Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

3 All-Women Coffee Roasting Companies that Are Changing the Game

The world of specialty coffee is still largely governed by men, but these all-female specialty-coffee roasters are helping to close the gender gap. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Feature photo courtesy of Lot Zero/7Gr As is the case for many commercial sectors, the world of specialty coffee continues to display gender disparity along the entire […]


The Slingshot Chalice Puts a New Spin on Espresso Dosing

Hong Kong and Australia-based coffee equipment maker Slingshot Technology recently launched the Chalice Distributor Cup, a multipurpose espresso preparation tool for baristas. Displayed in its…


Pick Your Pourover: Comparing and Contrasting the Most Popular Models

The Hario V60, Kalita Wave, and Chemex are three of the most popular pourover devices. Today, we’re comparing the three to help you determine which is the right choice for you. BY EMILY MENESES BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Featured photo by Julien Labelle via Unsplash Ah, the pourover—this tried-and-true form of brewing is sacred in the […]


Medium-sized farms play an important role in specialty coffee

For many consumers and industry professionals, specialty coffee and direct trade are inextricably linked. Building strong and mutually beneficial working relationships between producers and roasters is often seen as a cornerstone of establishing a truly sustainable supply chain. So with this association between specialty coffee and direct trade, there can be a narrative of smaller-sized […]

Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

What are modular espresso machines & how do they work?

For decades, espresso machine design and technology have been evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of coffee shop owners and baristas. From multi-boiler systems and automation to custom branding, there are now more factors to consider than ever before when it comes to the design of an espresso machine. Many businesses choose to position their […]


The Origin Story of Turtle Island Coffee in Vancouver, B.C.

A new Indigenous-owned coffee company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, called Turtle Island Coffee has launched with the goal of exposing more people to high quality specialty coffee and Indigenous…


4 Coffee Shops Worth a Visit in Madrid

In recent years, the Spanish capital has developed a vibrant specialty-coffee scene. Here are some cool cafés to visit for a caffeine fuel-up. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Jorge Fernández Salas via Unsplash The espresso bar at HanSo. HanSo Café, a Perfect Spot for Breakfast   In Chinese, HanSo roughly translates to “a […]


What are modular espresso machines & how do they work?

For decades, espresso machine design and technology have been evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of coffee shop owners and baristas. From multi-boiler systems and automation to custom branding, there are now more factors to consider than ever before when it comes to the design of an espresso machine. Many businesses choose to position their […]

Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

The Caripe Variety: A Groundbreaking Milestone in Venezuelan Coffee Farming

Today, we unveil the story behind the Caripe variety and its significance for the Venezuelan coffee industry. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Carlos Felipe Ramírez Mesa via Unsplash In the heart of Venezuela, nestled among the picturesque states of Monagas, Anzoátegui, and Sucre, lies a legacy deeply rooted in coffee cultivation. This […]


New AFCA Director Gilbert Gatali on the 20th African Fine Coffees Conference

As the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) prepares for the 20th iteration of its flagship event, the African Fine Coffees Conference and Exhibition, the group is operating under new executive…


An In-Depth Look at Gruppo Cimbali’s Coffee Technician Wheel

The Coffee Technician Wheel is a new tool that helps technicians understand the complexity of coffee extraction. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Edgardo Ferrero and Espresso Academy Coffee technicians are responsible for a complex set of tasks related to the production and extraction of coffee. They manage customer requests and need to […]


Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part One

Not all sweeteners are made equal! In this series, we’ll take a closer look at different types of sweeteners and syrups—starting with honey. BY EMILY JOY MENESESBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Featured photo by Arwin Neil Baichoo via Unsplash Though you can’t go wrong with simple syrup or the tried-and-true vanilla, there are many options when it […]

Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

minimum dose size?

Jan 31, 2024 |

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

BY EMILY JOY MENESES
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Feature photo via Unsplash

This week we started our discussion of honey, uncovering how it’s produced, the differences between varieties of honey, and what exactly “raw honey” is. Today, we’re continuing our exploration by turning our attention to environmental concerns.

Though honey has been a café and culinary staple for as long as most of us can remember, the ingredient has come under fire in recent years, with questions of sustainability emerging. So what’s the truth—is honey actually bad for the environment? When uncovering the answer, there are a few things to consider. 

Bee on a pink flower.
While the “Save the Bees” movement has good intentions, it often places emphasis on honey bees—which only make up about 5% of the bee population. Photo by Daniel Dan via Unsplash.

“Save the Bees”: Distortions in Messaging

Chances are that you’ve heard of the “Save the Bees” movement, a call to help preserve and restore bee populations, under the pretense that bees’ pollination of flowering trees and plants is essential to maintaining biodiversity. However, in this article for Scientific American, Alison McAfee, Ph.D., a honey bee researcher and postdoctoral fellow at North Carolina State University’s Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, points out the distortions in the campaign’s messaging and how it’s harming, rather than helping, the environment.

According to Alison, the media disproportionately covers the need for honey bees over native bees, though only about 5% of the global bee population is made up of honey-producing bees. As a result, hundreds of thousands of Americans have taken up honey beekeeping as a hobby, believing it to be a conservation practice. In reality, native bees are the ones at risk of extinction and in need of attention and support. The increased presence of honey bee colonies has also led to increased competition between native bees, with honey bees monopolizing floral resources and taking sustenance away from already-in-decline native bee populations.

A wooden slat in a beehive is removed to expose the honeycomb.
Though questions of sustainability and animal rights have come up for honey production, many argue that honey is still a more sustainable sweetener than sugar. Photo by Bianca Ackermann via Unsplash.

While “Save the Bees“ has good intentions, it’s important to note that honey bees aren’t the only ones in need of saving. If biodiversity is what we’re after, we need to turn our attention to native bees, too.

A Double-Edged Sword

Even amidst concerns around honey beekeeping and honey production, it’s important to compare honey’s effect on the environment to other sweeteners. While honey has its own problems, many still point to the fact that it’s more sustainable than sugar for a number of reasons.

First off, honey production doesn’t require land cultivation the way that sugar production does. Sugarcane fields require acres of land, leading to deforestation and the destruction of thousands of animals’ natural habitats. In addition, honey production emits fewer greenhouse gasses compared to sugar production. It requires less equipment and, typically, less travel; most sugar in North America has to be imported from South and Central America, Australia, and the Caribbean.

Knowing all sides of the debate around honey, you can make informed decisions about your honey consumption. Photo by Emily Joy Meneses.

Making Choices as a Consumer

We can’t tell you what the right answer is for you when it comes to honey consumption—but, knowing the varying sides of the debate, you can make more informed decisions in your everyday life. Stay tuned for future installments of our “Know Your Sweeteners” series, where we’ll discuss molasses, agave, and more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Emily Joy Meneses (she/they) is a writer and musician based in Los Angeles. Her hobbies include foraging, cortados, vintage synths, and connecting with her Filipino roots through music, art, food, and beverage.

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The post Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two appeared first on Barista Magazine Online.

Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

Know Your Sweeteners: Honey: Part Two

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