They say that honey last forever but in fact it does not improve with age like a fine wine, its color will grow darker and its flavors will fade.
Honey is best consumed young, in season and straight off the comb if you are fortunate to taste this venerable delicacy.
As the undisputed expert and queen bee of honey, Carla Marina Marchese is a member of the Italian National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey, where she received her formal training as a honey sensory expert. Her book, The Honey Connoisseur co-authored with Kim Flottum (editor of Bee Culture Magazine) parallels the concept of terroir to single - origin honey directly matching floral sources to flavors and conceived the first U.S. honey aroma and flavor wheel. In 2011, Marina establish The American Honey Tasting Society as the leading resource for honey sensory education in the United States. An accomplished apiculturist, Marina has also successfully completed the Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course, twice achieving a deep understanding of products of the beehive and their applications to health and healing.
A graduate of The School of Visual Arts in NYC, Marina's background in the arts primed her for the critical skills required to work in a sensory discipline. An avid world traveler, Marina has had the unique opportunity to taste hundreds of new and old world honeys maintaining an impressive private library of honey samples. Most of Marina's work today is consulting for culinary professionals as well as sourcing rare, exotic and exquisite honeys for some of the finest chefs around the country. She is available to create and style honey menus and events or lead guided sensory educational courses for those who would like to train their senses to identify flavors, floral sources, crystallization and defects in honey. No matter where you are in the world, she is available to travel to your location.
A passionate and dynamic, sought-after speaker, Marina shares her knowledge in animated and inspiring presentations —leaving audiences with a fascinating view of the importance of honey bees to our food chain and the gastronomic delight of varietal honeys.
Marina coined the term 'Honey Sommelier' in her first book Honeybee Lessons from an Accidental Beekeeper published in 2009.