Do you know the taste of organic honey?

Let’s learn it from a nature-loving honey seller, who followed his heart 

Written by spruZup
Edited by spruZup

If you ever happened to taste mountain honey, the first thing you notice is the tanginess, especially if the bees have drawn them from certain trees in deep forest. “The deeper the forest, the better the honey,” says Benedik Peter, an organic farmer turned honey seller who knows that the tribals getting the honey from the forest do it without disturbing the bees.

“I once happened to see a 100-year-old tree in the forest on top of which hung the honeycomb,” Benedik says. “If you can enjoy the sight of nature, drinking the honey offers a different dimension to its beauty.”

So, what is mountain honey and how does it differ from other types of honey?

Benedik says we get two kinds of honey: the ones gathered at the valley and the other atop the mountain. Bees build their honeycombs on trees and in the rocks. Experts, especially tribals, harvest the honey from the original source.

“People in big estates and even in city gardens use boxes to harvest honey, which obviously is not organic,” Benedik points out.

Is collecting honey in a box makes it inorganic?

The problem, Benedik says, is most estates and gardens grow their plants with chemical fertilizers, which means the honey collected would not be from organic sources. “In terms of quality, honey collected in natural farms is best and second only to mountain honey,” he adds.

What about the branded honey we get in the market?

He says all branded sellers are buying it from contracted sources, just like how they do in the case of milk (in Tamil Nadu and other Indian states). While there are some ethical players, a good many of them generously mix sugar sirup with the original honey and claim them as “pure.” So, consumers are not only denied the original taste of honey, but also the health benefits.

The burning test

Benedik agrees that burning test could work to a certain extent.


Apply the honey on a piece of paper and show it to a flaming matchstick. If it burns the product is fake, but if it does not the honey you bought is original in all likelihood although even this test is not foolproof.

So how do we differentiate pure honey from the impure one?

“Feel the taste,” says Benedik. “Sometimes, you could taste flowers and you know it has come to you from a flower garden.”


The best among honey varieties is the one sourced from mountains and deep forests. Given the diverse sources, the honey is rich, tasty and is healthy to drink. “You get honey both from the foothills and from deep forests. The honey gathered from the deep forest is obviously the tastiest. Of course, it is the hardest to get because it could be in unreachable places. Only people familiar with the terrain, the flora and fauna can harvest this honey.”

“Honey is probably the best medicine human beings can use,” believes Benedik. “It has the essence of different flowers and directly offers their medicinal qualities. It is particularly good for the stomach. After you drink it, you will feel as if the internal organs have been massaged. A teaspoon of honey purifies blood and removes tiredness.”

The tribal connection

Benedik and his friends get the honey from tribals living in Eastern Ghatz, the mountain range snaking from Tamil Nadu up to Odisha in the eastern side. Tribals living in the mountains can harvest the honey but do not have access to the market. “We take efforts to bring credibility when dealing with the tribals,” Benedik explains. “We believe building trust in them is more important. This has been eight years of hard work as an organic farmer.”

Tribal people think wild animals do not attack them because they treat them as part of their habitation. “They believe bees are intelligent creatures and they identify them,” Benedik says.

“We think honey harvesting is a process, but it is traditional knowledge. Tribals study bees, they understand how bees collect honey. It is part of their life. From a distance, they could spot a honeycomb and tell if it has honey or not.”  

The tribals, whom Benedik identifies are among the Thodas in Nilgiris, the irulars and the Pazhiyars, give the honey they gather to people they trust. Although they are aware that they could get more money, they respect people who understand and value their lifestyle.

If it is beneficial, why is the honey not so popular?

“We do not go for celebrity endorsements,” Benedik says with a laugh. “Only facts and truth are our USPs and marketing tactics.”

For mountain honey and export-quality ayurvedic medicines, contact Benedik at: +91 84897 17373

Let’s watch a small clip of Honey and the method of harvesting.