Honey is defined as a “thick, sweet, syrupy substance that bees make as food from the nectar of flowers and store in honeycombs.”
The key fact is - Honey is a plant product and therefore there is no “regular” honey.
What allows us to say there is no “regular” honey – comes partly from the definition of honey: “from the nectar of flowers.”
Now we all know there isn’t just one type of flower - so imagine how many different varieties of honey there can be!
While the number of Indian honey varieties is not officially acknowledged, in the US alone there are 300 identified honey varieties originating from different floral sources.
Honey is classified into:
1. Blossom Honey – obtained from flora nectar.
2. Honeydew Honey –collected from sap secretions.
3. Mono-floral honey – when bees forage predominantly on one type of plant.
4. Multi-floral/Poly-floral/Meadow or Forest Honey – when bees forage from many plants of a single location.
And finally Blended honey commonly found in supermarkets. Blended honey is a mixture of different honey from various sources. Companies create blended honey as it’s more cost-efficient and consistent.
We at Under The Mango Tree, define our honey as single-origin as they are single-sourced and directly collected from small beekeeper groups.
Our 100% pure, un-blended honey is named after the flora nectar bees collected it from or the geographical region it comes from. All our honeys are unique influenced by the floral nectar or geographical locations of bee hives. Therefore as you can imagine, the characteristics of flora nectar varies among different floral sources, which affects the colour, flavour, aroma and consistency of the honey.
So the next time you eat our honey, imagine the floral source, the bees, and the miraculous product of their courtship.