WESTON, CONNECTICUT, July 2019 — The American Honey Tasting Society (AHTS)
has been granted accreditation by the Central Office of The Italian National Register of the Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey. The AHTS is the first organization in the United States to train students how to taste and evaluate honey using the methods of sensory analysis developed in Italy. The Italian National Register is a list of those who have completed the stringent training required to become a sensory expert in honey and have been accepted as a member of the organization called Albo. Members are invited to participate as a panel member to judge honey in the Italian and International Honey Commission’s competitions. Beekeepers, culinary professionals, mead makers and honey enthusiast can begin the training to become a honey sensory expert right here in the US. The Introductory course in the Sensory Analysis of Honey is offered twice each year by the AHTS and is the first of 3 courses in the Italian certification program. Students who complete the course will receive a certificate of completion which satisfies the requirements to continue to level I and II in Italy. “It is an honor for the AHTS to be recognized by the international authorities on sensory evaluation of honey and upholds the standards of training for the next generation of honey experts.” Says Carla Marina Marchese is the founder of the AHTS and the first U.S. citizen to become a member of the Italian Register. With the growing number people keeping honeybees and the vibrant culinary interest in varietal honey, the AHTS fulfills a need in the U.S. for a reliable resource for honey education.
The AHTS’s first accredited course was completed in July with 18 students who traveled from as far as Australia, Canada and Dominican Republic all seeking the knowledge and training to learn the methods to taste and evaluate all aspects of honey. Dr. Gian Luigi Marcazzan, the president of the Albo and panel leader of the sensory working group at the International Honey Commission (IHC) came from Italy to lead the course with Marchese who has been teaching since 2015. The AHTS’s Introductory course is the identical four-day course of sensory exercises offered in Italy including sensory exercised, lectures, and plenty of hands on tasting of honey samples that were were flown in from Italy. Each honey sample used in the course is tested in the Italian lab for pollen, chemical and evaluated by a sensory panel and must conform to the standards established over twenty years of research by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and their honey sensory experts.
“The American Honey Tasting Society is the first organization of it’s kind in the United States that provides educational insight into the finer points of identifying the flavors in honey and matching them with their floral source and regions,” says Marchese who is the co-author with Kim Flottum of The Honey Connoisseur. “There are many honey enthusiasts, but there are no resources in our country that provide accurate and in-depth education or sensory training in honey. The art of being a honey tasting expert is as complex as being a wine or olive oil sommelier.”
For additional information about the sensory training courses in honey
Visit www.americanhoneytastingsociety. com or email ahts.usa@gmail.com.
