Coffee blossom honey is a monofloral honey from the nectar of coffee blossoms (Coffea arabica), produced in Ethiopia, Colombia, and Central America.
Coffee blossom honey is made from the nectar of the Coffea arabica flower, not from coffee beans. It does not taste like coffee — the flowers are famously jasmine-aromatic, and the honey carries that jasmine floral signature with light cocoa-coffee plant undertones and vanilla character. Trace caffeine at approximately 12 mg/kg (Kadri 2016, [1]) is a botanical authenticity marker, not a functional stimulant dose. Verified producers are concentrated in Hawaii (Kona) and Guatemala.
Coffee blossom honey is made from the nectar of the coffee plant flower (Coffea arabica), not from coffee beans themselves. This distinction is crucial: coffee blossom honey does not taste like a cup of coffee, but rather like a honey that has spent time near coffee forests — with subtle coffee plant undertones mixed with fruity, jasmine-floral, slightly acidic character. The honey comes from major coffee-producing regions including Ethiopia, Colombia, Central America, and Hawaii (particularly Kona-grown coffee).
Coffee plants are not primarily grown for honey production; bees are placed in coffee plantations as a secondary benefit to pollinate the plants and produce honey from their brief bloom. The coffee blossom bloom is seasonal and relatively short, occurring just once per year during the growing season. Only a fraction of coffee-producing farms utilize beekeeping, making coffee blossom honey genuinely rare. It represents a beautiful intersection of two of the world's most beloved plant products: coffee and honey.
The honey carries trace caffeine — Kadri et al. (2016) documented coffee blossom honey at approximately 12 mg/kg caffeine using HPLC ([1]). For reference: a 1-tablespoon serving (~21g) contains roughly 0.25 mg of caffeine; a typical cup of coffee contains 80–100 mg. The caffeine is detectable through analytical chemistry, not through sensation — it is a botanical marker of authenticity, not a functional stimulant dose. Wright et al. (2013, Science) demonstrated that nectar caffeine improves honeybees' memory of floral signals ([2]): the caffeine in coffee blossom nectar is a plant strategy directed at the bees, not at the eater of the honey.
The honey is dark amber in color with a fruity character that develops complexity over time. The flavor is distinctive — not universally approachable like clover or wildflower, but profoundly rewarding for those who seek it out. Coffee drinkers often report an instant affinity for the flavor. The rarity and the unique flavor make it a prized addition to any honey collection.
Coffee bean and roast research is one of the world's most extensive food-science literatures. None of it transfers to coffee blossom honey. The page leads with that distinction because it is structurally important and frequently misunderstood.
The honey is from coffee FLOWERS. Bees forage the small white star-shaped blossoms of Coffea arabica during the brief annual bloom. The nectar they collect carries the jasmine-aromatic register of the flowers themselves — light, floral, with vanilla warmth and slightly acidic character. It is processed into honey before pollination produces the famous beans.
The beans are a completely different part of the same plant. Coffee beans are seeds inside the cherry-like fruit that develops after pollination. The bean undergoes processing (washing, drying), roasting (Maillard reaction chemistry, melanoidin formation, chlorogenic acid breakdown), and brewing to produce coffee. The compounds that define coffee — chlorogenic acids, melanoidins, post-roast Maillard products, the cardiovascular and cognitive effects from brewed coffee — all form during processes the bees never witness.
Reading bean-roast research into honey would be a category mistake. The honey is from a different part of the same organism, with a different chemistry, gathered before pollination produces the beans. Thousands of papers on coffee bean compounds say nothing about coffee blossom honey.
Trace caffeine note. Coffee nectar does contain caffeine, but at trace level — Kadri 2016 documented ~12 mg/kg in the honey (orders of magnitude lower than the 80–100 mg in a cup of coffee). Wright 2013 explained why: nectar caffeine improves honeybees' memory of floral signals, an evolutionary signal hypothesis for why plants invest in nectar caffeine at all. The plant included it for the bees; it ends up in the honey as a residual marker. Not a stimulant claim, not a coffee-substitute claim.
Disambiguation from "honey-process coffee": Colombian and Ethiopian "coffee honey" or "honey-process coffee" is a coffee bean processing method (mucilage retention during fermentation), not bee honey from coffee flowers. The naming overlap creates confusion; this page is about bee honey from coffee blossoms.
Coffee blossom's signature is the jasmine register of the flowers themselves — a floral lead with light cocoa-coffee plant undertones, vanilla warmth, and a slightly acidic edge. The locked palate centers Floral as the dominant chord with supporting Bakery and faint Fruity character.
Herbaceous, Spicy, Woody, Nutty, Caramel, and Earthy all stay at 0. Coffee blossom is a Floral-Bakery-Fruity chord — the jasmine signature of the coffee flower with vanilla warmth and slight acidity, not the dark roasted register of brewed coffee.
A jasmine-floral signature inherited from coffee blossoms, a verified-trace-caffeine botanical authenticity marker, and a genuinely rare seasonal production — the three properties this honey is recognized for.
Coffee blossoms are famously jasmine-aromatic — small, white, star-shaped flowers with a fragrance that perfumes coffee plantations during the brief annual bloom. The honey carries that floral register: jasmine lead, vanilla warmth, light cocoa-coffee plant undertones, slightly acidic edge. Reads cleanly with jasmine green tea and white tea; sits comfortably on fresh cheeses and vanilla pastries.
Kadri et al. (2016, Food Chemistry, PMID 26948612) characterized Coffea arabica monofloral honey through melissopalynology and physicochemical composition, documenting caffeine at approximately 12 mg/kg via HPLC. This is detectable through analytical chemistry, not through sensation — a botanical marker of authenticity, not a functional stimulant dose. Wright et al. (2013, Science, PMID 23471406) explained the evolutionary mechanism: nectar caffeine improves honeybees' memory of floral signals, so the plant invests in it as a bee-directed signal.
Coffee plants are not primarily grown for honey production; bees are placed in coffee plantations as a secondary benefit to pollinate the plants and produce honey from the brief 2–4-week annual bloom. Only a fraction of coffee-producing farms utilize beekeeping, making coffee blossom honey genuinely rare. Verified named-producer supply is concentrated in Hawaii (Kona — Kona Coffee & Tea Company, Big Island Bees) and Guatemala (Mother Nature Foods at Lake Atitlán).
Verified named-producer coffee blossom honey supply is concentrated across two regions:
Hawaii — Kona. Kona Coffee & Tea Company (Waiono Farm, Holualua) carries the "Kona Snow Coffee Blossom Honey" SKU. Big Island Bees (Hawaii's largest organic honey producer, 2,500 hives) carries the "100% Kona Coffee Honey" varietal.
Guatemala — Lake Atitlán. Mother Nature Foods (San Juan La Laguna, Sololá) carries the Lake Atitlán Miel de Café Pura, Orgánica y Cruda.
Brazilian, Vietnamese, Colombian, Ethiopian, and broader-tropical producer verification at the named-monofloral tier remains incomplete. Ethiopian and Colombian commerce both produce "coffee honey" or "honey-process coffee" — but this is a coffee bean processing method (mucilage retention during fermentation), not bee honey from coffee flowers. Buyers seeking authenticated coffee blossom honey should look for the Hawaiian or Guatemalan named-producer SKUs above; generic "coffee honey" labels without producer attribution often refer to the bean-processing product.
As an Amazon Associate, Melvea earns from qualifying purchases.
No. Coffee blossom honey is from coffee flowers, not coffee beans. The flowers are famously jasmine-aromatic; the honey reads with a jasmine floral signature, light cocoa-coffee plant undertones, and vanilla character. It is not bitter, not coffee-flavored, not roasted in character — bean-roast chemistry stays in bean context.
Yes, at trace level. Kadri et al. (2016, Food Chemistry, PMID 26948612) documented coffee blossom honey at approximately 12 mg/kg caffeine using HPLC. A serving (~21g) contains a fraction of a milligram. A typical cup of coffee contains 80–100 mg. The caffeine is a biochemical marker of botanical authenticity, not a functional stimulant dose. Wright et al. (2013, Science, PMID 23471406) showed the caffeine is in the nectar because it improves bee memory of the flowers — a plant strategy directed at bees, not at honey consumers.
Different product entirely. Colombian and Ethiopian traditions both produce "coffee honey" or "honey-process coffee" as a coffee bean processing method — mucilage retention during fermentation, not bee honey from coffee flowers. Important disambiguation: bean processing in those regions does not yield a true coffee blossom monofloral honey at the verifiable named-producer tier.
Three named operators across two regions. Hawaii: Kona Coffee & Tea Company (Waiono Farm, Holualua) with the "Kona Snow Coffee Blossom Honey" SKU; Big Island Bees (Hawaii's largest organic honey producer, 2,500 hives) with the "100% Kona Coffee Honey" varietal. Guatemala: Mother Nature Foods (San Juan La Laguna, Sololá) with the Lake Atitlán Miel de Café Pura, Orgánica y Cruda. Brazilian, Vietnamese, and broader-tropical producer verification at the named-monofloral tier remains incomplete.
Tea, baking, cheese, breakfast. The jasmine floral signature reads cleanly with jasmine green tea, white tea, lighter oolong. Baking: vanilla pastries, financiers, white-chocolate ganache. Cheese: fresh mozzarella, burrata, ricotta, young goat cheese. Breakfast: yogurt, granola, fresh fruit. Avoid heavy applications (barbecue glazes, dark chocolate) — the delicate floral signature disappears behind bold competing flavors.
Because coffee bean and roast research is one of the world's most extensive food-science literatures — thousands of papers on chlorogenic acids, melanoidins, post-roast Maillard chemistry, cardiovascular and cognitive effects from brewed coffee. None of that research is on coffee blossom honey. The honey is from a different part of the same organism, with a different chemistry, gathered before pollination produces the famous beans. Reading bean-roast research into honey would be a category mistake.
Coffee blossom (Coffea arabica) monofloral honey from Brazil; chemical composition incl. caffeine quantification at ~12 mg/kg.
Bee behavioral study showing nectar-level caffeine improves bee learning + memory of floral scent; plant-strategy mechanism.
Spotted in the wild
From shelves, kitchens, and markets. Add yours — we review every submission.
No photos yet.
Be the first to submit a photo of Coffee Blossom honey— help build the encyclopedia.
Submit a Coffee Blossomphoto →Verified coffee blossom honey producers in our network.
Oregon
Captain Cook, Hawaii
Single-origin Hawaiian honey from the Big Island.
Asheville, North Carolina
Blue Ridge Mountain honey from local Appalachian apiaries.
Reno, Nevada
Al Bees Sierra Nevada Honey (legally Sierra Nevada Honey LLC) is a small beekeeping business based in Reno, Nevada, prod...
Woodland, California
Z Specialty Food is a family-owned and operated varietal honey company founded in 1979 and located in Woodland, CA. Oper...
Are you an coffee blossom beekeeper?
Claim Your Farm