Campanilla honey

Flavour and aroma

Aroma

light florals, tropical fruit, fresh hay

Flavour

soft floral, light fruit, clean sweetness

Finish

Short and clean.

Flavour character

• Floral and fruity — floral, fruity

Colour, texture and crystallisation

Colour

1. Water white0–8 mm
2. Extra white8–17 mm
3. White17–34 mm
4. Extra light amber34–50 mm — this honey
5. Light amber50–85 mm — this honey
6. Amber85–114 mm
7. Dark amber114+ mm

Pale gold, clear and bright.

On setting: Sets to a pale opaque cream.

Texture

Runny; Thick but pourable; Soft set

Crystallisation

Moderate, step 3 of 5, from very slow to very fast

Moderate — granulates over a few months; sets with a fine crystal.

A moderate fine set.

Typical composition

Moisture

16–20% (typically 18%)

Fructose

36–42% (typically 39%)

Glucose

29–35% (typically 32%)

pH

3.5–4.3 (typically 3.9)

Electrical conductivity

0.2–0.6 mS/cm (typically 0.35 mS/cm)

These are typical ranges assembled across published work, not measurements of a specific honey.

What these mean: the sugars and the ratio · moisture · conductivity · how each is measured

Where it comes from

Floral source

Ipomoea species, principally the white-flowered campanilla or aguinaldo, on scrub, hedgerow and abandoned field margin.

Origins

Cuba, principally the central and eastern provinces.

Origin pages

• The Caribbean

Resolved from both directions — origins this honey names, and origins that name it.

Typical harvest

November to January (northern hemisphere)

A flow at the end of the year, which is the origin of the name aguinaldo — a Christmas gift.

A typical window for the honey type, HoneyHQ synthesis — not a calendar for any one place.

The bees

Cuban beekeeping operates largely without the miticides and antibiotics standard elsewhere, partly by necessity. That is a real difference in production practice rather than a marketing position.

Usual processing

Raw, Coarsely strained, Spun (centrifugally extracted), Filtered

Cuba exports the large majority of its honey, principally to Europe, and much of it is certified organic. The organic status reflects a genuine absence of agrochemicals rather than a deliberate farming choice.

What to do with it

An everyday honey, and one of Cuba's more successful agricultural exports.

At the tableSpreadingIn hot drinksBakingDesserts

Pairings

• Fresh cheeses

  Both mild.

• Coffee

  A Cuban pairing.

• Fresh tropical fruit

  Mild enough to let the fruit lead.

Similar honeys and substitutes

Three different questions with different answers: a honey that tastes alike can behave differently in a recipe, and the same set texture says nothing about flavour. Each list is chosen from the recorded fields that matter to its question — and, where tasting panels or specifications described both honeys, the terms they share — and every suggestion says which, and what will be different. Compare it side by side or build a tasting flight.

History and traditional use

Cuban honey production expanded after 1990 as the loss of Soviet trade forced a shift away from input-intensive agriculture. The result was an unintentionally organic farming system and a honey export that has done well from it.

Claims about this honey