Description
Asterios raw organic arbutus honey is an incredibly deep tasting type. It is quite bitter, like roasted coffee beans and bitter dark chocolate. It has a beautiful after taste, but many are put off by its medicinal main flavour. This is a connoisseur variety for those with a love of unique and potent honey. It is one of the most overt tasting varieties we have experienced!
Colour: This particular honey is a very dark brown when runny with a shade of purple and a hint of deep red in the light.
Where does the honey come from? This variety of Arbutus honey comes from the northern mountain ranges of Madrid in Spain known as Sierra De Guadarrama.
Who produces this honey? The bees of Antonio Simone, a 4th generation beekeeper who takes pride in producing honey in a traditional way without adding or taking away anything. Antonio's hives are based in the mountain ranges north of Madrid, his beekeeping practices and the land he has his hives on have been certified as organic by the Committee of Organic Agriculture in Madrid.
What about the plant the honey comes from? The Arbutus unedo bush is an evergreen, also known as modrono in Spanish and is nicknamed 'strawberry tree' due to its fruit that look a little like strawberry. However, these berries are not overly sweet, leaning more to acidic, but they are apparently very refreshing. The fruit of this bush is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Common uses: Arbutus honey is known as a gourmet honey by connoisseurs and those with adventurous tastes, so it really adds a unique flavour to dishes. Savoury foods really benefit from its rich, bittersweet taste.
Arbutus honey facts: Arbutus honey is a rare variety and one of the most potent tasting types you can find. A unique and rare type that is only found in good quantity in 3 places in the world, Portugal, Sardinia and Greece. It contains homogentisic acid which gives it its brown pigment as well as other unique properties.
Please know that raw honey does crystalise and this is a natural process that occurs mainly due to the natural glucose in raw honey.