Is Your Honey Pure?
In 2020, a DOST-PNRI study found that many local honey products tested were adulterated with sugar syrups: 12 out of 16 brands bought from grocery and souvenir stores, and 64 out of 74 bought online. (DOST report)
Finding pure honey has since become a hot topic. The question keeps coming up: How do I know this honey isn’t fake?
Home tests became popular for a time: putting honey in the freezer, dropping it in water, and so on. But these aren’t reliable ways to check authenticity. Adulterated honey can pass them, and pure honey can fail.
Verifying authenticity takes specialist testing alongside evidence about where the honey comes from. Even laboratory tests have limitations, and no single test can detect every form of adulteration.
The best way to verify that your honey is pure is really to understand where it comes from. With a little research into your honey sources, you can bee more informed and find honey you can trust.
How to Research Your Honey Sources
Getting to know your honey source looks different depending on where it comes from.
Some apiaries welcome visits and are more accessible to travel to, making it easier to meet the beekeeper and see how things are done.
With wild honey, that access is less straightforward: hunters may live far away, visits require personal arrangements, and catching the extraction means coordinating around a harvest.
You don’t have to witness everything yourself, but those differences shape what you can check firsthand and what you’ll need to ask. Here are a few pointers we’ve picked up over the years to help you get to know your sources and find your favorites.
For honey from managed hives
- Buy directly from apiaries when possible. Getting to know the beekeepers gives you a chance to ask about their honey and how it’s produced.
- Ask about the surroundings. Where are the hives, and what’s nearby? Learn about the plants the bees forage on and how the beekeeper manages potential sources of contamination.
- Ask whether all their honey comes from their own hives. Some apiaries source from other farms to meet demand. That isn’t necessarily a problem, but ask how they check quality and keep track of each source.
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Ask about antibiotic use. If you’re looking for antibiotic-free honey, ask how the beekeeper manages bee health and whether any treatments were used during production. Explore stingless bee honey, too. These are known to be more resilient to some diseases, which could reduce the need for treatments.
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Ask other beekeepers for a second opinion. Nearby apiaries or local beekeeping groups may know the seller you’re considering. Ask whether they’ve visited the farm or worked with them, and what their experience was like.
Note: I’m sure beekeepers can add more, but I hope you find these few starting points useful.
For honey foraged from the wild
- Buy directly from honey hunters when possible. I’ve been told that adulteration tends to happen at the trader level. Buying from the hunters, or “mamumuhag,” reduces the number of middlemen and lets you ask the person who harvested your honey how it was collected and handled. Wild honey groups on Facebook can help you connect with hunters, including those from Indigenous communities.
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If you’re buying through a seller, ask how they work with hunters. Reliable wild honey sellers like Kubo Honey can also help you explore different sources. Some sellers work with consolidators who bring together honey from several hunters, coordinate purchases, and arrange shipping. Ask who checks the honey’s quality and how they check it.
- Ask where the honey was harvested. Ask about the specific barangays and the trees where the colonies were found. If the seller needs to check, ask who harvested it, who coordinated the harvest, and how they work together.
- Ask for photos or videos of their harvests. Many hunters share videos of themselves climbing trees and gathering honey. These offer useful context, though they don’t prove the purity of a particular jar.
For either source: ask around, taste, and compare
- Get a second opinion from other beekeepers or honey hunters. For cultured honey: ask nearby apiaries or local beekeeping groups whether they know the seller, have visited the farm, or have worked with them. For wild-foraged honey: ask other honey hunters if they know the seller and consider them trustworthy. You can also share the seller's harvest videos: experienced hunters may spot questionable practices or details you wouldn’t know to look for.
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Try honey from different suppliers. Comparing honey from the same region and season can help you become familiar with its flavors and characteristics. Over time, you’ll build a reference point for what to expect, and know when something is worth asking about.
- Develop your palate. Look beyond sweetness: notice the aroma, acidity, flavor notes, and finish. Pure honey can reveal floral, fruity, or earthy notes, sometimes with a hint of beeswax. Honey adulterated with sugar syrups may taste flatter or one-dimensionally sweet, with less aroma and complexity. These are clues worth noticing, but taste alone can’t confirm purity.
Notice what you enjoy, ask your supplier questions, and let each tasting deepen your appreciation for honey and its origins.
That’s all for now! Happy honey investigating.
I hope you continue to explore Philippine honey, whether wild or farmed, get to know your sources, and discover your favorite varietals.
If you’re curious about tasting wild honeys from across the Philippines, try Kubo Honey.
We partner with local honey hunters to source pure, raw, wild-foraged honey. Our collection brings together five origins: Mt. Apo, Pa-Mati, Polillo Islands, Mt. Halcon, and Mt. Calavite. Each has distinct flavor notes to explore with your favorite food and drinks.
We’re also at Salcedo Market on Saturdays, from 7AM to 2PM. Come over for a free honey tasting! 🧡
Curious where our honey comes from or which varietal to try first? Email us at hello@kubohoney.com or send us a DM on Instagram, @kubohoney. We’d love to help you find one that suits your taste.