Zandaz Honey

Description

A hidden gem of the High Atlas

Zandaz is one of Morocco’s most distinctive and least exported honeys. It comes from bupleurum — a hardy, thorny shrub the Amazigh call zandaz — which blooms across the high slopes of the Atlas mountains in late summer. Few beekeepers make the journey to these altitudes, which is exactly why this dark, complex honey remains a well-kept secret among Moroccan honey lovers.

Character and traditional appeal

Zandaz pours a deep, dark amber and delivers a flavour unlike any classic floral honey: woody and rounded, with warm notes reminiscent of dried fruit and soft caramel, and very little of the sharpness found in lighter varieties. In the mountain villages where it is harvested, Zandaz has long been valued as a strengthening, comforting honey — the kind kept aside for family, cold evenings and special guests.

Origin and terroir

Our Zandaz honey is harvested in the High Atlas, where bupleurum thrives on stony ground between 1,500 and 2,500 metres. At these altitudes the air is clean, the flora is wild, and the bees forage far from any intensive agriculture. The late-season bloom gives the honey its density and its deep colour. As with all our honeys, it is extracted cold and simply filtered, so everything the mountain put into it stays in the jar.

How to enjoy it

• On its own, by the spoonful, to appreciate its unusual depth.
• Melted over warm msemen, pancakes or porridge.
• As a natural sweetener in coffee or robust black tea, where its woody notes shine.

Its naturally thick texture may firm up further over time — gently warm the jar in warm water whenever you prefer it more fluid.