- Taste: butterscotch, toffee caramel
- Aroma: toffee, lemony
- Color: golden yellow
- Texture: crystallized
- Finish: caramel sweet
- Harvest Season: February, March, and April
We really like adding this eucalyptus honey to cold brew, apples, and granola. It is excellent honey for baking and pairs very nicely with smoked cheeses.
The Plant
There are five main species of Eucalyptus planted in the areas where the apiaries are located: Eucalyptus cloeziana, grandis, citriodora, saligna, and urophylla. The Eucalyptus bloom offers bees and beekeepers a second nectar flow during the year. This happens because the trees bloom at a different time than the other many flowers in the Cerrado.
Brazil is the largest producer of Eucalyptus. Its cultivation reduces the deforestation of natural biomes and gives producers the opportunity to work with beekeeping, producing honey and other products, which increases their income and fights rural exodus.
The Region
This honey comes from Eucalyptus growing regions around Itamarandiba, which is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais. The municipality has an extensive and diversified territorial base located in the High Jequitinhonha Valley, being one of the central municipalities of this region.
Itamarandiba extends over the domains of the Atlantic Forest biome - to the east - and the Cerrado. The terrain is marked by the vast plateaus and by the Serra do Espinhaço - Biosphere Reserve – UNESCO, where it is possible to find gallery forests, rupestrian fields, extensive areas of Cerrado and fragments of the Atlantic Forest. The Serra Negra State Park is one of the most beautiful conservation units in the northeast of Minas Gerais. Its area is 33,740 acres and has, as representatives of its fauna and flora, the Lobo Guará and the Canelas D'ema Gigantes. Both are symbols of the conservation unit. Of great abundance and vital importance for the Jequitinhonha and Rio Doce Valleys, the Serra Negra State Park is a natural attraction in Itamarandiba, and it composes the Southern Espinhaço Mosaic of conservation units.
The municipality of Itamarandiba is considered the "water box" of the Jequitinhonha Valley. There are large numbers of springs, streams, and rivers that are tributaries of the Jequitinhonha River Basin, as well as others that are tributaries of the Rio Doce watershed, the latter located further to the east.
The prevailing climate is the tropical altitude, with an annual rainfall of over one thousand millimeters (40 inches), a pleasant climate with a yearly mean temperature of 20°C (68°F).
Although the Jequitinhonha Valley is one of the poorest regions of Brazil, there you can find substantial cultural wealth in the form of indigenous influence, manifested in culture and the arts, typical regional food, and very welcoming inhabitants.
This honey is:
- Certified Organic
- Raw
- Kosher
- Gluten-Free
- Natural
- No additives or flavoring
- Single-Origin
