The color, flavor, and even aroma of a particular variety of honey may differ depending on the nectar source of flowers visited by the honey bee. The colors may range from nearly colorless to dark brown, the flavor may vary from delectably mild to distinctively bold, and even the odor of the honey may be mildly reminiscent of the flower.

Varietal honeys may be best compared to varietal wine in terms of annual climactic changes. There are more than 300 unique types of honey available in the United States, each originating from a different floral source. Space doesn’t allow us to list all 300 varieties so we’ve listed some of the more common. As a general rule, the flavor of lighter colored honeys is milder, and the flavor of darker colored honeys is stronger.