Rich Notes of Treacle: Black Bee Honey's Autumn Honey

Black Bee Honey's award-winning 100% natural  British Autumn Heather Honey (227g, £8.50 or 1kg tub, £34.95) is a bold, aromatic British honey with a decadently thick texture and rich notes of treacle.

Known as the British Manuka, this dark coloured honey is sourced from hives placed on the moors of North Yorkshire and Scotland in late summer, where bees forage on blooming Ling Heather throughout August. 

The result is a distinctive, robust honey with a silky, spreadable consistency that's as perfect on a crumpet as it is added to recipes for Autumn Fruit & Honey Galette and Warm Honey Spiced Apple & Blackberry Punch (recipes below and linked here).

Black Bee Honey is a B Corp certified British beekeeper collective founded by beekeepers Paul Webb and Chris Barnes who met in an office 20 years ago but left their design jobs for the rooftops and gardens of London where they cared for over a million bees and went on to establish Black Bee Honey.

Their range of award-winning 'flower to jar' seasonal honey is produced throughout the year, with each honey reflecting the flavours of its season. Their honeys are never blended and are fully traceable, with the name of the beekeeper printed on every jar's label. 

Black Bee Honey also donates 2% of its turnover to the charity Plantlife which goes towards the creation of wildflower meadows, so by purchasing any of their honey you'll be helping bees and other pollinators.

Black Bee Honey is available to buy at www.blackbeehoney.com. Keep updated with Black Bee Honey via @blackbeehoneycompany (Instagram) and @blackbeehoney (X), or visit www.blackbeehoney.com

The Buzz About Fake Honey: How to Spot the Real Deal

Honey has long been revered as a golden, natural gift—drizzled on toast, stirred into tea, or used in skincare and home remedies. 

But beneath the golden glow lies a growing problem that many consumers are unaware of: fake honey.

Supermarket shelves are increasingly stocked with adulterated honey products—some watered down with sugar syrups, others containing little to no real honey at all. So how can you tell what’s real and what’s not? Let’s take a look.

What Is Fake Honey?

Fake honey (or adulterated honey) is typically diluted with substances like:

Glucose syrup

High fructose corn syrup

Rice or beet syrup

In some cases, flavourings and colourants

It’s often done to cut costs and boost profits while making the product look and taste like genuine honey.

Why It’s a Problem

Deceptive labelling – Some products labelled as "pure honey" may contain undeclared additives.

Nutritional loss – Real honey is packed with antioxidants, enzymes, and trace minerals. Adulterated versions lack these benefits.

Damage to beekeepers – Honest beekeepers struggle to compete with cheap, fake imports.

Consumer trust – Food fraud erodes confidence in natural, healthy products.

How to Identify Fake Honey

While lab tests are the only definitive way to confirm purity, here are a few tricks consumers can use at home or when shopping:

Check the Label

Look for “100% raw honey” or “unfiltered honey.”

Avoid products listing glucose, fructose, or “honey blend” in the ingredients.

Country of origin: Some imported honey has been flagged for fraud—check where it comes from.

The Spoon Test

Dip a spoon into the honey and let it fall back into the jar. Real honey:

Falls in a thick stream

Doesn’t splatter or run like water

Settles into itself without separating

The Water Test

Drop a spoonful of honey into a glass of cold water:

Fake honey dissolves or disperses quickly

Real honey settles at the bottom in a blob

The Flame Test (use caution!)

Dip a cotton bud in the honey and try lighting it with a lighter:

Real honey may burn slightly

Adulterated honey often won’t ignite due to water content

Support Local Beekeepers

The best way to ensure you're buying authentic honey is to purchase from:

Local farmers’ markets

Beekeepers’ stalls

British honey producers with traceable, transparent supply chains

What’s Being Done?

Some UK supermarkets have pledged to improve their sourcing, and trading standards have begun cracking down on fraudulent imports. However, testing can be costly, and loopholes still exist.

As awareness grows, more consumers are demanding transparency—which is good news for ethical producers and honey-loving households alike.

Final Drizzle

If you’re serious about honey, don’t be fooled by a pretty label or a rock-bottom price. Knowing how to spot fake honey empowers you to make better, more sustainable choices.

Because when it comes to honey, you deserve the real thing.

Lynne Ingram, Chair of the Honey Authenticity Network UK, an international organisation fighting 'Fake honey' to help honey producers, consumers and bees told That's Food and Drink: “UK consumers have the right to make informed choices when purchasing honey. If a product is labelled as honey, it must be exactly that—genuine honey, naturally collected and ripened by bees.

" It should not be a factory-processed product, artificially dried or containing added syrups. Transparency is also essential when it comes to labelling. Vague statements like 'a blend of EU and non-EU honeys' are unhelpful and misleading. Consumers deserve clear information about the true country of origin. 

"We are calling on the authorities to take urgent action to stop the influx of cheap, adulterated honey into the UK. This includes robust testing and strong enforcement to protect both consumers and honest producers.”

Black Bee Honey's range of award-winning 100% British 'flower to jar' honeys are single source with the location and name of the beekeeper printed on every jar, so it's fully traceable.  Since 2020 they have been donating 2% of its turnover to the charity Plantlife for the creation of wildflower meadows, and so far have helped create over 25 acres of meadows. This work has enabled them to establish a circular business model where every jar bought creates wildflower meadows, which in turn helps bees to create honey. 

Black Bee Honey is currently listed with Ocado, Holland & Barrett, Abel & Cole and Harrods.  Their honeys are also available online at blackbeehoney.com.

A Taste of Summer: Black Bee Honey's British Summer Honey

For a super taste of summer in a jar, try Black Bee Honey's award-winning British Summer Honey (227g, £6.95 or 1kg tub, £28.50), a multi-floral honey that's sourced during the summer months from apiaries in Somerset, Northamptonshire and Yorkshire. 

Created from a mix of wildflowers, this light golden runny honey has a heady floral flavour and is delicious added to salad dressings, stirred into a hot drink or drizzled on your breakfast, and also features in Black Bee Honey's summer recipes; Summer Vegetable Tacos with Honeyed Apricot Salsa and their Peach and Raspberry Cooler.

Black Bee Honey is a B Corp certified British beekeeper collective founded by beekeepers Paul Webb and Chris Barnes who met in an office 20 years ago but left their design jobs for the rooftops and gardens of London where they cared for over a million bees and went on to establish Black Bee Honey.

Their range of award-winning 'flower to jar' seasonal 100% British honey is produced throughout the year, with each honey reflecting the flavours of its season. All their honeys are fully traceable, with the name of the beekeeper printed on every jar's label. Black Bee Honey also donates 2% of its turnover to the charity Plantlife which goes towards the creation of wildflower meadows, so by purchasing any of their honey you'll be helping bees and other pollinators.

Black Bee Honey is available to buy at www.blackbeehoney.com. Keep updated with Black Bee Honey via @blackbeehoneycompany (Instagram) and @blackbeehoney (X), or visit www.blackbeehoney.com

The Best Selling Honey That's a Perfect Gift for Chilli Loving Dads: Black Bee Honey's Hot Honey

Black Bee Honey's utterly delicious Hot Honey (£7.95, 227g) is the perfect gift for any chilli loving dads this Father's Day. 

British beekeeping collective and certified B Corp, Black Bee Honey has created a new recipe for their chilli honey, combining red habaneros with British wildflower Summer honey. 

It has a medium heat level, and is great drizzled onto pizza or fried chicken and equally awesome as a marinade, dressing or even with ice cream!

Black Bee Honey's range of award-winning 'flower to jar' 100% British honey is produced throughout the year and is carbon neutral. 

Their 'Meadow Mission' sees 2% of its turnover donated to the charity Plantlife, which goes towards the creation of wildflower meadows that are vital habitats, so by purchasing any of their honey, you'll be helping bees and other pollinators.

Black Bee Honey's Hot Honey is available to buy at www.blackbeehoney.com. Keep updated with Black Bee Honey via @blackbeehoneycompany (Instagram) and @blackbeehoney (X), or visit www.blackbeehoney.com

Black Bee Honey Introduce Limited Edition Gift Pack for World Bee Day

More news on World Bee Day and Black Bee Honey.

World Bee Day on 20th May, today, is a day designated by the UN to raise awareness about the importance of protecting bees and other pollinators and British beekeeper collective Black Bee Honey continues its commitment to supporting bees through its work with conservation charity Plantlife, whose patron is HM King Charles III.

So far the B-corp Somerset-based company, who have donated 2% of their annual turnover to Plantlife since 2020, have helped create over 30 acres of wild meadows for bees and other pollinators. 

Black Bee Honey's co-founders Chris Barnes and Paul Webb were absolutely gutted to learn of the loss of 98% of wildflower meadows across the UK since the 1930s. 

Meadows like those they are helping to establish are a vital habitat for pollinators, as well as being effective in sequestering carbon. 

As beekeepers, they understand the importance of reinstating this habitat and have made it integral to Black Bee Honey's mission. Their work with Plantlife has also enabled them to develop a circular business model where every jar bought creates wildflower meadows, which in turn helps bees create honey. 

Paul told That's Food and Drink: “Our 2% for pollinators commitment has already enabled us to have a significant, positive impact on biodiversity. It's one of our proudest achievements since founding the company.

"We believe that all businesses should strive to create positive change rather than exist purely for profit through extraction. As we grow, our positive impact on the environment will also increase.”

To celebrate World Bee Day, Black Bee Honey has joined forces with fellow pollinator champions Kabloom to launch a limited-edition collaborative gift bundle. 

Priced at £30 with free shipping within the UK, The World Bee Day Bundle includes Black Bee Honey's 4 Seasons Mini Honey Jar Gift Box, a recipe card for inspiration and Kabloom's Birds, Bees & Butterflies Seedbom Gift Box, and is available from www.blackbeehoney.com. 

100% of proceeds from every Seedbom gift box sold as part of this bundle will go directly to Wild Britain®, Kabloom's rewilding initiative that invests in restoring land across the whole of the UK. 

Black Bee Honey's co-founder Chris Barnes commented: “Collaborating with Kabloom on this special World Bee Day bundle feels like a totally natural fit. It's a brilliant way to celebrate and support pollinators from seed to spoon.”

Olly Tyler, who is Kabloom's MD, adds: “We're really pleased and proud to align ourselves with such a likeminded brand to amplify the buzz around World Bee Day.  All of the proceeds from every Seedbom gift box sold as part of this offer will go directly to Wild Britain®, our rewilding initiative that invests in restoring land across the UK.”

Wildly British: a taste of Black Bee Honey

The Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter honey is also available in a gift box or you can enjoy some of the Black Bee Honey range in a three, six or 12 month subscription.

Spring

A creamy, soft set honey foraged from rapeseed, hawthorn and plum blossom in Somerset, Yorkshire and Northamptonshire, with a light, sweet flavour.

Summer

Summer in a jar, this multi-floral variety is sourced during summer from apiaries in Somerset, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire. It's created from a mix of wildflowers and has a rich floral flavour.

Autumn 

A bold, dark and aromatic honey with a thick texture and notes of treacle. It's sourced from apiaries in North Yorkshire and Scotland whose bees are taken onto the moors in August when the Ling Heather is in bloom.

Winter 

A fresh, herbal honey with light menthol flavours and a sweet, ripe finish. Sourced from Hampshire where the bees mainly forage on ivy during early winter, it has a set, crumbly texture.

Pollen 

This enriched version of Black Bee Honey's Spring honey has a depth of flavour due to the addition of pollen granules collected by bees throughout spring and summer.

Starflower

Pure British Borage honey, also known as Starflower, this limited release honey is sourced from apiaries in Lincolnshire, Northants and Hertfordshire, and has a delicate, sweet and subtly floral taste.

Seaside

A rare honey variety from hives located on North Norfolk's salt marshes with an incredible and complex salted caramel flavour.

Winter Seaside 

This honey comes from hives on North Norfolk's salt marshes where bees forage on ivy and sea lavender, producing fresh, herbal notes and a salty caramel finish.

Black Bee Honey is available to buy at www.blackbeehoney.com. Keep updated with Black Bee Honey via @blackbeehoneycompany (Instagram) and @blackbeehoney (X)

Is the Honey You are Buying Fake? Black Bee Honey Calls for Urgent Government Action

That's Food and Drink has already recently posted about World Bee Day. But we have received some news that has genuinely disturbed us.

Because as World Bee Day approaches, on the 20th May, award-winning B Corp certified British beekeeper collective Black Bee Honey is on a mission to highlight the fact that fake honey being sold to shoppers in UK supermarkets by campaigning for more independent testing to be performed on imported honey.

Around half a million tons of honey are sold in the UK every year but its quality and its environmental impact is poor. 

Most of the honey on offer in our supermarkets is imported, with its origin often listed as “a blend of EU and non-EU honey”.  Many consumers believe the honey they're buying is 100% pure when it's actually a mix of imported blended honey.

Black Bee Honey was founded in 2010 by beekeepers Paul Webb and Chris Barnes who met in a design office 20 years ago. Their passion for bees and honey began with hives in their own back gardens and they soon discovered how delicious honey tasted straight from the hive - worlds apart from the imported honey found on supermarket shelves. Inspired, they soon left their design jobs for the rooftops and gardens of London where they cared for over a million bees and established Black Bee Honey.  

Co-founder Paul Webb told That's Food and Drink: “Adulterated or fake honey being imported into the UK has been happening for many years but it's only now coming to light. 

"It's had a massive, negative impact on UK honey producers, artificially lowering the price expectation of a very special product which takes a huge amount of time and energy to produce by bees and beekeepers. The public have been unwittingly eating sugar syrup when they think they're eating real honey which devalues the real thing further due to lack of flavour and it's also a health concern."

Pauyl went on to tell us: "We're asking for more independent testing on honey to begin to reverse the trend towards more and more cheap, fake honey and to get quality British honey back on the supermarket shelves. That's why Black Bee Honey was founded and why we'll continue to fight for British Beekeepers, their bees and the great honey they produce”.

Lynne Ingram, Chair of the Honey Authenticity Network UK, an international organisation fighting 'Fake honey' to help honey producers, consumers and bees added: “UK consumers have the right to make informed choices when purchasing honey. 

"If a product is labelled as honey, it must be exactly that, real, genuine honey, naturally collected and ripened by bees. It should not be a factory-processed product, artificially dried or containing added syrups. 

"Transparency is also essential when it comes to labelling. Vague statements like 'a blend of EU and non-EU honeys' are unhelpful and potentially misleading. Consumers deserve clear information about the true country of origin. We are calling on the authorities to take urgent action to stop the influx of cheap, adulterated honey into the UK. This includes robust testing and strong enforcement to protect both consumers and honest producers.”

Black Bee Honey's range of award-winning 100% British 'flower to jar' honeys are single source with the location and name of the beekeeper printed on every jar, so it's fully traceable.  

"Since 2020 they have been donating 2% of their turnover to the charity Plantlife for the creation of wildflower meadows, and so far have helped create over 25 acres of meadows. This work has enabled them to establish a circular business model where every jar bought creates wildflower meadows, which in turn helps bees to create honey. 

Black Bee Honey is currently listed with Ocado, Holland & Barrett, Abel & Cole and Harrods.  Their honeys are also available online at blackbeehoney.com

That's Food and Drink will be looking out for Black Bee Honey the next time we have a Holland and Barrett visit planned!

Here is the link to our previous coverage of World Bee Day https://thatsfoodanddrink.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-buzz-about-world-bee-day-vital-for.html