June 06, 2024
by Natasha Nesic
Black Locust Honey! The word “black locust” probably brings to mind a certain bug, right?
But the elegant, towering black locust tree is far from resembling the terrifying insect that the name might imply. A hardwood deciduous tree, its flowers look like a cross between a dogwood blossom and a snapdragon, and its leaves are a deep emerald with even spacing between them—almost like a picture-perfect sprig you’d see on a greeting card!
Interestingly, the leaves also contain significant flavonoid content, which means that the honey has the potential to impart antioxidants as well.
Adagio's Black Locust Raw Honey possesses a fruit-forward aroma with echoes of acid and vanilla. This opens up a whole range of possibilities! Fruit-forward flavors lend themselves to balancing bitter greens or neutral blacks and oolongs, while the acid and vanilla contribute that special “something-something” that can take your tea to a whole new level.
So, why not take advantage of this beautiful woodsy angel and try it out in some unexpected combinations?
Top 10 Tea Pairings
Here are some of the best teas that Black Locust honey enhances:
We mentioned how well this honey pairs with neutral black teas, but don’t let Irish Breakfast fool you—it’s definitely not a true neutral! The honey plays up all the hidden fruit and nut notes you’ll find in this kind of cup, so start by adding a teaspoon and see how it flows from there.
This is another near-neutral with character! Golden Monkey is known for its spice and smoke, plus the blink-or-you’ll-miss-it savory notes common in the mineral-heavy family of Chinese teas. A golden honey like Black Locust certainly blends impeccably with it. Start with a single teaspoon.
This is where the vanilla accents of the raw honey really make a difference. English Breakfast, as the name implies, is traditionally a breakfast tea, and many folks love it as a quick pick-me-up or replacement for coffee during the day. Black Locust honey imparts that comfy dessert feeling that will set English Breakfast lovers abuzz with glee. One teaspoon to taste.
If the tenderly bitter edges of Golden Monkey appealed to you, then you simply must get your hands on some Yunnan Noir. Black Locust Honey does an amazing job of bringing its lightness and fruity notes to what would otherwise be a somewhat serious single origin. One teaspoon, again!
We hit up Ireland and England for their quintessential breakfast beverage blend, so might as well bring our attention to Scotland as well! This tea is a bit heartier than the others, but that’s the beauty of adding Black Locust Honey to it—you’ll be adding a teaspoon of more beauty to an already beautiful beast!
This Taiwanese tea is one of the highly sought-after oolongs on an international level. The name gives its character away; it’s certainly a lovely cup, and adding a touch of honey to it only increases its inherent sweetness. One teaspoon or less—this lady likes being treated gently.
Another oolong in the same flavor family as the previous belle, known for its smoke and nutty notes. A rising phoenix, indeed! Adding Black Locust Honey here will play up the subtle sweet edges to it, plus cover any mistakes in oversteeping. Just a teaspoon or less, again!
This is actually another variation of the Oriental Beauty, since “Bai Hao” is the traditional name for it. It’s from Formosa instead of Hsinchu, so you may notice other flavors that you can use Black Locust Honey to play around with. Again, just a delicate teaspoon for the delicate leafy damsel.
This one really does well with the vanilla accents in Black Locust Honey. A floral oolong by nature—in fact, the floweriest on our list—Fujian Orchid definitely does justice to the floral origins of the honey that we’re working with. Time for an exception to the teaspoon: half or less.
We couldn’t have only one floral tea on here to buddy around with the Black Locust, right? This one is so subtle and wild in its possibilities that you can add as much or as little honey as you want.
