Great Taste Award Winner 2022 and 2020

Award Winning , Raw Serra da Estrela Mountain honey is a rich, very dark, viscous, malty, exquisitely balanced honey. This is a Raw Oak Honey with unique complexity. We feel lucky to have found this honey and think it is really special and we doubt you've had one quite like it !. For all you Raw Carob honey fans who are in withdrawal (or mourning) this might just make you feel a little better again. 

We have called this honey Serra da Estrela mountain honey because it comes from the Guarda region of Northern Portugal just east of the majestic Serra da Estrela mountains. These forests are covered with Oak "Carvalho" and Chestnut,"Castanheiro" as well as woodland wildflowers and  wild berry shrubs, all of which have contributed to the unique character of this honey.

The main part of this honey is Oak honeydew, which gives it its predominant character. Honeydew is made by bees foraging on aphid and other insect sweet secretions and is rich in Oligosaccahrides. Antibacterial and Antioxidant rich, this is a potent healing honey with an extraordinary smooth rich and balanced  texture and flavour. 

Jose, the beekeeper is a true master artisan and multi-generational beekeeper and teacher.

Honey and Crystallization. Crystallization is a completely natural process and occurs with all raw honey. The speed and size of the crystallization depends on variations in the balance of sugars, ambient temperature and to some extent water content  If your honey is set hard, you can loosen it up by placing it in a pan of hand hot water, (and repeat as necessary) using a spoon placed in hot water first and of course storing it in a sunny/warm place in the house. 

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Another 3 Star Great Taste Award Winning Honey in 2020. Featured in the Times as a special selection of Thomasina Miers and Michel Roux.

This is some of what they had to say about it. 

 

Raw Portuguese Heather honey,  locally known as "Urze", is a potent, rich, delicious, aromatic honey. Also highly esteemed for its antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Recent Portuguese studies show it to be more potent than Chestnut honey and very high in phenolic compounds

If you've bought our Heather honey in the past you would know that our Portuguese Algarvian heather usually comes from the "Erica" family of heather not the Calluna, or Ling like the Scottish Heather. It is not thixotropic or jelly like in that way, but is a rich dark, viscous honey. This is a truly rare and beautiful honey; smoky, strong aromatic.

The Erica Heather (at least 6 species of white and red) flowers in the winter months in the Algarve, it provides valuable food to the bees and quite often is not taken for this very reason. Should the spring flowers be late or the weather harsh, the bees will eat most or all of it, before it is taken.

This 2019 harvest, has quite simply been one of the very best we have ever seen, the quality is exceptional. It has depth, balance, complexity and a superb complex aromatic finish. Quite simply you will not find a better example of this honey. If you can find one at all... 

Honey and Crystallization. Crystallization is a completely natural process and occurs with all raw honey. The speed and size of the crystallization depends on variations in the balance of sugars, ambient temperature and to some extent water content  If your honey is set hard, you can loosen it up by placing it in a pan of hand hot water, (and repeat as necessary) using a spoon placed in hot water first and of course storing it in a sunny/warm place in the house. Near a radiator or heat source is fine as it needs to go over 42 degrees C for a while to destroy enzymes and for sugars to degrade. 

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please call or email us if you require any help making a bulk purchase. Thanks

You may find cheaper raw honey than ours, but you wont find better...

Arbutus Unedo "bitter honey", an highly medicinal honey, also known as Strawberry Tree honey, comes from only a few places, southern Portugal, Sardinia/Corsica and Greece. it has a truly unusual bitter/sweet complex multi layered taste and is not for the unadventurous! The closest way to describe it might be a bitter caramel. ( though some have used adjectives like "psychedelic".). To be honest we were a little doubtful when we introduced Arbutus honey to the UK, we wondered whether the bitterness might be too much, but so far you've proved our doubts baseless.

Arbutus honey contains Homogentisic acid, a powerful phenolic acid.The antioxidant and antibacterial qualities of this honey are truly exceptional and it is one of the most antioxidant as well as antibacterial honeys in the world. Studies we have seen suggest that this is possibly the most antioxidant rich honey available much more so than Buckwheat or Chestnut honey.

Anecdotal evidence we have heard also suggests this honey does not cause blood sugar to spike and is often used locally by diabetics.(This is not a medical claim- please consult your doctor if you are diabetic). It is also known to be beneficial for lung health.

Arbutus honey is extremely rare and made in limited quantities and not necessarily every year, we source our Arbutus honey from 3 different sources each of which are quite distinct in character. This year Fernando one of very best beekeepers produced all our Arbutus honey.and it is superb. Not too bitter, Very palatable.

The Arbutus honey you buy can vary in flavour and texture over time depending on which source it came from. Some are very bitter and some are sweeter with a small percentage of Portuguese heather or Eucalyptus. They are all wonderful and beneficial. Arbutus honey is typically very expensive, but we try to bring it to you at a reasonable price so it remains accessible and not exclusive or prohibitive like active Manuka honey.

The bees forage on the Arbutus Bush, an evergreen that has many medicinal properties and flowers in winter. 

 

 

Our current batch of Arbutus is the creamy pure Arbutus from Monchique and the vicinity.

This is pure highly active honey with astonishing antibacterial properties. Like an highly active Manuka without the price tag.

This is quite simply the best tasting and purest Arbutus honey available.

Honey and Crystallization. Crystallization is a completely natural process and occurs with all raw honey. The speed and size of the crystallization depends on variations in the balance of sugars, ambient temperature and to some extent water content  If your honey is set hard, you can loosen it up by placing it in a pan of hand hot water, (and repeat as necessary) using a spoon placed in hot water first and of course storing it in a sunny/warm place in the house. 

BULK DISCOUNTS

please call or email us if you require any help making a bulk purchase. Thanks