✓ Free US shipping on orders over $60

✓ Slow-fermented in small batches · Limited release

✓ Founder-led from the Columbia Gorge

✓ Free US shipping on orders over $60

✓ Founder-led from the Columbia Gorge

✓ Slow-fermented in small batches · Limited release

✓ Slow-fermented in small batches · Limited release

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SINGLE-ESTATE · FIVE HUNDRED ACRES · COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE

Buckwheat honey,
slow-steeped with temulawak™ and warming botanicals.

A traditional Indonesian jamu formulation, made on a small farm in the Columbia River Gorge.

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Read the formulation notes
Open glass vessel of slow-fermenting Jamu Honey with gold-flecked surface, in warm directional light.Open glass vessel of slow-fermenting Jamu Honey with gold-flecked surface, in warm directional light.

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The Honey

A dark, malty honey with the warm spice of mulled wine.

Buckwheat sits at the bold end of the honey spectrum — closer to molasses than clover. We start there because that's the varietal with the highest natural polyphenol and mineral load. Then we slow-ferment it with Javanese Jamu botanicals, building a honey with body, warmth, and a long finish.

01 · Tasting notes.
  • Dark, malty base
  • Earthy Javanese turmeric
  • Resinous sand ginger (kencur)
  • Sweet clove, anise warmth
  • Ceylon cinnamon finish
  • Long, complex, tannin-friendly
02 · How to use it.
  • Stirred into tea, coffee, or warm water
  • Drizzled on aged cheese or yogurt
  • Brushed on roasted root vegetables, duck or pork
  • Straight off the spoon — its original use
03 · Format & price
  • 4 oz clear glass jar — $22
  • 8 oz clear glass jar — $34
  • 2 oz mini — gift-sets and tasting
  • Free shipping over $60
  • Subscribe & save $
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Read the soil-to-jar story
The Full Chain

From our soil. Our bees. Our hands.

Almost no premium honey brand can describe its full chain. We can — because we own every step. One terroir, one set of hands, the same logic that produces a great single-vineyard wine.

Hands harvesting fresh turmeric roots from rich soil in a natural farm, showcasing the raw ingredients behind premium fermented buckwheat honey products.
Harvesting Temulawak™ rhizome in Central Java. The same hands-on logic guides the buckwheat operation in the Columbia River Gorge.
01
Soil

500 acres in the Columbia Gorge, fed only with worm castings and worm tea. No synthetic fertilizers, no herbicides, no fungicides. The whole farm is one regenerative system.

02
Plant

A single varietal: buckwheat. Grown on biologically active soil, the plant expresses its full polyphenol load — the rutin, chlorogenic acid, and quercetin that make this honey nutritionally dense.

03
Hive

Our own bees foraging our own buckwheat. A contained, controlled forage radius — a level of provenance no honey sourced from third-party beekeepers can claim.

04
Jar

Five Jamu botanicals, slowly -steeped in small batches:Javanese turmeric, sand ginger, clove, star anise, Ceylon cinnamon. Never pasteurized. Never extended.

Most “premium” honey is one of these four steps. Ours is all four.
The Science, Briefly

At the top of the antioxidant spectrum.

In peer-reviewed comparisons, buckwheat honey consistently ranks among the highest of any monofloral honey on total phenolics, cellular antioxidant activity, and trace minerals including iron, manganese, and zinc , the most studied functional honey on the market.

In plain language: this is one of the most polyphenol-dense honey varietals you can buy, drawn from buckwheat grown in regeneratively managed soil along the Columbia Gorge.

Then we add something no manuka producer can: slow steeping with five Jamu botanicals — Javanese turmeric, sand ginger, clove, star anise, and Ceylon cinnamon — a preparation neither a beekeeper nor an herbalist could produce alone.

We don't make medical claims. We make a functional honey, formulated and steeped by hand.

Buckwheat vs. Manuka
Attribute
Buckwheat
Manuka
Total phenolics
Higher
Lower
Cellular antioxidant activity
Higher
Lower
Iron, manganese, zinc
Higher
Lower
Botanical complexity
Higher
Lower
Source: Deng et al., 2018 head-to-head comparison.
SOURCING · LYLE, WASHINGTON

Soil first.

The buckwheat in this honey grows on 500 acres outside Lyle, Washington. The bees forage there. The temulawak™ rhizomes spend their first season in beds amended with vermicompost — worm castings from the same farm, built up over years rather than bought by the pallet. We are not certified organic. We are something more specific: a small operation where the founder knows every input by name and can tell you what was happening in the soil the week the plants went in.

Freshly harvested turmeric roots being washed in a river, reflecting the natural sourcing and traditional craftsmanship behind premium fermented buckwheat honey products.
THE LONG POUR

Four to six weeks in clear glass.

Steeping runs four to six weeks in clear glass. The botanicals release into the honey on their own time. We do not heat it, do not filter it, do not rush it. What pours from the jar is what the bees and the roots and the time made together.

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MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS

Jamu, learned where it's lived.

Temulawak™ is the Javanese name for a golden, bitter-warming turmeric root — one of the foundational botanicals in Jamu, Indonesia's tradition of daily herbal tonics, carried through families and traced in temple stone since the 9th century.

I didn't learn Jamu from a book. I lived in Java for two years studying Temulawak™ and the broader tradition, sitting with the gendong women of Yogyakarta — herbalists who carry recipes through village markets in bamboo baskets, often on their backs.

I remember two things most clearly. The smell — wholesome and medicinal at once. And the laughter. At 6'8" I was a head taller than every woman in every kitchen I sat in, and they never stopped finding it funny. The teasing was constant. The welcome was real.

Javanese turmeric anchors a blend of sand ginger, clove, star anise, and Ceylon cinnamon — the botanicals at the heart of the Javanese Jamu tradition. In Jamu, temulawak™ is the bitter root at the center of the Jamu tradition. Slow steeping extends and concentrates the blend into a honey you can keep on a shelf and use daily.

The formulation isn't decorative. It carries a tradition I was taught directly, by the gendong women in Yogyakarta.

“Jamu is how you tend yourself the way you tend a garden — slowly, every day, with what's local and alive.”

— john walker, founder

Fresh turmeric roots being sliced by hand on a woven tray, highlighting the natural ingredients and traditional preparation behind premium fermented buckwheat honey products.
Slicing Temulawak™ in Central Java, the way it has been done for centuries.
THE WAITLIST

First jars, first letters, first to know.

First harvest is small. We are opening the storefront to the waitlist before anyone else. Add your name and we will write when the jars are ready.

One note when we open. No forwarding, no sharing, no noise.
Why this honey exists

It started with a promise to my mother.

In 2010, both of my parents were diagnosed with cancer — my father with late-stage prostate, my mother with breast. I was a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Registered Holistic Dietitian by then, and I wanted to help them the only way I knew how. Through food.

The hardest part wasn’t the diagnosis. It was the appetite loss. They couldn’t eat. They couldn’t keep food down. No amount of counseling could fix that from the outside.

I went looking for something older than my training. I ended up in Java, studying Temulawak™ and the wider Jamu tradition with the women who carry it. I stayed two years.

My mother, EDNA WALKER, was the first person I brought a formulation home for. For the first time in months, she ate.
Before she passed, she asked one thing of me:

“Share this root with others — especially the people like me, going through treatment, who feel like giving up on food.”

— EDNA WALKER

Temulawak™ LLC exists to keep that promise.

This honey is the next chapter of it. I came back to the United States, found 500 acres of land in the Columbia River Gorge, planted it to buckwheat, brought in my own bees, and built a closed-loop system fed only with worm castings and worm tea.
‍
The land, the bees, the formulation, the steeping — all of it is mine. That’s the only way I know how to do this honestly.

John Walker · Founder, Temulawak™ LLC
Freshly harvested turmeric roots being washed in a river, reflecting the natural sourcing and traditional craftsmanship behind premium fermented buckwheat honey products.
Bottling spring water for worm tea. The water emerges from the property — the same source that’s been feeding this land for generations.
Registered Holistic Nutritionist
Registered Holistic Dietitian
Master Herbalist
Regenerative Farmer
Two years in residence · Java

Honey, the way it's supposed to be made.

Single-estate. Regeneratively farmed. Slow-steeped in small batches. Shipped directly from our farm in the Columbia River Gorge.

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Read the soil-to-jar story
Free shipping over $60 · Ships within 3 business days · Money-back guarantee on first order
Field Notes

Slow food asks for slow attention. So does the soil it comes from.

A quarterly letter on steeping, regenerative farming, and the botanicals that make their way into the jar.

✓ Free US shipping on orders over $60

✓ Slow-fermented in small batches · Limited release

✓ Founder-led from the Columbia Gorge

✓ Free US shipping on orders over $60

✓ Founder-led from the Columbia Gorge

✓ Slow-fermented in small batches · Limited release

Questions

A few things, answered.

What does it taste like?
+
Dark, malty, warm-spiced — closer to mulled wine than to clover honey. The buckwheat base is bold; the Jamu botanicals add turmeric earthiness, ginger heat, and the rounded sweetness of clove, star anise, and cinnamon. Long finish. Pairs well with strong cheeses, red wines, and warm beverages.
Is it raw?
+
The honey is never pasteurized. Slow steeping happens at controlled low temperatures that preserve enzymes and bioactive compounds. We do not heat-treat or extend with syrups.
How is this different from manuka?
+
Buckwheat honey naturally contains higher polyphenols, higher cellular antioxidant activity, and higher iron, manganese, and zinc than manuka. Manuka's distinguishing feature is methylglyoxal (MGO), which we don't try to replicate. Our distinguishing features are the Jamu steeping and full estate provenance.
What does "single-estate" mean here?
+
The buckwheat is grown on our own 500 acres, the bees are our own, and the honey is steeped and bottled by us. Almost no honey brand can describe a complete chain like that — most source from third-party beekeepers across multiple farms.
Are you certified organic?
+
Not formally. We farm without synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, or fungicides — using only worm castings and worm tea for soil fertility — but we've chosen to invest in the farm itself rather than the certification process. We're happy to describe every practice in detail.
How long does a jar last?
+
Honey is one of the few foods that does not spoil. Once opened, keep the jar sealed at room temperature. The steeped botanicals retain their character for two years minimum. If your honey crystallizes, rest the jar in warm water — that's natural.
Do you ship outside the U.S.?
+
Currently U.S. only. International availability is on the roadmap — join the mailing list and we'll let you know.
Do you sell wholesale?
+
Yes — for specialty grocers, wellness shops, tasting rooms, and chefs. trade@temulawakinstitute.com
Is this safe for children?
+
Do not feed honey to infants under 12 months of age. This applies to all honey, including ours. For anyone over 12 months, enjoy it as you would any raw honey.