearing about the bees being in trouble,” she says. “So beekeeping seemed like a really cool way to give back and help humanity.” 

Kleiber found a mentor, took classes, and volunteered with local beekeepers until she was finally offered a free hive. Since moving to Taos a decade ago, she’s expanded both her collection of bees—now caring for dozens of hives per year—and her business, High Desert Honey Co. In December, Kleiber opened a shop on Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, where she answers questions about her pollinators, offers taste tests of raw honey, and guides customers to the right healing blend. 

“I really like to use honey as a substance for adding medicinal ingredients,” Kleiber explains. Her favorite blend is Root Defense Golden Spice, which marries the natural benefits of creamy raw honey with those of turmeric, ginger, osha root, ashwagandha, cinnamon, cardamom, and black pepper. “It helps with digestion, allergies, lung health, circulation—so many things,” she says. Shoppers can also find T-shirts, beeswax candles, bee pollen, and a variety of body products. 

Kleiber’s bees feast on local Taos flowers, gathering nectar from fruit trees, chamisa, mountain roses, and backyard gardens. “It’s the ‘floralness’ of the honey and knowing that all the essences of all the flowers are put into that one jar,” she says. “That’s why it’s so special to me.”