A rare and exceptionally delicious Spring Pine honey that won Gold in the London Honey Awards has just arrived. In the 14 years of The Raw Honey Shop we've never had it before and we may never get it again.
The flavour is superb - proved by the Gold award it recently won in the London Honey Awards. Asterios explains more.
I came upon this Spring Pine honey in Greece back in May when I was seeking out new honeys and visiting beekeepers.
Normally Pine honey is an autumn honey. Pine honey is dependent on specific conditions. There needs to be the right amount of moisture in the air - and that normally only happens in the autumn. But this Spring was different and the conditions were just right.
The result? An exceptionally delicious Spring Pine honey - with a flavour that surpasses any Pine honey I have ever tasted.
I knew it was something special when I first tasted it when the beekeepers Triantafyllos and his Dad Grigoris gave me a sample to try.
Finding them was thanks to Asterios, our man on the ground in Greece.
Not only does he produce a superb forest honey himself but he also has a network of Greek beekeepers, who produce some incredible honeys - like Triantafyllos and his Dad Grigoris
I was blown away by the flavour of this Spring Pine.
Normally I'm not massively keen on Pine but this had real depth to the flavour, with notes that kept on coming. There's a strong, sweetly pine aroma with spiced overtones, similar to cloves or other warm, winter spices. And it has one of the longest 'finishes' I have ever found in Pine honey.
Triantafyllos and Grigoris' bees produced this honey on the island of Thasos. Thasos is reckoned to have the best conditions for Pine honey in Greece. The quality of their Pine honey was proved by the award that it won.
You can find this Spring Pine honey here
