Yemeni Sidr Doani Honey – Great Taste Award Winner

Comments from the judges.

“Deep amber coloured honey with a beautiful viscosity. A sweet yet earthy aroma with a hugely complex flavour profile; balanced notes of mountain herbs, bitterness, a slight liqourice spiciness set off against a lingering sweetness. A delicious honey.”

“A very rich and aromatic honey with an earthy, musty 'farm yard' aroma, you just know this honey is going to have character. This is a complex honey with layers of mixed flavours, earthy, then fruity, then spiced then caramel . . goes on and on!”

“There are indeed caramel, butterscotch and sweet aromatic flavour notes, the hive too has imparted a wonderful deep pleasing bitter waxed flavour.”

“Honeys like this are so special - gorgeous deep amber colour, rich aromatic earthy aroma, and that melting texture flowing over the palate. There is so much going on here, butterscotch and caramel, as described, but also underlying notes of herbs and flowers, particularly thyme, and that strange almost mineral finish. The mouth-feel is treacly but also has that silky smoothness that fills the mouth with a herbal sweetness and then recedes gently and drifts away.”

Chilean Mountain Honey – Great Taste Award Winner

Comments from the judges.

“An intriguing range of flavours and nuanced tastes. There is a natural sweet caramel with gentle citrus notes.”

“A gloriously thick, dense honey. Great mouth feel, it liquefies and coats the palate. The citrus notes are delicate but there. It's really clean, would brighten up many a breakfast table. It's light and fresh, but packed full of depth of flavour.”

“Beautiful golden yellow, with aromas of sweet waxed comb and hive, delightful sherbet sugar tones, along with woodland floral flavour notes.”

“A rich and creamy looking honey with a strong, alpine, treacle aroma. A good depth in flavour - earthy with a sherbet sharp feel to the acidity. There are floral light notes but then also molasses and black treacle! All this seems a massive contradiction but it is a complex and interesting honey with layer upon layer of flavours, a joy to taste.”

Raw Sidr Balqees Honey – Great Taste Award Winner

Comments from the judges.

“Rich, luscious, thick golden honey with a gentle aroma. Smooth unctuous mouthfeel, releasing rich caramel notes and an interesting floral element which gives you some idea of the environment the bees have been working in. This is a robust honey up front with the floral delicacy coming in under the radar to give an interesting complexity.”

“Certainly as described but not phenomenally aromatic ...in fact very little aroma to speak of....but in the mouth the story changes. The initial caramel hit subsides to reveal subtle floral notes which are short lived only to be replaced by the persistent but toned down caramel.”

Gabrielle's Anise Hyssop Honey – Great Taste Award Winner

Comments from the judges.

“There are deep caramel sweet notes to this intriguing honey. If this is a single varietal from anise hyssop, it has clearly defined the taste. There is a distinct aniseed wisp of flavour that travels through the length of this honey.”

“An amber clear, runny honey. A really pretty delicate flavour. You have to dig deep to find the promised herbal notes but it's well worth it when you get there. There's a very gentle herbaceous undertone that gives this honey a slight medicinal edge, which helps balance the natural sweetness of the raw honey. We can see this honey being lashed on porridge, spread over toast, it's a certain crowd pleaser. Delicate yet delicious.”

“For me, honey will never be the same.”

Sarah Dajani – Huffington Post

“The Sidr Do'ani variety, in particular, is stunning: strong, complex, unusual and aromatic and on another level to the commercial, blended honey that we frequently slather on toast or drizzle over yogurt.”

Emily Shardlow – The National

“Yemeni raw honey is thick and lush like caramel. It is a honey to savour on your palate before allowing it to slide down slowly. The taste is simply stunning, its texture almost chewy like a delicate toffee, and each and every Balqees honey is rich with layers of flavor.”

Francine Spiering – Life In The Food Lane