heslet honey Harvested and hand crushed on Telegraph Hill, Heslet Honey is created from the millions of flowers that cascade San Francisco’s prominent east facing slope. The hill hosts a wide diversity of plants that bloom during different times of the year, the qualities of which are represented in each harvest that begins as early as March, and runs through September. to purchase Heslet Honey is sold by subscription. Please click here to subscribe. Maximum number of annual subscriptions is 45. Honey may also be found at Little Vine in North Beach or the Perish Trust in NOPA. Questions? Contact Kate McGee at: kate@heslethoney.com why ‘heslet’? The company was named after Valetta Heslet, a Telegraph Hill resident and gardener. Read about Valetta Heslet in an unpublished excerpt from ‘The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill’. http://www.shop.heslethoney.com/http://www.shoplittlevine.com/http://www.theperishtrust.com/mailto:kate@heslethoney.comhttp://www.markbittner.net/writings/heslet.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3shapeimage_1_link_4

ABOUT heslet honey


Heslet Honey is a local company comprised of a few bee hives located in and adjacent to the Greenwich Street right-of-way on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco.  Heslet Honey is named after Valetta Heslet who, with her mother Grace Marchant, transformed the land from garbage dump to garden commencing in the late 1940‘s. 


Honey harvesting begins as early as March and runs as late as September, each harvest corresponding with the bloom pertinent to that time of year.  Heslet Honey is a pilot program that utilizes a public right-of-way to provide urban agriculture in the city.


The bees are cared for by Kate McGee, who was trained as a beekeeper by Alan Hawkins at the Green Gulch Zen Center in Marin, with the help of her two boys.  Kate respects the bees’ natural habits and practices non-invasive methods of maintaining the hives and harvesting the honey.


Beekeeping on the hill is a community effort.  Heslet Honey thanks the residents who tend the gardens and support the bees and the pilot program.  Special thanks to the bee’s landlords, label designers at Auston Design Group, and platform and wooden hive designers and builders.