The five honeys in our range come from the same producer and the same certified organic beekeeping. Put them side by side and you'd hardly guess it. One is nearly as clear as water. Another is close to black. One smells faintly of mint, and one isn't made from flowers at all.
Here's how they differ, what each one is good for, and how to choose.
Why honey comes in so many colours
A honey's colour depends mainly on what the bees were feeding on and the minerals that came with it. Paler honeys generally carry fewer minerals and darker honeys more. Beekeepers grade colour on a scale running from water white, through the ambers, to dark amber.
Colour tells you nothing about quality. It's a reasonable guide to flavour, though: as a rule, the darker the honey, the stronger and less straightforwardly sweet it tastes.
We've arranged the five below from palest to darkest.
Organic Acacia Honey: pale, mild and slow to set
What it is. Despite the name, acacia honey doesn't come from acacia trees. It comes from black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia, a tree whose hanging clusters of creamy white flowers open for only around two weeks in late spring. "Acacia" is simply the long-established trade name. That short flowering window is why single-variety acacia honey is scarcer than mixed-flower honey.
How it tastes. Very pale in the jar, from almost colourless to light amber. The aroma is delicate and floral, and the taste is clean and mild, with no heavy aftertaste.
Why it stays runny. Acacia honey is naturally high in fructose, which stays dissolved, and correspondingly low in glucose, which is the sugar that crystallises. So it stays pourable for far longer than most honeys. It will set eventually, as every honey does, but slowly.
How to use it. When you want sweetness without extra flavour: in a delicate tea, whisked into a vinaigrette, or drizzled over goat's cheese or burrata.
Choose it if you want a honey that tastes of honey and not much else, or one that will stay runny in the cupboard.
Organic Linden Honey: aromatic and herbal
What it is. Honey from the flowers of Tilia trees. Most of Europe calls the tree linden, while in Britain it's the lime tree, and it has nothing at all to do with the citrus fruit. Linden honey, lime honey and lime blossom honey are all the same thing.
How it tastes. Light amber, sometimes with a slight greenish cast. The aroma is intense, fresh and floral, with herbal and faintly menthol notes you'll notice as soon as you open the jar. On the tongue it's rich and properly sweet, with a long, aromatic finish.
A tip. Those aromas are delicate and fade with heat. If you're adding linden honey to a hot drink, let the water stand for a minute or two after boiling first.
How to use it. In tea, which is the classic pairing. In warm milk last thing at night. Spooned over ricotta or thick yoghurt. With a blue cheese, which it's strong enough to stand up to. And in baking, since its character survives the oven, so it works beautifully in honey cake or medovik.
Choose it if you find ordinary honey a bit flat and want one with real personality.
Organic Blossom Honey with Honeycomb: the showpiece
What it is. A jar of liquid blossom honey with a hand-cut piece of honeycomb sitting in it, roughly 120 to 150 g of comb per jar. In beekeeping this is called chunk honey. The comb is cut by hand from full frames, so every piece is a slightly different size and shape.
How it tastes. The liquid honey is light amber to amber, floral and sweet, varying a little with the season's flowers. The comb adds texture: the honey floods out as soon as you bite, and you're left with soft wax.
Yes, you eat the comb. Wax and all. Our honeycomb guide answers every question people ask about it.
How to use it. On a cheeseboard, where it looks the part and tastes even better next to blue cheese or manchego. On hot buttered toast or sourdough. Cut it with a knife rather than scooping with a spoon.
Choose it if you want something to put on the table rather than keep in the cupboard, or you're looking for a food gift that people remember.
Shop Organic Blossom Honey with Honeycomb
Organic Wildflower Honey: the everyday jar
What it is. A multifloral honey, meaning the bees drew on whatever happened to be flowering around the hives that season rather than a single crop. Change the weather, the site or the time of year and the honey changes with it.
Why no two batches are identical. Large commercial packers blend that variation away to produce the same house flavour year after year. Our wildflower honey isn't blended to a standard, so a batch after a wet spring tastes a little different from one after a dry summer.
How it tastes. Amber, floral and rich on the nose, with gentle fruity and herbal notes underneath. Sweet and well balanced, with a finish that lingers without overstaying.
How to use it. This is the jar that lives by the kettle. Porridge, toast, pancakes and Greek yoghurt. Marinades for chicken or halloumi with lemon and thyme. Dressings, where it balances sharp vinegar better than a very mild honey. And baking, where it has enough character to come through. If you're swapping honey for sugar in a recipe, use about three-quarters of the amount, cut the other liquid slightly and lower the oven by around 15°C, because honey browns faster than sugar does.
Choose it if you want one honey that does a bit of everything well.
Organic Forest Honey: dark, malty and not from flowers
What it is. Forest honey is honeydew honey, and it isn't made from nectar at all. Sap-sucking insects such as aphids feed on trees, take what they need and leave behind a sugary residue on the leaves and bark. The bees collect that instead. Same bees, same hives, entirely different raw material.
How we know it's genuine. Honeydew honey is much richer in minerals than blossom honey, and minerals conduct electricity. Under the EU Honey Directive, 2001/110/EC, honeydew honey must have an electrical conductivity of at least 0.8 mS/cm. Our forest honey is specified at 1.00 mS/cm. Our acacia honey, for comparison, measures around 0.15.
How it tastes. Dark amber to almost black. Woody, resinous and malty rather than flowery, with a faintly caramelised depth. It's noticeably less sweet than the other four, and thick and dense in the jar.
How to use it. Think of it as closer to black treacle than to ordinary honey. On sourdough with plenty of salted butter. With mature cheddar or aged pecorino. In glazes for ham, roast roots or barbecue sauce. In gingerbread, parkin or rye bread. And in coffee, where its maltiness works better than a delicate honey would.
Choose it if you think you don't like honey. It's the one most likely to change your mind.
Which honey for what: a quick guide
- For tea: Linden if you want aroma, Acacia if you want sweetness and nothing else
- For coffee: Forest
- For a cheeseboard: Blossom Honey with Honeycomb, or Forest with a strong hard cheese
- For porridge and toast: Wildflower
- For baking: Wildflower for everyday bakes, Forest for anything dark and spiced
- For dressings and drizzling: Acacia
- For a honey that stays runny: Acacia
- For people who don't like honey: Forest
- As a gift: Blossom Honey with Honeycomb
A few common questions
Is darker honey better than lighter honey?
No. Colour reflects the plants the bees fed on and the minerals that came with them, not quality. Dark honeys are stronger in flavour; pale ones are more delicate. It's a matter of taste.
Which honey stays liquid the longest?
Acacia, because of its high fructose content. For the full explanation, and what to do when a honey does set, see why honey goes solid.
Are all five honeys organic?
Yes. All five are certified organic under Regulation (EU) 2018/848, from a single European producer, and every batch is tested four ways for authenticity. Here's what those tests involve.
Can babies have honey?
No. The NHS advises that honey should not be given to babies under 12 months old. That applies to every honey, including the honeycomb.
Is honey suitable for vegans?
No. Honey is made by bees and isn't considered vegan.
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