The Briežu family manages grassland areas in Mētriena Parish, Madona Municipality, in the vicinity of the Teiču Nature Reserve. They are staunch advocates of organic farming, with beekeeping as their main occupation, whilst also developing sheep farming on the side. Andrejs was born in Riga, but began spending time in the countryside as a child – during the summer holidays. Even then, he realised that working with bees brought him joy.

The farm produces various types of honey and honey products – among these, pollen is particularly popular, both dried and mixed with honey. The range also includes various honey blends, oxymel, and garlic fermented in honey. And this is a truly unique product – birch sap and honey vinegar! Priežukalns is possibly the only place in the world where vinegar made from birch sap and honey is produced and sold. It can be used for salad dressings, preserving and marinating. Meanwhile, Priežukalns’ MED+IĶIS is an oxymel – a mixture of honey and apple cider vinegar, which Priežukalns offers enriched with various meadow herbs. The result is a very tasty and refreshing drink – whether served hot or cold!

The flavour of honey is unique to each hive, colony and apiary. Honey harvested at different times of the year will also have a different flavour. At the Priežukalns apiaries, the first honey, which is usually harvested in late May or early June, has the mildest flavour. As autumn approaches, the flavour of the honey becomes more intense and its colour darker. Sometimes, when harvesting the final batch of honey from the apiaries on the shores of Teiču Marsh and in the Beļava area, a very small amount of heather blossom honey is sometimes mixed in with other types of honey; in fresh honey, this appears as tiny jelly-like pieces.

The farm also offers lamb and mutton, as well as processed products made from them, depending on the season.