C. Marina Marchese
How to Taste and Evaluate Honey Like a Sommelier
As beekeepers, we talk a lot about honey—how to produce it, extract it, bottle it, and sell it. But do we really know how to taste it?
For C. Marina Marchese, an Italian trained honey sommelier, all honey is not just sweet. Every taste is an opportunity to learn about that particular honey's unique botanical sources, region of production, climate, and even the beekeeper’s management practices.
Marchese is an instructor for The Italian National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey, where the method of sensory analysis to taste and evaluate honey was developed.
In her presentation, Marchese will outline the skills and methods of honey sensory analysis, including how to evaluate color, aroma, flavor and texture. She will explain how to use a flavor wheel, write tasting notes for honey samples, and how honey education is a powerful tool for beekeepers to market their honey.
Marchese is the founder of The American Honey Tasting Society, the only organization in the US that teaches the methods developed by
The Italian Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey. She has authored numerous books on beekeeping and honey, including Honeybee Lessons from an
Accidental Beekeeper, The Honey Connoisseur, Honey for Dummies, and her latest, The World Atlas of Honey.
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