Honey Connoisseur: Selecting, Tasting, and Pairing Honey, With a Guide to More Than 30 Varietals Hardcover – June 4, 2013

The book is fantastic in many respects, and I'm happy to have it as part of my collection, except there are several statements relating to Manuka that are inaccurate and therefore disappointing. Here are four such points, with corrections:1) There are not "nine to twelve thousand tons of manuka honey produced annually"; that is the usual range of the annual production of NZ's total honey industry for all honey types. While there are no official figures of a breakdown by honey type, genuine manuka is estimated to be about 1/4th of NZ's total. Australia also produces a very small amount of Leptospermum scoparium honey i.e. what NZ calls Manuka; and a much greater amount of other Leptospermum varieties, which have usually been called "Jellybush", but marketers are now often calling "Manuka". Australian leptospermum varieties also contain the NPA antibacterial activity but the organoleptic properties are generally viewed as much inferior to Manuka's.2) The UMF number begins at 5, not 10+3) "70% of pollen must come from Leptospermum scoparium" has not been widely accepted, and completely ignores the issue of Kunzea ericoides pollen, which is identical to and counted as Leptospermum scoparium.4) Re. Sidr Honey (page 124): Yes, Sidr honey commands prices of up to US$250 per kilo, but the reader may expect that Sidr is the world's most highly priced honey: "is the most sought-after honey in the world commanding astronomical prices" but UMF 20+ Manuka honey sells for over US$400 per kilo in a food form (when it is not sold out), and the medical Manuka sells for even more.As stated, I highly rate the rest of the book, and am not disparaging towards it. I mention these exceptions because I don't want readers to be mis-informed.Declaration of interest: I work in the honey industry and have researched and am familiar with many of the world's top honeys.

Awesome book! I heard the author speak and was excited to add her book to my beekeeping/honey library.

30 varietals of honey with flavor profiles - important reference for meadmakers and mead drinkers alike. Some overlap with Marie Simmons' book but for the true mead geek it's well worth it to have both because there's lots of independent information in each of the two books. Marchese treats each different honey varietal as a different ingredient. Whether you're deciding as a meadmaker which honey to buy or how to design your recipe for mead, melomel, or metheglin, or whether you've bought a bottle of mead and are trying to decide what to pair it with at home, you'll find this useful. For specific mead pairing advice, try kookoolanblog.com

The information comparing the different honeys was helpful.Learning to be a taster was interesting but more than I needed to know in such detail. Knowing how to select good quality honey was very clear and great to learn!

This is the best book on honey! I just have to say that. Richly illustrated and well written, this guide is sure to make your mouth water. packed full of color photographs, this book covers types colors and flavors of honey, as well as a selection of 30 types and the plants they come from. This guide also has some great and tasty recipes sure to please. This book is one of my personal favorites.

This is a beautiful and wide-ranging book, impressive in its scope: from the subject of how bees make honey to the judging of honey colours and flavours and the meaning of varietal honey or honey that has 'terroir'. The author also delves into the less sweet side of honey, to wit: unwholesome practices worldwide, which make you appreciate homegrown honey all the more. This really is a great resource for honey-lovers, and also has lots of eye-candy!

Never knew there was so much to the taste of honey. They do not all taste the same. As beginner bee keepers, this book opened up the intricate and delicate nuances so many miss in tasting and using honey as a food source

I purchased this to learn more about the glorious product that my bees produce. It is very interesting, even for the non-beekeeper. Unfortunately I purchased this from a seller, not Amazon directly and received a proof copy. Not what I expected.

good read

Excelente contenido , estructurado , concreto

Muchas gracias. El libro esta excelente, tiene muy buen contenido interesante y claro. Es muy recomendable para apicultores y gente que gusta de la miel.

Wonderful book!

Excellent introduction to the taste of honey. And yes there is more to honey than it tastes sweet!