- Packager: Geddes Farms, 7110 Belair Road, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD, USA 21206 Tel. 844-430-7084. http://www.geddesfarms.com/default.asp
- Nectar Origin: Maine, USA.
- Color: No color given. This looks light amber to extra light amber.
- US Grade: None.
- Filtration: Raw.
- Price: $11.99/pound.
- Flavor: The finish on this honey is floral and a difficult to describe "green" flavor that is slightly tart. This is a nice honey even though it doesn't pack a distinctive flavor punch.
- Nectar Origin: New Zealand
- Color: My guess is Light Amber or Amber.
- US Grade: None.
- Filtration: Raw.
- Price: Like the other Manuka honeys featured on this blog, I was given this as a gift (thanks, Brad Nilsen). This honey is available from Harrod's on the Internet for about $38.00/pound.
- Background: Manuka honey comes from the tea tree in New Zealand. Medicinal claims are made about this honey, which has led to a grading system: 0-5 means unique Manuka factors are not present; 6-9 means low levels; 10-15 are useful levels; and 16 and up are high levels.
- Flavor: This Manuka honey has the glimmering, gold-speckled honey I've come to anticipate from Manuka honey. I was also expecting a mouthful of medicine-like flavor. Instead, this was more like brown sugar or burnt sugar with that special bitter flavor that makes Manuka honey what it is. Some have described it as pepper or ginger. Perhaps.
- Packager: Eagle Distributors, Inc., 5632 Northwest Highway, Chicago, Illinois 60646 Tel. 773-775-5777. http://eagledistributorsinc.com
- Nectar Origin: Poland.
- Color: No color given. This honey was crystallized. After warming it up it looks Water White to Extra White.
- US Grade: None.
- Filtration: Presumably Raw.
- Price: About $9.20/pound.
- Flavor: This honey is definitely linden honey. It has that distinctive "green" flavor of linden. This honey is also a bit musty with a little sourness mixed in that can almost be described as chemical in nature. Like all honeys, it's still sweet. Thanks to Brad Nilsen for the kind gift.
- Packager: The Big Island Bee Company, LLC 82-5780 Napoopoo Road #100, Captain Cook, HI 96704 (808) 328-1315. www.bigislandbees.com
- Nectar Origin: Hawaii.
- Color: No color given. My guess is Extra White to White.
- US Grade: None.
- Filtration: Raw.
- Price: About $19.00/pound.
- Flavor: This honey comes from the Christmas berry tree and is described by the packager as "ambrosial and spicy." To me, it has a distinctly toffee or caramel flavor. I often find tropical honeys to be a bit exotic in their flavors, but not this one. There is also a bitter note at the end that reminds me of licorice.
- Packager: GloryBee, Inc., 110 North Seneca Road, Eugene, Oregon, USA 97402 1-800-456-7923 http://www.glorybee.com
- Nectar Origin: Montana, USA
- Color: Water White
- US Grade: None
- Filtration: Raw
- Price: The company's website sells this for $7.63/pound.
- Flavor: This honey has a a sugary, fondant-like taste, but also possesses a distinct clover flavor. The honey has a creamy, crystallized structure that gives it a chewiness that brings honeycomb to mind. You'll like this one. Thanks for the gift, Rachel.
- Packager: KulaBee Apiaries, Kilauea, Hawaii 96754
- Nectar Origin: Hawaii.
- Color: No color given. My guess is Extra Light Amber or Light Amber.
- US Grade: None.
- Filtration: Raw.
- Price: About $10.67/pound.
- Flavor: I will admit that the first taste of this made me recoil. It tasted like medicine. It has a bitter, chemical like finish. I don't have much desire to pinpoint the flavor more than that. Thank you Nancy Case for this souvenir from Hawaii.
- Packager: Breitsamer + Ulrich GmbH & Co KG, Berger-Kreutz Strasse 28, D-81735 Munchen, Germany Tel. +49 89 45 05 62 0 www.breitsamer.de
- Nectar Origin: Unknown. Presumably Germany.
- Color: This honey has a glittery sheen and looks crystallized, but is not. Guessing the color on this one is complicated by its consistency. My guess is white or extra white.
- US Grade: None.
- Filtration: Raw.
- Price: $6.35/pound.
- Flavor: Although not a mono-floral honey, I am reviewing it as a way of thanking my father who gave it to me. This honey is light in flavor with a nice floral bouquet and a definite confectionery flavor about it. I think of fondant. Although labeled as mountain flower honey, I think the bees must have visited a lot of clover.
- Packager: Scandic Food A/S, 7100 Vejle, Denmark http://www.svansoe.dk/
- Nectar Origin: Unknown.
- Color: No color given. This was crystallized when I opened it. For obvious reasons heating it was a challenge, so I am guessing at the color which is very light. I would say it is water white to extra white.
- US Grade: None.
- Filtration: Unknown.
- Price: Unknown. My dad brought me this sample from his recent trip to Iceland. To show my gratitude, I am including it in my blog with a short review of its taste. Don't expect to find more of these types of entries -- although sampling little packets of honey would be cheaper.
- Flavor: I anticipated that this honey would be clover. I don't think so. It has a strong floral, perfume-like flavor. For lack of an obvious floral origin, I will file this under wildflower.
- Packager: Langnese Honey, 22933 Bargteheide, Germany www.langnese-honig.de
- Nectar Origin: Unknown.
- Color: Unstated. I this looks White or Extra Light Amber.
- US Grade: A
- Filtration: Unfiltered.
- Price: $7.50/pound.
- Flavor: I know the point of this blog is to cover monofloral honey (I sometimes wonder if there really is such a thing since the beekeeper can't control where his bees go), but I've been given several jars of honey lately and thought I would include them. This honey is called Summer Flowers, but it tastes a lot like Summer Clover, so I have labeled it as clover honey. In addition to being reminiscent of clover, it has a fruity taste with a tangy finish.
- Nectar Origin: Spain
- Color: Extra White to White.
- US Grade: None Listed.
- Filtration: Presumably Raw.
- Price: About $9.00/pound.
- Flavor: This is a mild, pleasant honey, but don't look for a strong orange flavor. There is a slight hint of citrus here, but it is subtle.
- Packager: Y.S. Eco Bee Farms, 2774 N. 4351 Rd., Sheridan, Illinois, 60551 USA Tel: 800-654-4593 http://www.ysorganic.com
- Nectar Origin: New Zealand
- Color: Dark Amber
- US Grade: Grade A.
- Filtration: Raw.
- Price: I was given this as a gift (thanks, Nancy Case). This honey is available from various sources on the Internet for about $32.00/pound.
- Background: Manuka hone comes from the tea tree in New Zealand. Medicinal claims are made about this honey, which has led to a grading system: 0-5 means unique Manuka factors are not present; 6-9 means low levels; 10-15 are useful levels; and 16 and up are high levels.
- Flavor: I've had Manuka honey before and this batch doesn't look like the glimmering gold-speckled honey I've had before. It is a dark, reddish brown. I think one of the reasons Manuka honey is marketed with medicinal claims (this jar says to use a half tablespoon daily) is that it tastes like a medicine. This one is recognizable as a Manuka honey, but it surprised me with its strong molasses and licorice flavor notes.
- Packager: Honey Pacifica, 4208 Pepperwood, Long Beach, California USA 90808 Tel. (562) 938-9706 http://www.honeypacifica.com
- Nectar Origin: California, USA
- Color: Extra Light Amber
- US Grade: The label says "U.S. Choice." I can't find that in the Standards for Grades of Extracted Honey published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- Filtration: Raw.
- Price: I bought mine for $10.00/pound. The company's website sells this for $12.00/pound.
- Flavor: Had I been blindfolded I would have guessed that this was clover honey. It does not appear to me to have any of the flavor notes of the mint family, of which sage is a member. There is a certain "chewiness" to this honey. It has a nice buttery, butterscotch-like flavor.
