TheSweetLifeatXili|解“蜜”

邡丅噎苆詓旅荇

Sweetness represent the simplest of culinary experiences. Among all the natural flavours, honey contains the highest amount of energy necessary for the neurons in the brain. The fruit sugar and glucose in honey can quickly be absorbed and utilized by our body to improve our health. This summer, Xili Golf and Country Club invites everyone to discover the secret to sweet honey.
甜食是人类最简单最初始的美食体验，而在所有的天然食品中，大脑神经元所需要的能量在蜂蜜中含量最高。蜂蜜中的果糖、葡萄糖可以很快被身体吸收利用，改善血液的营养状况。这个夏天，小编带大家一起走进西丽，解锁一份“甜蜜”。

Xili is blessed with a pleasant environment. Everyday, various kinds of organic vegetables and fruit are grown in our farm. In addition, we have many lychee trees. Every year when the lychee trees blossom, bees collect pollen from the lychee flowers. The lychee honey has thus become an exclusive experience of Xili. During the harvest of lychee, we also offer free lychee to our members, bringing a touch of freshness and sweetness to beat the summer heat.
西丽球会生态环境良好，拥有天然有机农场，种植各种有机蔬菜瓜果，同时，球会种植非常多的荔枝树，在每年荔枝开花之季，会有许多蜜蜂采集花粉，通过荔枝花粉采集而成的荔枝蜜，是我们球会的一项特色。在荔枝收成之际，我们还会为会员提供免费的荔枝，在酷暑夏日，为各位会员增加一份清凉与甜蜜。

Q&A with our Organic Garden Beekeeper Mr. Fang

有机菜园解“蜜”采访

Q：Why did you introduce bees?
为什么会有引进蜜蜂的想法？
A：Bees encourage the pollination of vegetables and fruit, which serves to enrich the organic garden, improve the resilience of the ecosystem, and provide healthy, worry-free, organic honey to our members.
蜜蜂可以辅助菜园内各种瓜果蔬菜的授粉，保证收成，提高蔬菜水果的品质；同时能够丰富有机菜园的物种，促进生态系统的稳定，实现为会员提供安全放心的有机蜂蜜。

Q：When were the bees first introduced to the farm? 球会的蜜蜂是什么时候引进的？
A：Around May 2017
      2017年5月份左右

Q：Is there anything special about the bees at Xili ? Are there any distinctive characteristics of the honey produced? 球会引进的蜜蜂有什么不一样的地方吗？所产出的蜂蜜又有什么特点呢？

A：Our honey is produced by the Asian honey bee.  The Asian honey bee thrives in a quiet, oxygen rich environment with a lot of dense natural vegetation. Our honey is sourced directly from the honey bees, raw and free from additives. It is lightly yellow-colored (multiflora honey) with a delicate floral scent. It has a sweet and sour flavor, including a slight tingling sensation in the throat. When the temperature drops below 13ºC, the honey crystallizes, giving it a slightly gritty taste that melts immediately upon tasting. The unprocessed honey contains complete, wholesome nutrition, a rarity among today’s honeys.

我们的蜂蜜是由中华蜂酿造成的。中华蜂喜生长于植被茂密、空气中负离子含氧量高、环境安静、原生态、纯天然的环境中。所产的蜂蜜不经任何加工，没有任何添加剂，经蜜蜂本身酿造成熟的封盖蜜，色泽淡黄（百花蜜） ，闻有花香味，口感酸甜，有辣喉感，在摄氏13度以下结晶，含在口中有沙沙的感觉，入口即化。此蜜因没经加工营养成分不流失，保持蜂蜜应有的营养活性，属蜜中珍品。

Q：What are the sources of pollen for bees?
球会蜜蜂采蜜的花粉来源有哪些呢？
A：Thanks to our club’s excellent ecology, the bees enjoy a wide range of seasonal vegetables, fruit, and both wild and potted flowers from which to pollinate.
因为球会本身生态环境非常好，菜园内各种应季瓜果蔬菜的鲜花都可以成为我们蜜蜂采蜜的来源，还有人工种植的各种绿化鲜花，如油菜花、太阳花、向日葵花等，另外自然生长的各类野花以及菜园后山上各种百花也是蜜蜂采蜜的花粉来源。

Q：How is the natural nature of the club reflected in the honey?
从什么地方体现我们球会蜂蜜的天然性?
A：Located in a good ecological environment, the club enjoys a natural, high quality organic garden, guaranteeing a safe source of pollen for our bees. Likewise, no additives are added in any step of the production process to preserve the natural essence of our honey.
球会生态环境良好，拥有优质天然有机菜园，且周围没有污染区，能保证蜜蜂采集花粉的安全、有机，且我们球会的农场工作人员在蜜蜂产蜜的整个过程中都没有人为添加任何物质，从而保证产出蜂蜜的天然性。

Q：When was honey first produced?
球会蜜蜂的第一次产蜜日期是什么时候？
A：Around May 2018     
      2018年5月左右

Q：What is the biggest obstacle during the honey production process?

在这整个产蜜过程中遇到的最大的困难是什么？

A：Honey bees are known for their swarming phenomenon. When the hive’s population reaches maturity, a new queen bee will be selected. At this time, the original queen bee leaves the colony with a large group of worker bees, looking for a location to construct a new hive. Construction generally happens from 7:00 to 16:00 and only on sunny days. Without proper care and attention, we might lose half of the bees to the new colony, greatly affecting our honey production. As a result, we need to frequently open the bee boxes to check for future potential swarming.
蜜蜂有天然的分蜂习性，当种群繁衍到一定程度，种群成为强群时，蜜蜂会由王台内产生新的蜂王，此时老蜂王会带走一部分蜜蜂，将丰巢留给新蜂王，重新筑巢的时间一般为上午7：00-下午16：00，且为阳光充足的日子，（阴雨天不会分群），如果分群时没有留意到，就会损失一半的蜜蜂，极大地影响蜜蜂的产量，所以需要经常打开蜂箱观察。

Q：In general, how long is the production cycle of honey bees?
市场上一般的蜜蜂产蜜的周期是多长呢？
A：Usually, there is no fixed time of the year for production. In the south, honey bees produce year around, so long as there are blossoms.
一般情况，蜜蜂产蜜的时间不定，在南方一年四季只要有花开的季节就可以产出蜂蜜。

Q：Why did it take one year for the bees to produce honey for the club?
我们球会菜园的蜜蜂经过一年时间才产出蜂蜜的原因？

A：Initially, we introduced bees on a small scale and the window of opportunity for extracting honey is small. The honey is ready to harvest when the cells are capped with beeswax. The nutrition of the honey is not fully formed before the bees cap the cells. However, if we wait too long, the honey will be eaten by the bees. Conversely, the more frequently the bee hive is opened, the more the quality of the honey suffers. Thus, producing honey requires constant attention from the farmer, while balancing giving the beehive the opportunity to flourish on its own.

一方面是因为我们球会目前引进的蜜蜂数量比较少，另一方面通过减少开启丰巢的次数，能够有利于保证蜂蜜的质量。菜园是需要根据实际情况取蜜，当蜂巢内的蜂蜜已经被蜜蜂封盖时就要取蜜，未封盖之前的蜜营养不健全，取蜜过晚会被蜜蜂吃完，这需要农场主时刻关注。

Q：How long is the honey production cycle estimated to be? Still once a year? 未来球会蜂蜜的产蜜周期大概是多久呢？还需要一年产蜜一次吗？
A：The honey production cycle shouldn’t take as long as the initial cycle, however it cannot be guaranteed. We produce only 100% natural honey, which means we do not attempt to speed up the honey production by feeding the bees with sugar, or artificial pollen. Honey comes from pollen, which comes from nature, and thus the exact cycle cannot be predicted.
以后就不需要这么长时间了，至于取蜂蜜的周期这个确定不了，因为我们这里生产的是纯天然的蜂蜜，不会使用任何促进蜜蜂快速产蜜的方法（如给蜜蜂饲喂白糖，或者人工生产的花粉），一切蜜源都是来自自然界的花粉，所以这个取蜜周期还无法确定。

If you have more bee related questions? Our organic garden famer is available to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to visit our organic garden and find out more information about the homemade organic honey! 如果您对更多关于蜜蜂的问题感兴趣，欢迎随时与我们的有机菜园的工作人员联系。欢迎会员们光临我们的菜园参观，了解更多关于球会有机蜂蜜的信息！