WESTON, CONNECTICUT, July 10, 2016 — The American Honey Tasting Society (AHTS) is launching three more Honey 101: Introduction to Honey Tasting training course using the Italian methods for sensory analysis on October 22-23, 25-26 and 29-30, 2016 in Connecticut and Boston. Beekeeper and author C. Marina Marchese will be leading the course with colleague Raffaele Dall’ Olio, both members trained by the Italian National Registry of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey. Theses courses are intensive, full immersion training into the sensory analysis of honey based upon the established methods taught at the Italian National Beekeeping Institute (CRA-API) in Bologna, Italy for more than 20 years. Attendees will learn the methods for tasting and evaluating honey through engaging in the olfactory and gustatory experience, how to recognize and identify the 9 basic aromas and flavor families on the honey wheel also how to write detailed tasting notes for 15 of the most important domestic and international honeys. The course will also cover the basics of honey composition, crystallization, defects, storage and handling. Seats are limited and fifteen students are required for this course to run, travel, food and accommodations are not included. C. Marina Marchese, the first American and only resident accepted into the Italian National Registry of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey, formally launched the American Honey Tasting Society (AHTS) in 2013. With the growing number people keeping honeybees and interested in the diverse flavor profiles of varietal honey, this newly launched organization fulfills a true need in America for an educational resource for beekeepers, chefs, food professionals, brewers and mead makers interested in learning the fine skills of tasting and evaluating honey in order to choose the best honey for food and beverage pairings.
The American Honey Tasting Society’s mission is to standardize the protocol for sensory training in honey and to raise the awareness of its diversity through educational courses and guided tastings. “The American Honey Tasting Society is the first organization of it’s kind in the United States that provides educational insight into the finer points of identifying the flavors in honey and matching them with their floral source and region,” says Marchese. “There are many honey enthusiasts, but there are no resources in our country that provide accurate and in-depth education or sensory training in honey which includes its color, aroma, and flavor which are determined by its nectar source, terroir and beekeeping traditions. The art of being a honey tasting expert is as complex as being a wine sommelier and both food industry professionals and those in beekeeping are seeking this knowledge and experience.”
For additional information about the sensory training courses in honey: Visit: www.americanhoneytastingsociety.com
