Harvest Stories & Pairings
A Drink of Varying Colors: Why Honey Changes With Every Flower and Place
Al Safa HoneyOctober 17, 20265 min read
Line up a few jars of honey and the first thing you notice is that no two look alike. Some are pale as straw, some deep amber, some nearly black. The Quran puts it in four words, "a drink of varying colors", and it also names the places the bees make their homes. Both turn out to be the heart of why honey varies.
Mountains, trees and what people build
In Surah An-Nahl (16:68) the bee is guided to make its homes "among the mountains, among the trees, and in what people build". In Arabic: أن اتخذي من الجبال بيوتا ومن الشجر ومما يعرشون.
Those are three very different settings. Bees in rocky high country, bees in hollow trees and orchards, and bees in hives kept near fields all have different flowers within reach, and the flowers are what make the honey.
"A drink of varying colors"
The next verse (16:69) says: "there comes out of their bellies a drink of varying colors", شراب مختلف ألوانه, sharabun mukhtalifun alwanuhu.
Honey's color comes mainly from the nectar of the flowers the bees visited, along with the minerals and plant compounds in it. As a rough rule, the darker the honey, the more of those compounds it carries, and the stronger it tastes.
Our honeys, light to dark
Our own shelf shows the range. Orange Blossom and Clover are the palest, light gold and gentle. Sunflower is bright yellow and sets quickly. Wildflower and Blueberry Blossom sit in the amber middle, fruity and full.
At the dark end, Buckwheat and Knotweed run deep red-brown to almost black, with a bold, malty taste. Same bees, same work, very different flowers.
Place and season change it too
The same kind of flower can give a slightly different honey from one region or one year to the next, depending on soil, rain and what else is blooming nearby. A wildflower honey from spring rarely tastes like one from late summer.
That is why we name each honey by its main flower and say where it was harvested. Most of ours come from New York State. Our Knotweed comes from North Dakota and our Orange Blossom from Florida.
Texture varies as well
Color is not the only difference. Honeys high in glucose, like clover and sunflower, crystallize into a soft spread within weeks. Honeys high in fructose, like orange blossom, stay runny for months.
Neither is better. They are simply honey from different flowers, each one a little sign of where it came from.
The ritual
See the Colors for Yourself
The easiest way to understand "a drink of varying colors" is to set a few honeys side by side.
- 1Put a spoonful of three or four different honeys in small glass dishes, lightest to darkest.
- 2Hold each one up to a window and compare the colors.
- 3Taste them in the same order, with a sip of water in between, and notice how the flavor deepens with the color.
Questions we get asked
- Why does honey come in different colors?
- Mostly because of the flowers the bees visited. Clover and orange blossom make pale honey, wildflower makes amber, and buckwheat and knotweed make dark honey. Region and season change it too.
- Where does the Quran say bees make their homes?
- Surah An-Nahl (16:68) says the bee is guided to make its homes in the mountains, in the trees, and in what people build.
- Is darker honey better than light honey?
- Not better, just different. Darker honey usually has a stronger taste and more plant compounds; lighter honey is milder and more floral.
Al Safa Honey is a food producer, not a medical provider. Nothing here is medical advice or a treatment for any condition — speak with your own doctor about your health, and never give honey of any kind to an infant under one year of age.
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