Bee Thinking

A central location for all things made of honey, Bee Thinking contains everything from Oregon Wildflower honey to lavender oils to honey wine. They even supply bee farms!
They are an environmentally-​conscious group who have the knowledge and supplies to make the most amazing garden. Although buying a hive was not on my agenda, I left with two cute jars of crystallized, wildflower honey.
Unlike the other reviews, I did not experience the same customer service or learning experience as I was expecting. I left the place wanting to learn more as I think it felt more like a gift shop.

This place has everything you need! High quality bee hives, suits, honey, mead, cool shirts, candles, you name it! The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable! They have regular classes so you can make your own candles, mead, etc. I’ve never seen a place like this before in my life! Even if you’re not a bee keeper, I’m positive you’ll fall in love with all of the other unique items they sell! This is a must see shop when in Portland!

Wonderful people!!! Outstanding customer service!!! The staff are very knowledgeable and made excellent recommendations. Their passion for people, their products and the environment shows through. A special thank you to Andrew for his kindness.
The best selection of mead I’ve ever seen in one place. In the 3 weeks between my visits, they had several new additions. All that I’ve tried so far have been amazing.
I can’t imagine going through Portland and no stopping in.

I rarely write reviews, but I had an unusually wonderful experience at Bee Keeping.
The store has a casual and airy atmosphere with a large selection of bee-​related products, and the customer service was amazing. When I asked a lot of questions, the lady working the sales area spent 10 minutes talking to me about the different meads that they have in stock. Her knowledge and passion about their products was contagious. I left Bee Thinking feeling excited about bees and mead, and I wish that I lived in the area so that I could take one of their classes!

I’m absolutely fascinated with the idea… Everyone should have an opportunity to be a part of this great experience… please support so we won’t lose the natural honey and pollination that our environment desperately needs

Love this place and their philosophy! We keep bees in Santa Cruz, CA, and made a special effort to visit Bee Thinking during our recent vacation to Portland. The store is very hip and fresh and the staff incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. Cameron, in particular, is a shining example of enthusiasm in promoting a healthy bee culture. They also have a impressive and fun selection of Mead… check them out!

I feel like I have died and gone to heaven. Portland has a more than decent mead store. Every kind of mead known to womankind. Mead tastings on Sunday afternoons. Make your own mead supplies. At last I have found high culture here. The gods and goddesses are truly being good to me!

While in Portland, we live just under 100 miles away, I wanted to surprise my friend by dropping into Bee Thinking which I’d seen on KATU news. On the drive down I steered the conversatin to bee keeping and learned she is really allergic to honey bees, although really likes them. I decided to drop by anyway and was pleasantly surprised with Mason Bees which do not sting, polinate over 1500 blossoms a day compared to the honey bees measely 30 but they do not produce honey. That’s OK, I purchased two Mason Bee hives and two boxes with 10 Mason bee cocoons each. My husband and I installed the house yesterday afternoon, well I held it as he put in the hanger, a long screw with a big washer. I peaked into the attic of the house a few minutes ago and see three of the cocoons have hatched. This was so simple and is doing so much for the earth’s flora that I want to give Bee Thinking a big thanks for making this wonderful suggestion to what seemed like a failed trip.

Wonderful place for all your bee keeping needs, or perfect for some light browsing or smaller gift items. Extremely friendly and well informed staff. The free mead tastings and the large selection of mead make a trip to this store worth a visit. A Portland must see!

Stumbled upon this place while heading out to Hawthorne and instantly fell in love with it! We almost walked right by it as it’s pretty much in a residential neighborhood but close to the main street.
Me and my friends had never tried mead and they had a great little tasting station set up for you to try it. They were also very informative about explaining it and the process to produce it.
I also loved all the other bee/​honey products they had — really unique and creative items! I bought several lotions and lip balms, and my friends bought some mead wine and a few other things. The prices all seemed very fair and love that it’s all locally produced.
Great and friendly service too! Definitely worth a stop in if you’re nearby! :)

To Bee, or not to Bee… is the current question. I be thinking that Bees will be the new urban trend. So good bye stinky chickens. This place fulfills all your needs to start a hive. Even Mason Bees. The equipment can seem expensive, but I think well worth it. More personal satisfaction when you are responsible for pollinating the entire neighborhood with your busy investment. Also, your colony of Bees can pull security, too, if strategically placed within your property. The owners offer classes and are more than willing to go the extra mile for their customers. My God!!! They even have «Mead» for purchasing !

Splendid customer service! Hands-​down the BEST ever.
My husband ordered honeybees for me as a Christmas gift. He placed the order with a bee keeping club so that we’d have local support and the benefit of their group-​rate bulk shipping. The printed order was in my stocking: date of delivery: TBA (expect early to mid MAY).
I knew I wanted a top-​bar hive and researched DIY plan. None of the plans appealed to me. Along with wanting more then plywood, I knew our limited tool collection would make this job a challenge.
April 17^th I found the BEE THINKING site. The next day, Friday the 18^th, I ordered my hive. Monday, the beekeeping club sent an email announcing the delivery of the bees for April 26^th. Monday, the 21^st, I called customer service. Cameron understood my dilemma right away. The kit could be completed and set UPS to arrive as early as Wednesday, but more likely by Monday. Wow. That could work!
I waited for an email confirmation with shipping info. Nothing came, so on Friday I called again and spoke to Charlotte. After a bit of problem-​solving at her end, Charlotte assured me my BEE THINKING hive would arrive before noon Saturday.
We picked up our bees just before noon on Saturday and when we got home the hive had been delivered!
In the cool of late afternoon we assembled the hive. We had the tools to manage the task without difficulty and just before dark introduced the bees to their new home.
I am a BEE THINKING brand evangelist.

Customer services is very good here and I appreciate that! There are no secrets here just a guy trying to make an honest living while doing his part to help our national bee crisis. I look forward to shopping here not because it is the cheapest place around but I know I can ask any question and get an honest answer. Thank you.

WOW! I was completely amazed at the knowledge and friendliness of this establishment. Great owners that take pride in their work and have a passion behind every answer to each question.
The unprocessed honey is the best!
If you are wanting to maximize your gardening, have the honey bees work for you, or are looking for an amazing start to a rewarding hobby of Bee Keeping? this is your place to check out.
They offer classes to teach you how to bee keep. AND have gift certificates that would make a great gift for that someone who has everything.
Candle making? why yes, they have wax!
It is located in a great area of town tucked away for easy parking.
Did I mention the honey is heavenly?
Payment was easy and they have a 30 day return policy.
They have lip balm made from all natural ingredients, it makes your dry lips disappear.
Even the receipts were printed on BPA-​free paper…
Need I say anymore?
Go check it out…
I will tell all my friends to do business here.

I purchased a christmas gift here and was not delighted to learn they had a 2 week return policy. Two weeks! I understand that they are a small business, and locally owned (which I do appreciate). I do not appreciate that when I went in to return the gift (withint the two weeks), the store owner told me he could write me a check for the refund amount. A CHECK?! In this day in age? You can take my payment electronically but you cannot refund it electronically? That is not okay. Neither was his comment «well it is the easiest way for us to refund the money for you.» How about what’s easy for the customer? I asked for cash — duh! Which, they had. I’m not sure why that wasn’t the first offer. It should always be what is easiest for the customer — not the store. I will be looking for a different location to purchase supplies in the future.

Do you like bees: Yes, No, Maybe? No matter your answer, Bee Thinking may have something for you.
Bee Thinking is a shop which makes bee hives, has bee keeping supplies, sells honey & bees’ wax and teaches bee keeping classes. From their little store they ship worldwide.
Bees will build a hive in a tree hollow. With a hive, we trick them into building them near our gardens to pollenate our plants and make more linear combs rather than the alien-​like freeform shapes they make in hollow trees.
Bee Knowledge makes cedar hives with cedar from a local sawmill. They make top bar hives and warre hives, and have langstroth hives too, a common type you may have seen. What are those? They can explain at great length the pros and cons of each and show you examples from their stock.
They have bee suits, bee smokers to put the bees to sleep to work on the hive, honey extraction tools and books.
They teach an inexpensive class, which is free if you buy a hive. And they provide highly useful on-​call services like hive removal and hive maintenance of you are in the Portland area.
This five star spot ups the local bee thinking IQ, complementary to the work of Zenger Farms, with a more in-​town location, organized classes, supplies, hives, services and advice.