Τιμή: 4.50€ - 30.00€
Mediterranean climate in the area of Viotia, which is equally close to the sea as it is to Mount Helicon, offers our bees the chance to produce a fine thyme honey.
Wild thyme grows in dry rocky Mediterranean areas and is usually organic, even though there are no established certification standards. According to Greek legislation, in order that a honey is considered thyme honey it must consist a percentage of just 17% of thyme pollen grains. Emmelia thyme honey on the other hand, usually contains 60% thyme pollen grains according to chemistry lab analyses.
Thyme honey is famous for its aroma and flavor and is produced in the summer months. The color of thyme honey is light orange to orange, and beige to brown when crystallized. It is a very strong, strongly aromatic honey with a resinous, botanical, slightly spicy flavor. Its aroma resembles tropical fruits, plums and white pepper. The taste is persistent, staying in the mouth.
A bit of history…
References to honey in ancient Greece are over 2000 years old. Many classical texts refer to honey in a medical, social and religious context integrated into everyday life. Hippocrates (460 – 370 BC), the father of modern Medical science, wrote “Honey and pollen cause warmth, clean wounds and ulcers, soften hard lip ulcers, cure ulcers and sores…”. Aristotle the philosopher believed that “White honey… is a good ointment for eyes and wounds”.
Even though thyme honey is found throughout Greece, the classic known thyme source in antiquity were the slopes of Mount Hymettos (in Attica region). Around Mount Hymettos bees could mainly source nectar from thyme, savory, and other Lamiaceae plants (also known as the mint family of plants). Therefore, the name Hymettos honey in its commercial use became a synonym of Thyme honey.
Thyme honey is famous for its aroma and taste, and is produced only during dry summer months. Its colour ranges between light orange to red, and changes from beige to brown when crystallised. It is a very strong, intensely aromatic honey with resinous, herbal, and slightly spicy taste. Thyme honey aroma resembles tropical fruit, plums and white pepper, and has a persistent aftertaste.
Honey was a protagonist in ancient Greeks’ eating habits. It was either consumed as such or was used as a basic material for the preparation of desserts, main courses, sauces and drinks, such as ‘Melikraton’, a drink with honey and milk for children, or ‘Hydromelon’, a type of mead made with lukewarm water and honey to be drunk with breakfast.
Thyme honey is still very popular in Greece and abroad and is ranked as one of the best honey varieties in the world.
