When choosing a bottle of honey, the selection of products has immense natural variety. With more than 300 varietals in the U.S. alone, honey presents an array of colors, viscosities and flavor profiles. It’s no wonder that a jar of light clover honey tastes completely different than a dark buckwheat blend. The complexity of honey taste is a direct reflection of a delicate natural process that begins with the flowering plants from the nectar gathered.

Understanding what creates honey’s unique flavor is key to appreciating this 100% pure, raw & unfiltered product. It’s a combination of the honey bees’ hard work, the nectar source, the environment and how the honey is handled before it reaches your table.

The Importance of the Floral Source

The single most important factor determining honey’s color, flavor and fragrance is the nectar the honey bees collect. Honey bees are incredible foragers: They can fly up to 4 miles to find nectar, an area of roughly 32,000 acres. A single honey bee visits 1,000 flowers to fill its honey stomach, and it takes 12 honey bees their entire life to make one teaspoon of honey.

The type of flower a honey bee visits gives the honey its distinct character:

• Light Honey (Mild Taste): Honey made from clover nectar, common in the U.S., is light in color and has a mild, sweet flavor, making it a versatile favorite. Acacia honey is also very light and mild.
• Dark Honey (Robust Taste): Nectar from plants like buckwheat creates a dark, rich honey with a strong, molasses-like flavor.
• Unique Flavors: Other unique sources create specialty tastes, such as the citrus notes in Orange Blossom honey or the strong, herbal depth of Manuka honey.

Because honey results from thousands of honey bees foraging different plants across a wide area—sometimes a mix of wildflowers—even two bottles of the same varietal can have subtle differences from year to year.

Geographic and Seasonal Influences
Beyond the specific flower varietal, the overall environment and the time of year play a major role in a honey’s character.

• Geography and Climate: The soil conditions, climate and local flora of a region affect the nectar’s composition, affecting the resulting color and taste of the honey. Honey from Texas, for example, will have a different character than honey from New Zealand, reflecting the native plants available to the honey bees.
• Seasonal Variations: The taste of honey also changes with the seasons. Spring honey is often lighter, because it comes from early-blooming, milder flowers. Honey collected later in the fall tends to be darker and more robust as honey bees forage late-season blooms.

How Processing and Purity Affect Texture and Taste
Once honey leaves the hive, how it’s handled determines its final appearance and texture, and the preservation of its natural qualities.

• Raw & Unfiltered vs. Pasteurized: Raw & unfiltered honey maintains a robust taste, because it comes straight from the source without alteration. When honey is pasteurized to slow the natural process of crystallization (becoming thick and solid), some of the natural properties may become compromised, which can fundamentally change the taste and all-natural benefits.
• Straining and Pollen: Honey straight from the hive contains bee parts and wax. Raw and unfiltered honey is simply strained (not heavily filtered) to remove them while retaining the natural pollen and goodness.
• Viscosity and Crystallization: The thickness, or viscosity, of honey can change with weather—more rain can lead to thinner honey—and is influenced by heating. Because raw and unfiltered honey is not highly processed, it is prone to crystallizing over time. This crystallization is a natural proof of purity and doesn’t affect the quality; it can be reversed by placing the bottle in warm water.
• Additives: Not all honeys are created equal. Some contain the presence of food additives, such as high-fructose corn syrup or added sugars, that affect the natural taste and compromise the purity of honey.

The next time you enjoy a spoonful of Nate’s Honey, remember that the color, the thickness and the flavor are a complex, natural tapestry woven by the hardworking honey bee, reflecting the environment and the season—from bloom to spoon.