Saturday Farmers’ Market Vendor Feature: Corbicula Pollen

A first-year vendor at our market this week we are featuring Corbicula Pollen! Corbicula Pollen collects, harvests, and produces bee pollen from the lower mainland with the mission of bringing customers a local healthy product that can be used as an excellent source protein and to help prevent allergies. We recently had the pleasure of chatting with co-owner and beekeeper extraordinaire, Casey Aelbers to find out more.

What are the three most important things you think people should know about Corbicula Pollen?

We strictly source our honey and pollen from British Columbia mostly from Vancouver Metro Area, and the Island.
Everything is produced by small beekeepers.
We own 350 pollen traps and partner with many local beekeepers to place them. This not only provides a diverse range of sources for our pollen but provides local beekeepers with additional income.

You and one of your business partners, Carolyn, are both beekeepers; how did you get started beekeeping and how did you start Corbicula Pollen?

I was originally interested in beekeeping because I really enjoy gardening and spending time outside and I liked that it provided travel opportunities and the chance to be a business owner.

Carolyn and I met in Kwantlen University’s Commercial Beekeeping programme and decided to start Corbicula Pollen from there.

What is your favourite part about beekeeping? Do beekeepers get stung frequently?

It is chaos but you are witnessing nature at its finest, and you are always seeing bees doing amazing things. I find it therapeutic.

I have been stung over 200 times but it really depends on how gentle you are with your hives and the clothing you wear. Some beekeepers choose to wear full suits to pretty much avoid getting stung.

Could you tell us a bit about a hive setup and your process?

We have stacks of frames containing combs on top our hives which the bees deposit the honey into and then cap of wax. The bees lower the moisture content of the honey by flapping there wings this lowers the temperature from 30 to 17.8 degree. We harvest the honey by removing the combs with a hot knife, the honey is then centrifuged and filtered. The neat part about beekeeping is you really don’t need to own your own land farmers, are usually happy to let you set up your hives on their land because they are getting a free pollinator service.

How did you settle on the name Corbicula Pollen?

The corbicula is part of the bees’ leg that acts as a pollen sack. We liked it because it sounded cool, modern, and like something people could relate to. Often beekeepers choose more cutesy, old-fashioned names for there businesses and that is something we wanted to stay away from.

What are some of the health benefits of bee pollen? Why does it come in so many beautiful colours?

Bee pollen is super high in protein ( approx 1 TBSP- 2g of protein), and a good source of vitamins A and B. It is also really useful for those with seasonal allergies as it gives small exposures to these allergens. Since our pollen is all from BC, it exposes people to the local allergens and is especially beneficial for people here. The diversity in colour comes from the flora diversity in BC, yellow is the most common colour, but trees will often have brown pollen and many berries have grey. The colours range from the flowers the bees are choosing sometimes we find that hives in the same area choose totally different flowers.

Why did you choose to come to the UBC Saturday Market specifically?

I heard really good things from other vendors and I liked the concept of the UBC Farm visually. I also have lived in the area and I know the customers here are loyal.

If you could only have one of your products for the rest of your life what would it be?

I would definetly say bee pollen because of the health benefits.

Where else can customers find you? And is there anything else you want them to know for this season?

We will be at farmers markets in Vancouver, Conquitlam, and New Westminster this year, see our website for details. And if you have any questions about beekeeping feel free to reach out!