After extraction the honey rests in a tank. Anything lighter than honey rises: air bubbles, fine wax particles and foam form a layer at the surface, which is skimmed off.

The tank

• Tap at the bottom, so clear honey is drawn from beneath
• A lid; honey draws moisture and smells from the air
• Stainless steel or food-grade plastic
• A conical base lets the tank empty completely

Galvanised metal and untreated steel are unsuitable; honey is acidic and attacks them.

Temperature and time

At a moderate temperature honey settles faster, but heating breaks down enzymes and raises the ageing marker.

The safe route is giving time rather than heat. With fast-crystallising honey there is little time; that is bottled sooner.

The room

The tank belongs in a dry, odour-free, bee-proof room.

A damp room raises the moisture content during settling — the most underestimated requirement in the whole extraction room. Honey that was fine at harvest can cross the limit here.

Capacity

The tank must hold the whole harvest of a round. Several smaller tanks also work, and keep batches from different flows separate.

Keeping batches separate by flow period and apiary is the precondition for any origin claim.

Bottling

Draw from the bottom; the foam stays above. Measure the moisture content before bottling, and measure at several points — honey does not mix by itself.

Cleaning

Warm water, dry completely, no detergent residue. The tap is where most remains and is most often forgotten.