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  <title><![CDATA[Swift Blend Gate]]></title>
  <link>https://swiftblendgate.com/</link>
  <description><![CDATA[Small-batch, single-origin honey from Nagano Prefecture. Cold-extracted, harvest-dated, shipped from Matsumoto. Browse the 2026 spring range.]]></description>
  <language>en</language>
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    <title><![CDATA[The late-summer harvest is about six weeks away]]></title>
    <link>https://swiftblendgate.com/</link>
    <description><![CDATA[The soba fields near Hotaka are starting to flower. We checked the hives last weekend and the bees are busy. If the weather holds, we are expecting to extract in late August. Subscribers will get first access.]]></description>
    <pubDate>2026-07-18</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title><![CDATA[We took on a new wholesale account in Tokyo]]></title>
    <link>https://swiftblendgate.com/</link>
    <description><![CDATA[A small natural wine bar in Shimokitazawa called Tochi will be stocking the Shiojiri Forest Blend from July. We visited in May and liked what they were doing. The honey goes well with their cheese plate.]]></description>
    <pubDate>2026-06-30</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title><![CDATA[Spring harvest done. Here is how it went.]]></title>
    <link>https://swiftblendgate.com/</link>
    <description><![CDATA[We extracted the spring harvest over three days in early May. The apple blossom yield was up on last year. The acacia came in a little lighter in colour than usual, which we think is down to the dry April.]]></description>
    <pubDate>2026-05-14</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title><![CDATA[Why Honey Crystallises and What to Do About It]]></title>
    <link>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/why-honey-crystallises.html</link>
    <guid>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/why-honey-crystallises.html</guid>
    <description><![CDATA[If you have ever opened a jar of honey to find it has gone thick, grainy, or completely solid, you have probably wondered whether something went wrong. Nothing went wrong. Crystallisation is one of the clearest signs that honey has not been heavily processed, and understanding why it happens makes it much easier to enjoy raw honey without worrying about it.]]></description>
    <pubDate>2026-06-10</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title><![CDATA[What Single-Origin Honey Actually Means]]></title>
    <link>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/single-origin-honey-explained.html</link>
    <guid>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/single-origin-honey-explained.html</guid>
    <description><![CDATA[Single-origin is a term borrowed from coffee and chocolate, and like those industries, it gets used loosely in honey. Some producers use it to mean a single country. Others mean a single region. We use it to mean a single named site where our hives are placed during a specific flowering period. The difference matters, and it is worth explaining why.]]></description>
    <pubDate>2026-05-20</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title><![CDATA[Why We Extract Honey Cold and What It Changes]]></title>
    <link>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/cold-extraction-honey-process.html</link>
    <guid>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/cold-extraction-honey-process.html</guid>
    <description><![CDATA[Most commercial honey is heated during extraction and processing. Heat makes honey flow faster, kills yeast that could cause fermentation, and extends shelf life. It also destroys a significant portion of the enzymes, aromatic compounds, and pollen that give raw honey its flavour and nutritional character. We extract at under 35 degrees Celsius, which takes longer and requires more care, but produces a honey that tastes like the flower it came from.]]></description>
    <pubDate>2026-04-15</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title><![CDATA[Nagano's Flowering Calendar: What the Bees Forage and When]]></title>
    <link>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/nagano-honey-flowering-calendar.html</link>
    <guid>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/nagano-honey-flowering-calendar.html</guid>
    <description><![CDATA[Nagano Prefecture runs from valley floors at around 350 metres to mountain ridges above 3,000 metres. That range of altitude means the flowering season is long and varied, with different plants coming into bloom at different elevations through spring, summer, and into early autumn. For a beekeeper, it is one of the better places in Japan to work with single-origin varieties.]]></description>
    <pubDate>2026-03-28</pubDate>
  </item>
  <item>
    <title><![CDATA[How to Actually Taste Honey (Not Just Eat It)]]></title>
    <link>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/how-to-taste-honey.html</link>
    <guid>https://swiftblendgate.com/notes/how-to-taste-honey.html</guid>
    <description><![CDATA[Most people eat honey without really tasting it. It goes on toast, into tea, into a marinade. It is sweet and that is about as far as the analysis goes. But single-origin raw honey has a flavour complexity that is worth paying attention to, and tasting it properly is not complicated. It just requires slowing down for about three minutes.]]></description>
    <pubDate>2026-07-01</pubDate>
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