Propolis Tincture - On Thresholds, Time, and Patience

Propolis is not made for sweetness.

When bees create propolis, they aren’t thinking about abundance or pleasure. They’re sealing cracks. Reinforcing edges. Lining vulnerable places. Smoothing rough surfaces. They use it to steady the interior of the hive — to control what moves in and out, to keep the space livable.

When a colony is under stress, bees create more of it. Propolis is how the hive responds collectively, reinforcing itself where it’s most vulnerable.

When I make a propolis tincture, I think about time — not as a constraint, but as an ingredient. I’ve always been drawn to processes that refuse to be rushed, that insist on their own pace no matter how convenient it would be to hurry them along.

This tincture takes two months to make.

(and I like that)

Raw propolis, selectively collected from our hives, is macerated slowly in high-proof alcohol. During that time, the resin opens gradually, releasing its depth in stages.

The flavor is dark, bitter, resinous. To me, it tastes the way a healthy hive smells — warm wood, sap, beeswax, something alive and slightly wild. 

I return to it most evenings, after brushing my teeth. That is a description of my own practice, not a schedule I would prescribe for someone else. What remains constant is the attention the material asks of me - in gathering it, making it, and deciding how it belongs in my life.