Tasting the honey sweetness of the west

Team Bee gathered with our officemates yesterday to have a honey tasting.  We wanted to compare our two honey harvests with several others found throughout the West to really get a sense of how different honeys can be.We sampled a total of TWELVE different varieties! Some bought from local specialty markets, some shipped from up and down the coast and a few we found here at home at our local Farmer’s Markets. Here is a list of the sweetness we tasted:

Moon Valley Honey in Raspberry, Blackberry, and Fireweed varietalsForestville Blackberry and California Coastal Wildflower from BeekindSmall Bees Wildflower honeyTemecula Valley Honey Co. Local Orange Blossom and Local Avocado honeyBranches Black Button SageBig Sur Wild Honey from Bonny Doon FarmPlus our own two Sunset honeys

We had a great time thinking of new vocabulary to describe each honey—since each honey deserved its own description! Some of the words thrown around the honey table: Cinnamon-y, spicy, nutty, fruity, tangy, woody, maple syrupy, smoky, buttery, caramel-y…

Everyone had different opinions on which was the best, except we did all agree that the Moon Valley Fireweed honey was very tasty (cinnamon-y, nutmeg-y, with a yummy spicy kick) and it came in a rustic jar with the top dipped in beeswax!

My personal favorite?  The Moon Valley Blackberry.  Light, fruity and mighty tasty on toasted bread.

Now I ask you, dear reader, where does your favorite honey come from?

by Kimberley Burch, Sunset imaging specialist