What type of honey do you use?
I have only used honey in my tea once and that was at a local tea bar, it was ok… it sweetened my tea, but there was that pronounced honey taste to my drink which I did not like. The honey they used was just a generic honey bear bottle and I know there are many other different types out there that wont tamper with the flavor of the tea that much or that will boost the flavor of the tea. Any suggestions before I go experimenting on honey LOL.
Well, I don’t use any for tea…but I usually used Agave Nectar as a substitution for honey…
My absolute favorite is Tupelo Honey – it’s a bit expensive but has an exquisite taste! This is the brand I use:
http://www.savannahbee.com/product/tupelo_honey_tower_jar/raw_tupelo_honey
but I get it at Williams Sonoma. I do only use it for when I want the flavor to shine through in my tea. I like honey in herbals and some black teas, depending. I use raw organic sugar or agave nectar when I want a more “neutral” sweet taste.
Thank you ladies! Have either of you dabbled with white creamed honey before? I have heard that is the crème de la crème of the honey world.
I’ve never put it in my tea, but it’s EXCELLENT on toast. It just never lasts long enough in my house to go in tea!
I have some cream honey but I don’t like it as much as the tupelo honey. Try it, though! :)
The only sweetener I ever put in my tea is something that adds flavor as well as sweetness (like maple syrup). I have not tried it, but I’d be really interested in trying Republic of Tea’s chai or vanilla bean honeys. Lupicia also has tea flavored honeys.
For other ideas check out these threads:
http://steepster.com/discuss/94-honey-drops-anyone-tried-these
I love buck wheat honey (it’s black) but the seller told me not everyone likes it. In fact, he insists every new buyer taste it before buying :D
locally harvested sage is my kind of honey. use it in teas rarely tho. at times in some plain fruity ones or in black one when i make them with milk…
Jessica: I generally prefer locally harvested, raw honey. I suffer from severe allergies and every little bit helps (by ingesting the local, raw honey, I’m ingesting some of the pollens that cause my allergies to flare up, and helping my body to develop an immunity to them).
Just for a side note, I HAVE tried those honey drops, and I hate them. They are sticky in the package which sort of negates the purpose of them (as they are supposed to be the “neat”, non-sticky way to use honey).
I have used cream honey and one thing I like about it is that it is much easier to use – it doesn’t drip on the counter and get things all sticky the way liquid honey does. But, I have a hard time finding raw, locally harvested cream honey, so I generally stick to the liquid honey…
I saw a bunch of “recipes” on the internet on how to make cream honey. You can make it from the local honey you get! I got mine from a local roadside from a lady who makes it – it was charming – it was all out on a table and you stuffed your money in a little honor system box :)
What about using sugar instead? If you don’t like the honey flavor, that seems like an easy fix. I know honeys from bees that feed on different plants are supposed to have different flavors, but I haven’t tried different varieties. I’m guessing, though, that it will still have that “honey” flavor – just subtle variations on it. Can anyone who has actually tried different honey varieties comment on that?
If I want to sweeten my tea, I usually use sugar because honey can be expensive. For honey, I just buy an inexpensive but locally produced variety (not sure what the nectar source is – but nothing special). I sometimes like the flavor honey gives to chamomile tea, but that’s pretty much all I’ll use it in.
I was thinking the same thing VegTea… although it seems that thought got trapped in my head and never made it to my fingers lol:) Jessica and I just happen to have opposite opinions on honey- I’d use it cuz I’d want the flavor, my dislike of sugar is due to the lack of flavor.
The main reason why I generally select honey over sugar is that honey is better for you than sugar. Sugar is void of any real nutrients, while honey contains antioxidants and other beneficial properties. This is another reason why I always choose raw honey. If I’m going to sweeten something, I want to at least get some benefit from it. The processing most honey goes through can kill most of those properties, but since raw honey doesn’t go through that processing, it retains the benefits.
When I use sugar in my tea – and I do sometimes – I choose raw sugar as well. The less processes, the better.
VegTea said, “I’m guessing, though, that it will still have that “honey” flavor – just subtle variations on it. Can anyone who has actually tried different honey varieties comment on that?”
I have tried every honey I have found, and never met one I didn’t like.
Sometimes of the variations are subtle, and some varieties are more bold~
I love the them all. I do believe honey is more healthy than sugar, BUT
I sometimes really love the turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw), I also use
Stevia, and I am soon to try the rock sugar.
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