This story was first published for the Apiarist’s Advocate – a monthly eMagazine for beekeepers. The original version is from the May 2021 edition which can be viewed here (my story is on page 16-18).
Who is Maureen Conquer? Well imagine having taste buds so refined that you can recall and identify the exact apiary location that a honey came from, even if your two tastings of the produce were 20 years apart. That sort of skill means those who deal in the making and marketing of honey will care to know who Maureen Conquer is and the expert service she offers.
One morning at a Clevedon farmers market, Maureen came across a beekeeper selling his potted honey. Upon sampling what was on offer, she stopped short – she had tasted this before: a very smooth, very dark, standout honey. Quite a different batch. What was remarkable about this is that she had tasted honey like that only once before: twenty years ago. On enquiry Maureen learned that the honey had come from the same sites near Port Waikato as what she had tasted two decades earlier. This beekeeper had acquired the apiaries from a retiring beekeeper, which so happened to produce a unique and noteworthy honey blend that Maureen still recognized all those years later.
Background and Role
Maureen Conquer is a professional honey taster. Her interest in this profession grew from her hobby beekeeping when she discovered that the honey produced in her back yard tasted very different to that which was produced just a few minutes’ drive down the road. This discovery sparked an interest which saw her shift from prior roles with food and wine tasting and into the honey industry – a shift which required training in Bologna, Italy, under the honey expert Dr Maria Lucia Piana. This training has now been formalised into a course that Dr Piana developed with input from Maureen. The course involves only four initial days of training, but it is only after six months of practice that one can apply to begin moving up the grades. The skills taught are longstanding even if rarely acquired – sensory analyses pre-date laboratory testing and were once the only way to verify the physical properties of food and drink! Once one has attained a sufficient proficiency in describing and identifying honeys by smell and taste, they are added to the register of honey judges kept by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture. Maureen recalls one test she was required to do where she was given nineteen different samples of common European honeys to try, with the idea that she would be expected to match them all on a second round of tasting, while blindfolded. Not being from Europe, only two of the honeys were familiar. It was a difficult learning experience!
Since then, Maureen has judged at honey contests around the world including in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia and the Ukraine. This year she had plans to be in Russia as part of her honey judging role with Apimondia, but these had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Tasting honey has become a passion. She seeks the opportunities to taste new honey varieties, judge at contests, as well as talk with other judges and compare notes. The occupation is not without its own health hazards. Diabetes is a very real risk when you judge sixty or more samples in a day and have to consume a quarter teaspoon from every sample. Because of this, Maureen regularly self-monitors for diabetes to ensure she isn’t consuming more honey than is good for her!
Honey Sensory Analysis Reports
As an independent honey judge Maureen also offers her service by providing honey sensory analysis reports. These reports describe the sense-detectable properties of the honey sample. The moisture content and colour reading are provided, as well as a number of physical assessments made by the well-trained senses of taste, touch, smell and sight (but not hearing – honey has no audible properties to speak of!). For a visual assessment, comments are provided noting the physical state of the sample honey together with the colour and aspect, the presence of any foam or impurities and anything else of note. Texture includes the consistency and the crystal description. Under the odour category as well as taste, the intensity is noted, together with a very brief description and notes on the presence or absence of fermentation, thymol, mould or smoke. For the taste assessment Maureen uses glass tasting rods to sample the honey from – metal or wooden utensils can affect our perception of the honey; glass imparts no taste. For palette cleansing between samples Maureen likes to use a fine slice of crisp apple and water. A short description of the taste is given together with notes on the presence or absence of sweetness, saltiness, sourness, bitterness, and the intensity of the taste as well as the persistence of the taste on the tongue. The report concludes with some final notes and is signed and dated by Maureen Conquer ready for your records or for sending to potential clients.
The honey sensory analysis is another tool that can be used in conjunction with laboratory tests for marketing or for identifying similar batches across seasons to suit consumer preferences. True, some of the data like colour and moisture can be collected yourself with some simple equipment (or lab tests). But this is an independent report that verifies data and testifies to numerous properties of your honey for potential buyers. It also saves needing to send samples to buyers to see for themselves, who may not have the ability or the confidence to make calls for themselves about the properties of the honey. These reports allow honey packers to identify and market the difference from other batches or to blend batches to meet the expectations of the consumer or food manufacturer. Consistency is imperative for food manufacturers. The honey sensory analysis is an option that may prove itself a valuable tool for selling honey.
A Way Ahead for the Honey Industry?
It is not news to beekeepers that the honey industry is currently at a low ebb. Maureen thinks that honey producers and packers could learn a few things from the wine industry by focussing more on the region and the season in which specific batches of honey were produced. ‘Pinot Noir from Marlborough is not the same as Pinot Noir from Otago’ she explains. Particular seasons produce an annual vintage – honey, like wine, may taste different in the 2020 season from the 2021 season.
Many consumers like what they eat to have a connection back to its source, so having a story or at least some data on when and where the honey came from will be a big bonus. There was once a time when many New Zealanders were happy with cheap buckets of overheated golden sweetness, but as our hospitality culture has developed it has opened new opportunities to showcase what we can produce. We can present Thyme honey from Otago, Viper’s Bugloss honey from Canterbury, Kamahi honey from the West Coast, Pohutukawa from the Bay of Islands, and many other monofloral varieties from around the country. New Zealand beekeepers can offer a range of delicious honeys from our native and introduced flora to customers who want something distinctive.
There will always be a sizeable market for generic bush or pasture honey at a low price, but it is a lost opportunity when everything is just mixed together. It is good to give choice to customers – many of them are happy to pay a higher price for a premium product with a story and a point of difference. Advertising the region of the honey’s origin is also a helpful way to market honey where the floral source cannot be specified.
Maureen Conquer operates the charity seed fund Wild Forage and can be contacted through www.wildforage.co.nz