Two Hives Honey — Local services in Manor

I won't be using Two Hives Honey in the future. After almost two years of private lessons, following their apprenticeship, I've lost one hive completely and three of my remaining five hives are threatened with loss as well. It's not mites; we tested and I have nearly zero mites. Tara's route person who handles my "route" that I live on had no explanation as to why my hives weren't thriving, other than to say it wasn't her fault, even though Two Hives Honey employees have been by my side the entire time I've been keeping bees. A complete waste of over $7,500, spent on an organization that has not appreciated my business, since Monday morning at 11am was an inconvenient time for Tara to discuss why the bees I've bought from her, that her staff has helped and guided me on taking care of every step of the way for the last 18 months, were dying with no visible cause. Learn from my experience and save your money, especially if you are attempting an agriculture exemption because you might not achieve it. Added on 10/18/24 after Tara's response: I stand by my one star review of Two Hives Honey. In her response, Tara Chapman, owner of Two Hives Honey, confirms

1. BEFORE Tara ever found out what I was calling about, Tara put me off, wanting to talk "tomorrow". Once Tara found out (for the first time) that I'd lost 1 of my 6 hives five weeks previously and my remaining hives were struggling, Tara still tried to put me off till tomorrow saying "You know, today is my son's birthday and we're hoping to have a lovely nice day, so can we talk tomorrow?" I responded to Tara's comment saying, "By all means, go and enjoy your kid's birthday. We'll talk tomorrow." At that point Tara became angry at me, stating, "I did NOT deserve that comment! I will not be abused by you and you really need to apologize to me," at which point I hung up the phone and would not take her calls. Apparently, Tara considers it 'abuse' when a client agrees with Tara and is ready to end the call.

2. Tara confirms she does not monitor her client's hives, and she is not current with what is happening in her clients' apiaries. Tara had no knowledge I'd lost one hive and that THREE the remaining FIVE hives were struggling and weak, since I had been told by employee all summer during her visits, "No, there's no reason to feed your bees, since they have honey." This is in direct contrast to what the employee said in her last visit, when we discussed the struggling hives and she said, "Well I've been feeding all summer long on this route, so maybe you should have fed them," failing to remember that the reason I hadn't fed my bees all summer long was because the employee had instructed me it wasn't necessary.

3. Tara confirms her employees do not keep her informed of Two Hives Honey's clients' apiaries because she should have known how frustrated I was becoming. As opposed to the self-satisfied, assertion Tara smugly stated, "You clearly have been very pleased with our services as you have continued to use us on a very regular basis for almost two years," I WAS NOT PLEASED and have not been pleased with Two Hives Honey's servicing for the past 3-4 months and I have communicated that to the employee working her route with me. The fact that such client frustrations were not brought to Tara's attention speaks to an internal problem at Two Hives -- not with the client.

4. Clients are expected to know the times it is acceptable to call Two Hives Honey and when it is not; Indigenous Day may be a Federal holiday but it is one when most business are open and functioning in Texas. May I suggest in the future if Two Hives Honey is not open for business, then Tara should not answer her phone, allowing clients to leave a message. Tara can then return the call when it is convenient for her, avoiding demanding apologies from clients who fail to phone Tara at a time when she feels it is appropriate.

In short, Tara is not focused on her business - and she confirms it in her response -- so I do not recommend Two Hives Honey to other new beekeepers for...

It’s taken me quite some time to write this review because I just couldn’t find the words to describe how amazing my time at Two Hives Honey truly was.

As a long-time bee enthusiast and hopeful future beekeeper, I’ve been wanting to visit Two Hives Honey for years. This all being something I have openly spoken about with my boyfriend. Despite that, I was still thoroughly surprised when he brought me to Two Hives earlier this Spring for a private tour.

Now, I’m not going to spoil too much of the experience of the tour, but I will say that even for someone who has spent a great deal of free-time learning about bees, there was still much I didn’t know. The tour was hands-on, interactive, and so much fun! The best part? Suiting up and getting a peek inside of a hive. Despite being early April, very soon after a late cold-front and lots of rain, the bees were hard at work. Pollen was being collected, the hives were buzzing, and (the most unique experience to witness) babies were being born. Holding a frame from the hive and looking straight at a little baby bee making it’s way out into the world was a truly remarkable experience. It was about as ‘up-close-and-personal’ as one could get.

If you are reading this and are thinking that this might all be a little too up-close-and-personal, my boyfriend might agree with you. He was initially incredibly nervous around the hive. Although, the staff were very calm, helping to make sure that he was as comfortable and he found himself truly enjoying himself as well. We were safe the entire time, followed the instructions of the staff and didn’t experience any stings or aggression from the bees.

After learning some more hive-side, I thought that the excitement was done for the day. I was wrong. I was informed that we would be enjoying a flight of honey with accompaniments on a special island they have on the property. This island is surrounded by a fish and turtle pond and kind of secluded by way of trees around it. Taking our seats at the picnic table on the center of the island, we were given a brief description of the different honey samples we were about to try. Afterwards, we were left to enjoy them and enjoy them we did! The Autumn honey was unlike anything I’ve ever had!

After eating, we fed the turtles with some food provided especially for them and enjoyed the beautiful day together. And that is where I received my third surprise for the day. As if my previously bee-fearing boyfriend hadn’t made this day memorable enough, he got down on one knee and proposed.

Only after, when we were all smiles and laughs, did the owner come out and tell us one last tidbit of information about Two Hives. As it turns out, ours was the second engagement to occur on the island- the first being her own. Apparently, we stood where she and her now-husband had when he proposed to her; which is appropriately named ‘Engagement Island’. She said all of this while motioning to a large, arrow-shaped sign with the words “Engagement Island” painted across it. How they managed to conceal that from me the entire time still baffles and delights me.

To have such a momentous occasion occur at a place I’ve been longing to go is memorable for sure. But to get engaged on 'Engagement Island' at an apiary that I have been dying to see for years.. well, I never thought I believed in destiny before but somehow managed to find it that day on this little bee farm in Manor, Texas. This day was perfect in every way. I’m not saying you all need to go here to get engaged, but I will say that the staff at Two Hives sure know how to make your visit remarkable and memorable. I look forward to visiting again with my...

I'm from San Antonio and am into year two of learning and practicing beekeeping. I had the chance to catch some of Tara's beekeeping presentations this past year at the Mother Earth News Fair in Belton, Texas and they were super informative and made me want to deepen my knowledge about bees and Texas beekeeping. After winning a contest on Instagram, I had the opportunity to enjoy a free tour of the Two Hives Honey Ranch and apiary with a friend of mine who is also just getting into beekeeping. The tour guides are ridiculously knowledgable and so friendly. Our guide made sure that we were comfortable before, during, and after our beekeeping class and was diligent about answering all of our questions. Tara dipped in and out of the class here and there to make sure everything was going smoothly. The class was engaging for new and seasoned beekeepers alike. Everyone had the chance to get some hands-on learning. Everything about our experience was well-organized and so much fun! At the end of the tour, everyone was treated to some fresh honey from the hives we had visited and some cool refreshment was provided. I brought some spicy honey home with my to add to my iced chai lattes and it is sooo delicious! The shop has a lot of neat things to offer including different kinds of honey from the ranch (an from other Texas beekeepers), beekeeping equipment, nicely designed apparel and jewelry created by artists, beekeeping books, beeswax products, health products and more. I'd definitely recommend asking about sales on certain beekeeping equipment, as there were some discounts on certain items while we were there. We could observe groups next door in the classroom enjoying special tastings, which also looked like a lot of fun. There are public restrooms and wash stations available for everyone located in a small building by the parking area. Two Hives Honey is also excellent in their online and social media presence, always offering engaging and educational content for everyone who wants to learn more about bees and honey. Tara and her staff are helpful and responsive when reaching out to inquire more about products and services. Two Hives Honey is a great bizzziness and I'm looking forward to staying connected through e-mail and social media to continue learning on my beekeeping journey. Thank you, Two Hives Honey, for the...