There are over 300 different types of honey, in the US alone. As @Cobrac stated, it's about where they collect the nectar from that determines their distinctive flavors & different floral notes.Please forgive my ignorance, but are there different types of honey? Like do different bee species make different types of honey? If so, which tends to be better? Also is raw honey better for making mead than processed honey?
Thanks for the information. What type of bees do you keep? I heard that many bee keepers also have flower gardens. Is that true? Do you have one?You might be interested in https://www.specialtyfood.com/news/article/flavor-wheel-honey-aims-educate-support-standardization/
Some other quick honey thoughts from a meadmaking beekeeper:
- You don't need to heat honey to make mead. If you heat honey too hot, you can use the floral aromatics that can make a mead special.
- Crystallized honey is not spoiled (quite the contrary, it's more of a sign that it's raw honey).
- Buying honey from your neighborhood beekeeper (and you probably have one -- start by finding a local bee club) means you're getting unadulterated honey, not honey cut with other ingredients (I'll admit a bias here).
- Local honey will be more expensive than SueBee/big box brands.
- True organic honey is probably not available from US beekeepers.
- Honeydew honey is not true honey.
- When you start making mead, use good honey but not super-rare expensive honey to start out. Learn the craft first. Even Sue Bee honey can help you learn to make mead.
I have Carnolian, Saskatraz, and update hybrids (mutts). Many beekeepers do have gardens; I'm in the country so have the advantage of acres of goldenrod for my main crop.Thanks for the information. What type of bees do you keep? I heard that many bee keepers also have flower gardens. Is that true? Do you have one?