Wild About Bees - Honey Tasting Event
Honey tasting with a world expert
On World Bee Day it was a privilege to have author and professional Honey Sommelier, Sarah Wyndham Lewis hosting a Honey Tasting at the Hiver Taproom, in London. Sarah works with Michelin star chefs around the world guiding them through the complex and exciting world of honey and gave the attendees of this unique event the same five-star experience!
Sarah introduced guests to the experience of honey tasting with a selection of mono–floral honeys followed by a multifloral honey from her own bees. This first palette of honey finished with a tasting of a low quality, cheap honey from a supermarket. There’s been a lot of news in the last few months of fraudulent or low-quality supermarket honey, and this event was a chance to share with guests what honey can really taste like. The difference between this and the rich flavours and textures of the pure honey samples was overwhelming!
A honey journey across four countries
The second palette of honey featured honey from Bees Abroad projects in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Nigeria. Every country has its own unique flora, affected by the eco-regions, climates and soil types. The unique flora of each was detected in the taste and colour of each from the black Nigerian honey to the opaque golden Ugandan honey.
As Sarah guided guests through the honey, Rachel Monger shared with guests about the areas the honey came from and the beekeepers who had harvested the honey. The beekeeping projects which are supporting farmers on crutches in Sierra Leone and island women in Tanzania. It was an incredible opportunity to taste these African honeys and hear about the difference that these projects are having in their communities.
It was a gloriously sunny day, and we were delighted to be at the Hiver Taproom where guests could also enjoy a refreshing Hiver honey beer. A big thank you to Hiver for generously donating their event space on a busy Saturday, and to Sarah and her husband Dale (co-founder of Bermondsey Street Bees) for donating their time for this special event. And thanks to Sarah for signing copies of her latest beautiful, engaging and informative book, ‘The Wild Bee Handbook’, for guests with proceeds supporting Bees Abroad projects.
You can follow Sarah’s work on Instagram at: @honeysommelierlondon and @plantingforthebees
