Raw Organic Greek Chestnut Honey from Mount Athos – 5kg

This Raw Organic Greek Chestnut Honey from Mount Athos is not for the faint-hearted! It boasts a rich, deep molasses flavour with bitter notes reminiscent of freshly brewed coffee. You’ll still taste this honey in your throat 10 minutes after eating it. If you enjoy strong, bold honey, this is the one for you. Harvested with permission from the monks of Mount Athos, this extremely dark honey is 100% raw, unpasteurised, and certified organic. The chestnut trees on Mount Athos produce a unique honey, darker and more robust than other varieties, with a strong mineral and polyphenol content. Winner of the 2021 Gold Award at the London Honey Awards, this honey is sure to leave a lasting impression.

Product Highlights

• Extremely Dark & Almost Black Honey: The honey from Mount Athos has a visually striking dark hue, much darker than most other chestnut honeys.
• Strong & Robust Flavour: This honey has the strongest chestnut flavour you will find. It boasts a deep molasses flavour with a bitterness reminiscent of freshly brewed coffee. Expect a lingering aftertaste that lasts 10 minutes or more.
• Gold Award Winner at the 2021 London Honey Awards: A true testament to its exceptional quality and taste.
• Minerals and Polyphenols: Thanks to the fertile soils and the careful stewardship of the monks, this honey is higher in nutrients than almost all other honeys
• 100% Raw and Unheated: The honey is cold-extracted and coarsely filtered to retain all natural enzymes, nutrients, and pollen.
• Artisan-Crafted by Thomas and his beekeeping family: A dedicated beekeeper whose family has been practising beekeeping for generations, ensuring a product that is as pure as it is authentic.

Flavour

This Raw Greek Chestnut Honey offers a deliciously rich and deep molasses flavour with bitterness similar to freshly brewed coffee. You’ll still be tasting it in your throat long after you’ve had a spoonful. The bees feed not only on the blossoms but also the sap from the chestnut trees, which lends the honey a unique flavour profile. Expect nutty notes and a taste slightly reminiscent of maple syrup but richer and more malty. Please note that chestnut honey varies a lot from region to region—some varieties are mild, others, like this one, are strong and bitter.

Colour

This honey is extremely dark, almost black, which reflects its intense and rich flavour. When crystallised, it lightens slightly, turning into a deep brown hue.

Where Does It Come From?

This honey is exclusively harvested from the chestnut forests of Mount Athos in Greece, a sacred region that is renowned for its exceptional biodiversity and carefully protected by the monks. Securing permission to place hives here is incredibly difficult, making this Chestnut honey both rare and highly prized. The trees in this area produce a variety of chestnut honey that is darker and richer than most, contributing to its unique taste and high mineral content.

More About Thomas and His Beekeeping Heritage

Thomas is an artisan beekeeper from Central Greece, where beekeeping has been in his family for generations. His bees produce honey in some of the most pristine environments, including the Chestnut forests on Mount Athos. Thomas' dedication to traditional methods ensures that each jar of honey remains raw, unheated, and full of natural properties.

How Raw Honey is Different from Processed Honey

Raw honey generally means the honey has not been processed; it has come from the hive to the jar with minimal interference. Most mass produced honey is highly processed to give it a consistent look & flavour. It is usually drained of most of its pollen, as well as being heated and blended from many different sources - therefore having no resemblance to any honey that has come out of a hive. Raw honey tends to vary from batch to batch because it is not processed in a factory, filtered, or blended from different sources. Raw honey changes with the season and climate, the soil, what the bees feed on, and the temperament of the colonies. Each batch is unique.

Crystallisation

Raw honey naturally crystallises over time due to its glucose content. This process does not affect the quality of the honey. To return crystallised honey to a runny state, gently warm the jar. For more details on crystallisation, check our Runny Honey Guide or visit the section on Wikipedia regarding honey crystallisation.

About Us

Here at The Raw Honey Shop, we take honey very seriously and we believe honey should be RAW, unpasteurised, and 100% natural. Since 2008 we've been introducing our customers to a whole new world of pure all-natural unpasteurised raw honey. With a product catalogue consisting of over 30 different raw and organic honeys we have a variety to suit all tastes.

Please note we cannot accept returns on this honey due to its size. The tub has travelled all the way from Greece so small dents will often appear.  If your tub or tin arrives slightly damaged and leaking, we are happy to give you a partial refund on the amount of honey you feel has been lost. Unfortunately, we cannot replace whole tins or tubs unless more then 50% of the honey has been lost. We would then request you send us pictures so that we can assess the damage and agree the replacement.