Product Review - Savannah Bee Company
5.24.08
Products: Tupelo Honey, Organic Ocacia Honey, Sourwood Honeycomb
Who is Savannah Bee Company?Savannah Bee Company is a producer of upscale, gourmet honey products located in Savannah Georgia. Founded in 2002, Savannah Bee Company has emerged as a leader in unique, exquisite honey products which are now carried by big-name retailers such as Williams Sonoma and Dean & Deluca.
Packaging/Labeling: Savannah Bee gets a ‘10′ for their simple, yet classy and elegant presentation. No corners were cut anywhere - even the packing materials for shipping have a ‘wow-factor’ that really impressed us (watch the video to see the honeycomb-esque fillers). Also, instead of opting for the common plastic squeeze jars found in cheaper honey products, Savannah Bee goes upscale with out-of-the-ordinary glass bottles, including their beautiful 20 oz. flutes available in most varietals. In fact, the flutes are so attractive that we were saddened to open the bottle instead of just keeping it as ‘eye-candy’.
Included in the package was an excellent brochure (one of the most attractive designs we have seen), filled with mini-brochures full of interesting information such as ‘Thoughts on Colony Collapse Disorder’, and ‘Thoughts on Artisanal Honey’. Kudos to Savannah Bee Company and their design team for such beautiful literature.
Taste/Consistency/Quality: Honey is honey, right? Wrong. As their brochure states, “Like fine wines, as soon as you taste them, you know how different they are.” Truer words have never been spoken. The Savannah Bee Company sets them self apart from the rest by taking additional quality assurance tests; all honeys are selected from individual batches and tested for purity before being bottled. Also, none of their honeys are mixed with other honeys or filled with additives or syrups.
Our favorite was definitely the Tupelo honey, which is a very rare honey that is harvested over two or three weeks in the early Spring. Tupelo nectar is one of the rarest and most valuable liquid resources in the world and has a sweet, buttery flavor with a melt-in-your mouth texture that leaves you craving more.
After trying the Tupelo, we thoroughly enjoyed the Organic Acacia Honey, which is a North Italian Varietal with a very sweet, rich taste and a subtle vanilla flair. Like the Tupelo (and unlike most common/cheap honey), the consistency and texture is extraordinary. As suggested, we tried this varietal with some shaved Parmigiano reggiano, and found it to be a beautiful match.
Finally, we were excited to try the Sourwood Honeycomb - yes - actual honeycomb. At first, I think the natural reaction is ‘you actually eat the honeycomb?’, and the answer is yes. Savannah Bee takes a cell of honeycomb with the concentrated nectar from thousands of flowers just as the bees naturally made it, and packages it for consumption in 3 different ways. This uniqueness and out-of-the box innovation landed them a Gallo Gold Medal Award this month.
We expected to find the honeycomb crunchy, but were pleasantly surprised to find it rather soft and honey-soaked. On a slice of Parmigiano reggiano (also suggested to us), it was absolutely delicious. We also found it to be a very unique and pleasant treat on slices of Gouda cheese and tart granny smith apples.
Uniqueness: Honey itself if quite common with hundreds of brands available in the US marketplace. However, Savannah offers the most unique line of normally common products - leading the way with their rare Tupelo and honeycomb products. As far as uniqueness goes, Savannah Bee is (to the best of our knowledge) the only company offering a packaged honeycomb for human consumption.
Summary: Overall, Savannah Bee gets a ‘10′ in our book, as a truly exquisite, upscale, and innovative purveyor of some of the most delectable honey products we have tried. High quality products coupled with outstanding packaging and presentation makes Savannah Bee Company products must-haves for any true gourmand seeking the best honey products available.
How to purchase: Consumers can order directly online at www.SavannahBee.com, or by finding a local retailer here.
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