# Best Tasting honey? What's your top 5?



## Plannerwgp (May 18, 2019)

username00101 said:


> My top 5 favorite:
> 
> 1. Black Locust
> 2. Blueberry
> ...


My wildflower honey. None of the above.


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## gone2seed (Sep 18, 2011)

Sourwood
Tupelo
Gallberry
Tulip poplar
local wildflower
in that order


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

username00101 said:


> My top 5 favorite:
> ....


1. Buckwheat (but never had my own ; surely grocery story version is just OK.....)
2. Goldenrod.
3. Some no-name honey that came along that particular year - strong non-floral presence per testing (the right jar on the picture).
4. Maple (tried once in my life; shamelessly stolen some combs in April just to taste it).
5. Random, no-name "wildflower" (this one keeps changing; the darker the better, just like beer).


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

I haven't eaten any honey other than my own in many years so I'll give a rundown of what is available here. 

Sumac; I have only had one season where I could honestly say there was enough to be sure it was mostly Sumac, very floral.

Blackberry,

Blackberry-Persimmon,

Persimmon,

Goldenrod (Asters)

Wildflower and Sweet Clovers.

Alex


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## username00101 (Apr 17, 2019)

Maple honey is really good - I was actually going to put that on my list, but it's so rare.


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## Lee Bussy (May 28, 2021)

There are two ways to answer this. Since I make mead, I have two different groups of honey - those I like to eat and those that I think make exceptional mead.

For mead:

Meadowfoam - You have to try this if you have not, it tastes like marshmallows
Raspberry
Carrot
Orange Blossom
For eating:

Raspberry
Basswood/Lime
Buckwheat
Gotta throw in "wildflower" here. You can't really classify it and mine will be different than yours. Serendipity kicks in every once in a while and it's awesome.
Since beekeeping is new to me, I end up buying honey from specialty suppliers. Meadowfoam is just crazy, and I'm not sure how big a farm of carrots you need to make commercially viable honey, but it has to be a lot. The character of the honey is quite unique.

Strangest I've ever had: Coca-Cola. The Student Union near our teaching apiary threw a "bag in a box" of Coca-Cola syrup behind the dumpster. Not sure if they missed the dumpster or what. Anyway, we ended up with this really odd-smelling "nectar" and a couple of frames of very dark, very curious tasting honey. A little investigative work led us to find that bag in a box that explained things.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

username00101 said:


> *Maple honey* is really good - I was actually going to put that on my list, but it's so rare.


I know.
It is worth it.
One of the things I'd like to try to harvest - spent too much time on other projects.


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## Gino45 (Apr 6, 2012)

GregB said:


> I know.
> It is worth it.
> One of the things I'd like to try to harvest - spent too much time on other projects.


My 5: Star thistle,
Keawe ---mesquite
Coffee
Lehua
having a hard time with the 5th....I'll go with tulip poplar, though it's been a very long time since I have tasted it.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

GregB said:


> 4. Maple (tried once in my life; shamelessly stolen some combs in April just to taste it).


Found the picture even of those maple honey combs.


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## username00101 (Apr 17, 2019)

Another honey I don't see much from is fruit trees.

Still waiting on cherry honey.


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## Lee Bussy (May 28, 2021)

username00101 said:


> Another honey I don't see much from is fruit trees.


I'd read somewhere that fruit trees (trees in general) don't produce a lot of nectar, but are a source of pollen. I guess Basswood would be an exception.


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## username00101 (Apr 17, 2019)

Apples and pears, and others like that make nectar. I've just never seen a super of it before.


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## Kuro (Jun 18, 2015)

My wildflower honey. I usually harvest in late May (maples, hawthorns and etc), late July (blackberries, tulip poplars, and etc), and late September (Japanese knotweed and etc). They all taste great but I especially like the last one.


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## username00101 (Apr 17, 2019)

Japanese knotweed does make delicious and good tasting honey, unfortunately.


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## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

It is always the last honey that I harvested. As it comes out of our little extractor, my wife and I always agree that "this is the best EVER" J


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## joebeewhisperer (May 13, 2020)

AHudd said:


> Sumac; I have only had one season where I could honestly say there was enough to be sure it was mostly Sumac, very floral.


I hadn’t considered sumac though my bees are in a 4-5 acre field well populated with sumac among other things. Back in April or early May a ton of blackberries bloomed and I caught that. We sent it to a bunch of people across the country to rave revues and I thought it was the best I’d had (after giving most away I finally truly tasted it).

That honey was “floral” if I’ve ever had/smelled floral. In years where it hits do you remember the timing of the blooms relative to anything else?


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## Tim KS (May 9, 2014)

My top five are:
mine
mine
mine
mine
and mine.


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## username00101 (Apr 17, 2019)

Knotweed honey has a deep and distinct taste, the only honey I've tasted like it is honeydew honey. 

Goldenrod honey is an honorable mention.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

username00101 said:


> Knotweed honey has a deep and distinct taste,


UN, you should try buckwheat and then report back.
I want to think they are very similar (in fact, the plants are related).

I wish I could try knotweed, but it does not exist here and is not available to buy.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

joebeewhisperer said:


> I hadn’t considered sumac though my bees are in a 4-5 acre field well populated with sumac among other things. Back in April or early May a ton of blackberries bloomed and I caught that. We sent it to a bunch of people across the country to rave revues and I thought it was the best I’d had (after giving most away I finally truly tasted it).
> 
> That honey was “floral” if I’ve ever had/smelled floral. In years where it hits do you remember the timing of the blooms relative to anything else?


I don't know if the smell made it taste better or if tasting it made it smell better, but the two senses are definitely entwined with this honey.

The sumac was the last to bloom that year in what was a good year. I thought I was finished that year as I had already finished extracting and had placed the supers back on for cleanup. It was a Goldilocks spring turning dry for the months of April, May and June. We then had some late June rains that likely triggered the heavy bloom of Sumac. Most years the sumac blooms sporadically as the Sweet Clovers and wildflowers are winding down. Since then we have had way too much rain in the Spring, many times washing out the Privet and Persimmons. 

I wanted to include Mesquite honey in my favorites as that was from what we made most of our honey when I was a young Beek in West Texas. It was so long ago and I am sure my longing for home would distort my memory of the taste.

Alex


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## gator75 (Apr 21, 2021)

Best I've had is mangrove honey from SFL.
My favorite from my bees is tallow.


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## Lee Bussy (May 28, 2021)

AHudd said:


> I wanted to include Mesquite honey in my favorites as that was from what we made most of our honey when I was a young Beek in West Texas.


Ooh, I forgot that one. Not a lot of it out there commercially, but I have had it. Very unique tasting stuff!


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## joebeewhisperer (May 13, 2020)

I realized I never answered the question. 😃

Based on a bunch of small samples I picked up at Blue Ridge, gifts I’ve gotten from our kids from worldwide beeks, and our own bees I think it goes like this.

1. Lim’s Farms from central Israel (creamed, type is written in Hebrew so I have no idea).
2. Blackberry (mostly, by our bees)
3. Another from Hebron region of Israel (wildflower)
4. Wildflower (late season with goldenrod and many other things)
5. Sourwood gets an honorable mention. But when 80% of local honey has always been sourwood we probably take it for granted.

Here is a pic of what is in our kitchen currently.









The Mexican bottle had a whang to it. My wife started looking at the ingredients and they are:
Honey bee, melado (molasses), corn syrup, and crystal retardant. Label reads “HONEY BEE” then in smaller print on the next line “LIQUID”.
Has a small piece of comb to fake you out.


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## AR1 (Feb 5, 2017)

How on Earth do you know what your honey is? We get a large maple bloom early spring here, but at the same time willow and elm etc are blooming. During the raspberry bloom, lots of other stuff is blooming...


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## GaryA (10 mo ago)

I've tried a lot of "predominate nectar" honey varieties... top of my list is from my area, because I am biased, of course, to specify what I personally have harvested! In heavy flows, I quickly pull out and harvest Basswood honey frames, and I also like Black Locust, along with any of the brambles, such as blackberry or raspberry. Sumac also adds quite a hit to honey flavors. For regional honeys, I really favor Fireweed, as it is very complex in flavors, Sourwood, and Blueberry is somewhat fruity. I have also had some Lavender honey from France, which was quite sensational, and Sage which was quite memorable. But, my favorite will always be Basswood.


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## ncbeez (Aug 25, 2015)

username00101 said:


> My top 5 favorite:
> 
> 1. Black Locust
> 2. Blueberry
> ...


1. Tupelo 
2.Black Locust 
3.Local Wildflower 
4.Sourwood
5. Honey I purchase when traveling on vacation from local beekeepers of that area


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## Plannerwgp (May 18, 2019)

username00101 said:


> My top 5 favorite:
> 
> 1. Black Locust
> 2. Blueberry
> ...


I have always marveled at how beekeepers can identify the exact type of honey. My bees are multiflora and based on the vegetation in my area are collecting from wildflowers. If you live in an area with hundreds of acres of specific trees I would assume it is possible to identify.


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## Honey_i_do (Dec 5, 2021)

Been collecting honey like fine wine.

Sourwood
Tupelo
Blueberry... a bit different but very good
"Wildflower"

Can somebody list a trusted supplier to source basswood and others mentioned?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Sourwood
Tupelo
Eucalyptus
Tulip poplar 
Thyme


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## Duck River Honey (Mar 12, 2021)

My favorites:

Knapweed from Missoula Montana
Tulip Poplar
Black Locust
Sourwood
Sumac


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## Duck River Honey (Mar 12, 2021)

AR1 said:


> How on Earth do you know what your honey is? We get a large maple bloom early spring here, but at the same time willow and elm etc are blooming. During the raspberry bloom, lots of other stuff is blooming...


Knowing your major flows and timing is the simple answer.

This link is a great one to learn about your local major and minor flows:





Honey Bee Forage Map


HoneyBeeNet at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center



honeybeenet.gsfc.nasa.gov





Once you know your majors you can time the honey flows. Put empty supers on when Black Locust starts blooming, take them off and extract when it finishes. Put supers back on for Tulip Poplar, extract. Supers on for Sourwood, off after.

You can also dial into them a bit by taste testing. Basswood, Aster, Goldenrod, Tulip Poplar, Black Locust...all are pretty distinctive.


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## Beejiujitsu (Oct 1, 2021)

Yellow sweet clover blossom: it was creamed and pearly white in color. Quite delicious: Yellow Sweet Clover: Information and Management
Spring honey harvested this year, my first honey harvest. High floral qualities.
Fall honey, rich and deep, somewhat subtle
Orange blossom
Sourwood


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