10 Best Raw Honey Brands, Ranked

You don't have to be Winnie the Pooh to appreciate one of nature's finest food manifestations: honey. Sweet, silky, and full of warm flavor, it belongs everywhere, from spooned into a simple cup of tea to drizzled atop wildly expensive cheeses on the fanciest charcuterie board.

Honey is deeply embedded in one of the loveliest life cycles to be found in the natural world. Flowers, not only colorful and aromatic, are highly practical — downright do-or-die — a hardworking honeybee seeks nectar for survival. The bee fills its honey sac as it buzzes from around 50 to 100 flowers. After this labor of love, the bee returns to its hive and deposits the precious cargo into wax cells we all know as honeycombs. And that's it. No, really, that's it. You can eat the honey right out of the combs, then and there, like a big old black bear. And a wise consumer knows that this purest form of honey, raw and unfiltered, is absolutely the way to go for the best-tasting experience. For a deeper look at the honey production process, check out the National Honey Board.

We decided to collect a variety of raw honey from various grocery stores (reducing the possibility of bee stings) and give them a taste test. So if you're looking for the sweetest honey on the market, take a look at our ranking of raw honey brands from worst to best.

There are so many different types of honey. Just think about how many flowers there are in the world, and when you throw in the unique individual bees that visit them, well, it's mind-boggling. When we picked up a jar of Sadaf raw honey, the option available was Sage, which is one of the less commonly found varieties. But we made an effort not to let the different sources, from sage to wildflower to orange blossom, influence our palates when it comes to the best honey itself. We trust that a great brand of honey will stay great no matter which aromatic florals grace it. Once you've found the top raw honey brand for you, that's when you can go ahead and dive into the distinctive varieties to determine which goes best with English Breakfast versus Oolong tea.

A jar of Sadaf, usefully, comes with a disclaimer: Crystallization of pure, raw honey is normal and expected (only processed/pasteurized and filtered honey does not crystallize). But don't worry, because honey like this tastes heavenly no matter how old it is. Sadaf really surprised us. Right from the very first taste, it didn't ooze with sugary sweetness the way basic honey does. Instead, it had a robust, almost musty taste and a mildly grainy texture. It would be great with cheese that has a bit of a good stink to it, but might not exactly do as it's expected on brown sugar cinnamon oatmeal.

Simple Truth Organic always hits it out of the park with well-priced choices that sometimes prove to be even better than expected. The green and white label was created to make it easy to spot feel-good, organic, natural, and still affordable options even when racing through the grocery store in the middle of a busy day. Its tasty, wholesome food products usually offer a wide range of evolving flavors and reliably decent taste. It's got a quality guarantee and is certified organic by Pennsylvania.

All that is to say, though, is this honey is very tasty, but not that special. Simple Truth Organic is a lot better, and has a much deeper honey flavor than regular honey sold in nondescript (but really darn cute) bears at the grocery store, or in little packets that get all over your fingers (and therefore all over everything under the sun) at coffee shops. It's also a tad bit thicker, though not by much. Simple Truth's was definitely runnier than most of the others on this list. One important note, however: Compared to most of the others' price points, it's a winner.

It's safe to say that all of these different honey producers don't exactly go wandering around in the woods hoping to come across a massive, buzzing hive of bees. The difference between wild and farmed honey is distinct: Farmed honey is produced by bees housed in boxes full of hives, while wild honey is taken, naturally, from hives occurring in the wilderness. But farmed honey, like farmed versus wild-caught salmon, can be sourced more or less sustainably. Just ask Nature Nate about his sustainably farmed honey if you want even more peace of mind to enjoy your soothing chamomile tea. Nate works hard to give back to bee health by partnering with responsible beekeepers and leading universities for bee health research. The brand "help the greater hive" (cute!) by taking as little from it as possible. We love the purity guarantee: to provide an unmatched level of care and precision that any honeybee would be proud of, "crafted for exceptional taste and award-winning flavor."

The honey has a rich, toasty flavor that surpasses generic grocery store varieties for sure. It was one of the best we've tasted for an upgrade from your usual processed honey, but not quite as sweet, creamy, or intriguing as some of the others even higher on the list. If you're feeling slight trepidation about the more startling raw honey, Nature Nate's sits comfortably at the upper range of middle ground. Try it drizzled on top of flapjacks and you won't be sorry.

Discover honey pretty darn close to "wild" when you dig into a jar of Wee Bee Honey. It's never heated, filtered, or strained, so it stays rich in pollen, propolis, and enzymes, and has a delectable honeycomb layer. As we mentioned when discussing Sadaf, Wee Bee notes that the bees themselves decide the color, flavor, texture, and crystallization of each and every individual jar of honey. It depends on the blossom! It's also made in a pesticide-free apiary (the word for a location where bee hives of honey bees are kept). Wee Bee Honey, naturally raw, comes from a family farm right here in the U.S. This is an important distinction, as it turns out. Honey fun fact courtesy of the Wee Bee jar: 80% of honey sold in the USA is imported, and, unfortunately, this has led to the decline of the U.S. Beekeeping industry. Considering how delicious it is, we felt a slight panic at the thought of only having access to the overly processed stuff in the future.

American family-owned and operated, these beekeepers raise their bees organically. It's another reason to love Wee Bee Honey beyond the taste. You have to love a self-aware tagline like "We are the Beekeepers." THE beekeepers? No one else compares? Alright then, we almost agree, because another honey takes the cake. This buttery honey looks straight out of a storybook. Rich, raw, and ridiculously good, we're going to have to resist spooning it onto everything.

Apparently, this is the "Honey Lovers Choice," and we, as unprofessionally certified honey lovers, agree wholeheartedly. This wholesome, natural, specially harvested raw honey has our hearts. The brand is built on a foundation of four generations of hands-on beekeeping experience. It's pure, unpasteurized, unfiltered, nice, and fresh straight from the hive. The enzymes are actually alive, with all the nutrients carefully preserved as whole food. It's SO creamy, we were absolutely floored. Yet, don't worry, it's still somehow all natural. The crystallization is nature's miracle, energy packed in its true raw state.

Y.S. Eco Bee Farms is never forcefully processed to make it conveniently spreadable because the luscious consistency happens all by itself. And that makes us want to visit the facilities in Illinois in the summertime and lay down in a sun-drenched wildflower field while enjoying freshly baked sourdough bread dipped into this perfect honey.  We could go on and on about this pristine product. It's not pourable, so if you need a one-and-done way to add sweetness to your food, Y.S. Eco Bee Farms takes a little more effort and mindfulness. But it's time well spent, hands down. Don't deprive yourself of the experience of spreading decadent raw honey on top of anything your heart desires. We plan to spread it generously even if it takes a big bite out of our paychecks. Life's too short!