Flavour selector
Start from a flavour you already like and work outwards to the honeys that carry it — and to the families that keep turning up alongside it.
43 of 265 honeys carry woody
What tends to come with it
Families that appear on the same records, commonest first. This is a count of co-occurrences in the catalogue, not a claim that the two tastes resemble each other — it answers “if you like this, what else is usually in the jar”.
- Caramel (28)
- Resinous (18)
- Malty (16)
- Mineral and saline (12)
- Phenolic and medicinal (10)
- Fruity (9)
- Molasses and treacle (9)
- Smoky (9)
- Floral (4)
- Spicy (4)
- Nutty (3)
- Herbaceous (1)
- Vegetal (1)
All 43 honeys
In catalogue order. Nothing here is ranked — no honey is a better answer than another until you say what you want it for.
- Red maple honeyWarm and lightly caramelised with a faint woody note — a straightforward honey, and one that surprises people expecting it to taste of maple syrup.CaramelWoodyFloral
- Blackbutt honeyWarm and caramelised with a light resinous edge — one of the milder eucalypt honeys and a good introduction to the group.CaramelResinousWoody
- Bloodwood honeyStrong and malty with a resinous depth and a distinct woody astringency — one of the more assertive Australian honeys.MaltyResinousWoodyCaramel
- Spotted gum honeyWarm and caramelised with a light resinous lift and a rounded finish — a middle-weight eucalypt honey and a very usable one.CaramelResinousWoody
- Eucalyptus honeyWoody and faintly medicinal, with caramel and a cool eucalypt lift. More savoury than its colour suggests.WoodyCaramelPhenolic and medicinalHerbaceous
- Sourwood honeySpicy and aromatic — anise and clove over a caramel base, with a dry, almost tannic finish that stops it being merely sweet.SpicyCaramelFloralWoody
- Saw palmetto honeySmoky and peppery with a warm resinous depth — an unusual and slightly savoury honey that divides opinion sharply.SmokySpicyResinousWoody
- Rewarewa honeyMalty and burnt-caramel with a dry astringent finish — closer to a dark ale than to a floral honey.MaltyCaramelWoody
- Rockrose honeyBalsamic and resinous with a warm amber sweetness underneath — it smells of incense and hot scrubland, and tastes considerably less sweet than its colour suggests.ResinousWoodyFruitySmoky
- Bilberry honeyTangy and berry-forward over a caramel base, with a green astringency and a genuine fruit acidity.FruityCaramelWoody
- Karri honeyRich and layered — malt and dark caramel with a dried-fruit depth and a long warm finish. The most complex of the Western Australian honeys.MaltyCaramelFruityWoody
- River red gum honeyStrong and warmly medicinal — the classic eucalypt register, with caramel underneath and a menthol lift at the end.ResinousCaramelWoody
- Blue gum honeyStrongly medicinal and camphoraceous with a caramel base — the flavour most people mean when they say a honey tastes of eucalyptus.ResinousCaramelWoodyPhenolic and medicinal
- African acacia honeyWarm and spiced with a caramel base and a dry, faintly smoky finish — considerably more assertive than European acacia honey, which it is named after and resembles in no way.SpicyCaramelSmokyWoody
- Greek fir honeyMildly sweet, resinous and faintly caramelised, with a soft woody character and none of the sharpness of the darker honeydews — considerably gentler than its colour suggests.ResinousWoodyCaramelMineral and saline
- Vosges fir honeyBalsamic and malty with a resinous woody depth and a marked lack of sweetness — closer to treacle and pine resin than to anything floral.ResinousMaltyWoodyMineral and saline
- Tree heath honeyStrong, malty and slightly bitter, with a burnt-caramel depth and a woody finish — assertive in a way that divides opinion sharply.CaramelMaltyPhenolic and medicinalWoody
- Sycamore honeydew honeyMalty and mildly sweet with a savoury, faintly smoky depth and a mineral finish — less resinous than the conifer honeydews and more caramelised.MaltyMineral and salineMolasses and treacleWoody
- Chestnut honeyAromatic, woody and unmistakably bitter — sweetness first, tannin second, and a long dry finish.WoodyResinousNuttySmokyMineral and saline
- Heather honeyStrong, smoky and slightly bitter, with a lingering woodfire-and-toffee character. One of the most complex honeys produced anywhere.SmokyCaramelWoodyMineral and salinePhenolic and medicinal
- Manuka honeyEarthy, mineral and damp — heather-like without the smoke, with a faintly medicinal edge. Distinctive rather than delicious, and not what most people expect for the price.Mineral and salinePhenolic and medicinalCaramelWoody
- Strawberry tree honeyAggressively bitter — coffee grounds, artichoke and burnt sugar, with the sweetness arriving late and briefly. Nothing in food prepares most people for it.Phenolic and medicinalSmokyVegetalWoody
- Forest honeydew honeyResinous, malty and mineral, with far less sweetness than its darkness suggests. Closer to treacle and pine forest than to anything floral.ResinousMaltyMineral and salineWoodyMolasses and treacleNutty
- Jarrah honeyDark, malty and caramelised, with a coffee-and-treacle depth and much less of the medicinal edge a comparably dark honey usually carries.CaramelMaltyMolasses and treacleWoody
- Pine honeydew honeyResinous, malty and markedly less sweet than floral honey, with a woody, slightly salty depth and no floral character at all.ResinousWoodyMaltyMineral and saline
- Silver fir honeyMalty, resinous and barely sweet, with a balsamic depth and a long woody finish. One of the least sugary honeys there is.ResinousMaltyWoodyMineral and salineCaramel
- Oak honeydew honeyEarthy, salty and barely sweet, with a bitter-mineral depth and a finish more like a stock or a yeast extract than a sweetener.Mineral and salineMolasses and treacleWoodySmoky
- Jamun honeyDark, tannic and astringent with a dried-fruit depth and a dry finish — noticeably less sweet than most honeys of similar colour.FruitySpicyMolasses and treacleWoody
- Mad honeyToxic: grayanotoxinsBitter, sharp and astringent with a burnt-caramel edge and a distinct throat-catching sensation that is not a flavour but a pharmacological effect.Phenolic and medicinalMolasses and treacleWoody
- Spruce honeydew honeyMalty and caramelised with a woody depth and restrained sweetness — warmer and less balsamic than fir honeydew.MaltyWoodyMineral and salineCaramelResinous
- Tochi honeyMalty and rich with a distinct woody astringency and a long dry finish — assertive without being harsh, and closer to a dark forest honey than to a blossom one.MaltyWoodyCaramelPhenolic and medicinal
- Miombo honeyRich and warm with a distinct woody, faintly smoky depth and a caramelised sweetness — the smoke comes partly from the harvest method and partly from the woodland itself.CaramelSmokyWoodyFruity
- Alpine rose honeyGrayanotoxin advisoryDelicate and short: a faint woody, floral and fresh-fruit aroma, medium sweetness, low acidity and no bitterness.FloralWoodyFruity
- Greek erica honeyDark, malty and faintly bitter, with dried fig and caramel behind it. A robust honey and a distinctly autumnal one.MaltyCaramelWoodyPhenolic and medicinal
- Holm oak honeydew honeyDark, savoury and barely sweet, with malt, liquorice and a genuine salt-mineral depth. As far from what people expect honey to be as anything in the catalogue.Mineral and salineMaltyMolasses and treacleWoody
- Babul honeyWarm, nutty and full-bodied with a faint tannic dryness. A robust everyday honey rather than a delicate one.NuttyCaramelWoody
- Talh honeyDark, thick and savoury-sweet, with dried fruit and molasses over a caramel depth. Nothing about it suggests the honey Europe calls acacia.Molasses and treacleMaltyCaramelWoody
- Combretum honeyWarm and caramel-led with a dried-fruit depth and a faint woody dryness. A robust everyday honey rather than a delicate one.CaramelFruityWoody
- Sumac honeyTart, dark and lightly resinous, with a sour-fruit edge unusual in an American honey and a definite tannic dryness.FruityResinousWoodyMolasses and treacle
- Tepezcohuite honeyWarm and floral with a faint tannic dryness, reflecting the tree's very high tannin content. An agreeable everyday honey.FloralCaramelWoody
- Angico honeyDark, resinous and faintly smoky over a caramel body. A robust honey with more character than most tropical crops.ResinousCaramelSmokyWoody
- Stringybark honeyFull and malty with a clean eucalypt aromatic edge and a slightly dry finish. A robust everyday honey by Australian standards.MaltyCaramelResinousWoody
- Scaptotrigona honeySharp, resinous and distinctly woody, with a fermented-fruit edge. Among the more challenging stingless honeys and one of the most prized within its region.ResinousFruityWoodyPhenolic and medicinal
- Flavour families are editorial groupings, and the boundaries between them are matters of judgement rather than fact.
- It does not model intensity of a family, only its presence — a honey with a trace of smoke and one dominated by it both match 'smoky'.
- Adjacency is co-occurrence in this catalogue, not similarity of taste. It answers what tends to be in the jar together, which is a different question from what tastes alike.
- The map shifts as the catalogue grows, which is correct and does mean a link shared today may show slightly different neighbours next year.
The vocabulary under each family
HoneyHQ’s six groups and eighteen families, with the reference terms the International Honey Commission’s trained panels use and the terms official honey specifications add. A term is a link only where a source has named it in a honey in the catalogue; the rest are vocabulary, shown so you can see what the family covers.
Floral and fruity
- Floral
- orange blossom
- violet
- rose
- hyacinth
- Fruity
- pear
- apple
- red fruit
- blackcurrant
- coconut
- apricot
- exotic fruit
- dates
- prunes
- figs
- raisins
- candied fruit
- dried fruit
- overripe apple
- Citrus
- lemon
- orange
- grapefruit
Green and herbal
Warm and cooked
Woody and resinous
- Resinous
- cedar
- pine resin
- propolis
- fresh conifer wood
- spruce-tip syrup
- balsamic
- Woody
- leafy wood
- dust
- Smoky
Spicy and sharp
- Spicy
- clove
- nutmeg
- coffee
- Phenolic and medicinal
- styrene
- paint
- solvent
- household soap
- vitamin b1
Earthy and mineral
- Mineral and saline
- damp cloth
- humus
- stuffy
- Waxy
- Animal and barnyard
- piquant cheese
- vinegar
- cheese
- perspiration
- cowshed
- cat urine