In August 2019 this won a Two-Star Great Taste Award from the UK Guild of Fine Food. Known as the "oscars" of the fine food world, thousands of food products enter the annual Great Taste awards but only very few win two-star awards. Read on for the judges' comments.
Description
227g net weight in a glass jar
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The world's first bioactive coffee bean honey. The tastier and affordable alternative to manuka honey.
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Lab certified 20.5 antibacterial Total Activity (see certificate).
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Equal to TA 20+ MGO 829 manuka honey which costs up to £100 a jar.
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Why spend £100 on a 250g jar of Comvita manuka 20+ honey when you can get a tastier 20+ honey for less?
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From bees feeding on arabica coffee bean plantations in Chiapas, Mexico, one of the world's finest coffee producing regions.
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Raw (unpasteurised), none of the pollen has been filtered out
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Certified organic GB-ORG-04
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Crystallised, with tasting notes of vanilla, molasses and chocolate coffee (mocha)
The judges who awarded this honey a Two-Star Great Taste Award described it:
"Visually enticing, this honey has a rich caramel colour. The honey tastes like caramel with floral notes. It melts on the tongue and is very moreish."
"A deeply caramel coloured honey. The aroma is of toast and toffee- hugely pleasant. The flavours are deep and long lasting."
"There is a perceptible coffee note here, which we weren't necessarily expecting, but it has a pleasant, almost savoury, certainly mineral presence. It balances the sweetness well."
Read on for more details about the origin, taste and uses of this crystallised honey.
Origin
Indigenous tribes in Mexico have been farming coffee for hundreds of years. Today, Mexico produces some of the world's finest organic coffee.
But the best organic coffee in Mexico is grown in the beautiful mountain highlands of Chiapas state in southern Mexico, which lie 1000-1500m above sea level.
The indigenous tribes of Chiapas manage 1500 independent coffee plantations as the main source of their livelihood.
The Coffea arabica plant is native to the mountains of Yemen. It was the first species of coffee to be cultivated.
Coffee honey with a 16% coffea pollen count is considered good coffee honey. This honey has a coffea pollen count of 40%, which means that it is exceptional.
Taste
Tasting notes: Vanilla and molasses with a light chocolate coffee (mocha) aftertaste
Texture: crystallised (sets quickly due to the high pollen content)
Aroma: dark chocolate
Sweetness: sweet
Uses
In accordance with EU directive 1924/2006 we are unable to make any health claim about any of our honeys. The information given below is either background information about the plants from which our honey comes, or anecdotal based on customer reviews. It should not be inferred from the plant properties that this honey automatically possesses the same qualities or provides the same benefits as the plant.”
This honey has a lab certified antibacterial Total Activity rating of 20.5. This means that it is equal to a 20.5% antibacterial solution.
It can be consumed like any other honey or applied on the skin in small amounts.
A 2016 study by Sao Paolo State University in Brazil found that coffee bean honey contained:
- High levels of Vitamin C (29.5mg / 100g), the same as grapefruit.
- More potassium (96mg / 100g) than bananas..
- More calcium (34mg / 100g) than cauliflower.
A 2015 study by Chiang Mai University in Thailand found that coffee bean honey contained:
- A higher antibacterial content than other honeys
- A higher flavonoid content than every other honey, including manuka
- The highest anti-tyrosinase activity among 16 other honeys. Tyrosinase inflames the skin and causes pigmentation issues.
This honey can be used like ordinary honey but is best taken as a half teaspoon of this honey mixed into a glass of cool or warm (not hot) water and drunk three times a day on an empty stomach.