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The feel of a honey in your mouth can be described as its texture or viscosity. Words for describing honey texture are smooth, slippery, gritty, velvety, creamy, buttery, thick, thin, watery, drippy, grainy and granular, and runny. The body of honey can range from watery thin to light, from thick or heavy to even oily. These words express the sense of the honey’s feel and weight on your tongue.

Temperature and moisture content are important factors that can change all of these qualities dramatically. Heat tends to make honey pour more quickly, giving it a thinner texture, and cooler temperatures can make honey stiff. Keeping honey at room temperature prior to tasting is the best way to appreciate and savor its flavor.

Too much moisture in a jar of honey can cause early fermentation. There are a few ways to judge the amount of moisture in a jar of honey. The first is to observe how quickly a bubble of air rises to the bottom of the jar as you turn it upside down. If the air bubble floats up very quickly, this could mean a watered-down honey. The second method is a scientific approach using a tool called a refractometer. This handheld tool looks like a miniature telescope. Place a dab of honey on its lens, and you can accurately measure moisture content. An acceptable level of moisture in honey is 18 percent.

HOW TO TASTE HONEY

Honey is said to have “good flavor” when the floral source is clearly recognizable, and the honey is free from fermentation, bitterness, or burned flavors. Tasting is very different from merely swallowing, and tasting honey is an exercise in comparing and contrasting flavors, textures, aromas, and color. Our taste buds can distinguish between the following five flavor sensations: sweet, sour/tart, salty, bitter, and umami, which is that sense of savoriness. The taste buds for each flavor are located at different areas on the tongue; for this reason, it is recommended that you move the honey around your mouth as you taste it. Tasting more than one honey at a time provides a context in which to compare tasting notes. A range of honeys should be tasted in the same fashion as wines, beginning with the lightest in color, moving on to medium ambers, and then finishing with the darkest. Light-colored honeys typically have a mild flavor, while dark-colored honeys are usually stronger in flavor. Tasting has many levels: the first impression, the actual taste, and the finish. Take a sip of water in between each sample to clear your palate. A nice piece of crusty bread and a variety of cheeses can complement the tasting experience.

A honey tasting ideally should be held during the honey harvest season in late summer or early autumn, since this is when most beekeepers have taken the fresh honey shallow supers off their hives. If you travel and purchase honey from local beekeepers, they are usually happy to give you a sampling of their treasure.

When tasting honeys, the terms on the next page will come in handy as you discuss and describe the experience. Begin by drizzling a sample of honey onto your tongue, and let it melt for a few seconds. Spread it around your mouth while thinking about its body and bouquet. Is it woody, floral, full, light, crisp, buttery, well balanced, overly acidic? Does it have a long finish or an abrupt end? Do you like it or hate it? Each person has his or her own individual taste and predisposition to flavors. Remember, there is no right or wrong, and you should never eat something you dislike. Although most people enjoy something sweet, I have found that certain individuals genuinely dislike honey.

THE RED BEE LANGUAGE OF HONEY

Here is a vocabulary list of analogies I use to describe the many tastes of honeys:

VEGETATIVE: hay, straw, wheat, green tea, fresh-cut grass, green bananas

HERBAL: camphor, menthol, peppermint, rosemary, eucalyptus

CARAMELIZED: molasses, caramel, burnt, toffee, brown sugar, maple

BUTTERY: melted butter, smooth, butterscotch, silky, froth, rich

BITTER: tart, tangy, crisp, natural flavors of some nectars

FRUITY: bright, citrusy, berries, tropical,