Review: Nicola Valley Honey

I'd been lusting after this honey from the moment I first saw the gorgeous, hand-crafted pots at Hoffstead's about five months ago. Today I finally gave in and bought it (mainly because I had my partner with me to give permission to spend $20 on a little pot of honey).

How did I even resist this long? Just look at this beauty:

According to the tag, the honey pot is "individually hand-crafted on the potter's wheel by master potter Bruce Nyeste at Sorrent, B.C. It has been fired to 1300'C and is non-toxic, oven-proof and dishwasher safe." There were other colours, too - blues and browns mostly, but this one was my favourite.

In addition, this is a local product. The pottery is from Sorrent, and the honey is from an apiary in Merritt, British Columbia, a few hours from where I live in the Fraser Valley. Local, hand-crafted, and gourmet - what's not to love?

To open, the tag instructed me to hold the pot under warm water to soften the wax, then pull the string.

Freshly opened.

I did this, and the entire lid came right up. For some reason I was expecting the string to sort of cut through the wax and open it that way. I don't know if I did it right, but this seems more convenient for re-sealing it anyway, so in the end I prefer it. The lid is completely flat across, and while it fits snugly with the beeswax, I wonder how tight it would be without it. I'm thinking I'll have to keep the wax if I want to store anything edible later.

Yum.

As you can see, the honey had crystallized a bit. The tag advised liquefying it by placing the pot in warm water, but I much prefer creamed honey over liquid, so I just stirred it all in, and if it crystallizes any more, awesome.

After stirring. Hungry yet?

Now, for the real test: the taste.

I happened to still have some of my no-name brand creamed honey to compare it to. The Nicola Valley was tangibly more delicious: a little more sharply sweet, hitting high and hot at the roof of my mouth in that marvelous way that pure honey does. There was the faintest muskiness, as in the scent of roses. It was a bit more complex and flavourful than the ordinary stuff, but still very mild. After the initial tasting, I had it in lemon-ginger tea. It performed as it should, and though the delicate musk disappeared (making it good for cooking, I imagine), I fancied that it still tasted somehow the tiniest bit better than normal.

Was it amazing? No, but it was good. I wouldn't spend $20 on just the honey, but with the hand-crafted pot, I think it's worth the price. It would make an excellent gift for many occasions (especially for oneself), and it looks great on the kitchen table. Would I buy it again? Maybe, but mostly for the pot, or as a gift. For honey, there are too many other varieties to try first.

10/10 for presentation, and 7/10 for taste: 8.5 out of 10.

Note: Nicola Valley Honey does have a website, but it's honestly terrible. If you feel like frustrating yourself, you can find it at:  http://nicolavalleyhoney.com

The gorgeous honey pots are made by Mud Sweat and Tears, and their website, which is perfectly fine, can be found at: http://www.mudsweatandtears.ca.