At a glance
Sierra honey
Montane flowers with chestnut and no heather
Colour
Amber to dark amberat least 84 mm Pfund, greenish-brown reflections
Aroma
Woody, dry timberreminiscent of chestnut honey
Taste
Sweet, salty and bitter notestart if bramble contributes
Crystallisation
Lowunless legumes contribute significantly
Season
Summerin the chestnut woods
Region
The AlpujarrasGranada
Pollen reference
20% chestnut pollenand no heather in the guide profile
Designation
A recognised type within Miel de Granada PDOthe guide’s specific PDO reference
Among the guide’s 43 profiles, this one explicitly refers to a protected designation of origin. Its botanical description also draws attention to a plant missing from the forage, heather.
The Iberian guide describes a plant-community honey from the chestnut woods of the Alpujarras in Granada. It gives at least 20% chestnut pollen, accompanied by montane flora with no heather.
Reading and tasting sierra honey from Granada
This Spanish-language field guide compares botanical origin, tasting and laboratory findings. Use the profile together with the traceability of the lot.
Check the PDO claim against the lot
- Read the protected name and the producer details on the jar.
- Use the guide for tasting and the official specification for certification criteria.
How the Miel de Granada PDO describes it
The Alpujarras, Granada: a local profile linked to Miel de Granada PDO.
The official specification calls the type “Miel de la Sierra” and sets a minimum of 20% Castanea pollen. See the EU’s approved specification amendment, C/2025/4996. Only a lot meeting the full PDO requirements may carry the protected name.
Of the guide’s 43 profiles, this is the one that identifies a specific protected designation of origin . The reference does not confer certification on an individual jar.
Chestnut without heather: where the bitterness comes from
Reading the chestnut and sierra profiles together helps explain the origin of the bitter notes.
In the chestnut honey profile, the guide notes sweetness, salty notes and frequent bitterness, particularly where there is also heather.
In the sierra profile, heather is absent but a bitter note can remain. Here the authors attribute it to the chestnut component.
Compare the two profiles: a honey without heather can still have bitter notes attributed to chestnut. This suggests that chestnut can contribute bitterness in its own right. Heather may accentuate it where both occur.
The two entries together give a clearer picture than the chestnut entry in isolation.
Colour and the reflections at the edge of the jar
Amber to dark amber, from 84 mm Pfund in the Iberian guide. Like chestnut honey, it can show greenish-brown reflections where the honey meets the glass. Look at the edge of the jar against the light.
Sierra honey on the Pfund scale
The two dark bands, with no stated maximum. On-screen colours give an approximate visual guide. A laboratory measures the actual value.
Aroma, taste and texture
Sensory profile
Our interpretation of the descriptions in the Guía de mieles monoflorales ibéricas. The profile is close to chestnut without the additional influence of heather.
Aroma
Floral, with a pronounced dry-wood aroma. The guide uses the same woody descriptor for chestnut honey.
Taste
Sweetness is accompanied by salty notes and frequently by some bitterness from chestnut. Bramble can add acidity.
Crystallisation
It usually crystallises slowly, unless there is a substantial contribution from legumes. As with chestnut honey, a jar can remain liquid for a long time.
Interpreting the laboratory profile
| Parameter | Reference in the guide | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Colour | at least 84 mm Pfund | Amber to dark amber, with greenish-brown reflections at the glass. |
| Moisture | up to 18% | Fermentation risk increases above the guide value. The general EU limit for blossom honey is 20%. |
| Fructose and glucose combined | at least 60% | The guide describes a blossom honey. |
| Sucrose | up to 5% | One of the sugars reported in the analysis. |
| Electrical conductivity | up to 0.40 mS/cm | See the note below. The value printed in the guide is unusually low for such a dark honey. |
| Free acidity | up to 50 meq/kg | Can rise with fermentation or extended storage. |
| HMF | up to 40 mg/kg | HMF increases with heat and time in storage. |
| Diastase activity | at least 8 Schade units | Indicator of enzyme activity, which can decline with heat. |
| Pollen | at least 20% Castanea sativa | With other montane flowers and no heatherin this guide’s description. |
Reference ranges from the Guía de mieles monoflorales ibéricas, fourth edition (2023). These characterise the variety. Spanish statutory limits are set by Royal Decree 1049/2003 as amended by Royal Decree 68/2025, including a general maximum of 20% moisture and 40 mg/kg HMF, subject to the exceptions in the legislation.
A note on conductivity. The printed guide gives a maximum of 0.40 mS/cm. This is low for a dark honey with appreciable chestnut pollen. For monofloral chestnut honey the applicable comparison is a minimum of 0.80 mS/cm. The PDO table does not specify a separate conductivity figure for “Miel de la Sierra”. Check the purpose of the comparison and the laboratory report before ruling out a lot.
What pollen occurs in sierra honey?
- Chestnut
- Legumes
- Mint family
- Bramble
- Heather absent
Growing areas and harvest season
The guide places this summer harvest in the Alpujarras in Granada. The local chestnut woods occupy cooler, often shaded mountain slopes. The profile describes a chestnut flow without the heather often encountered in north-western Spain.
Sierra honey flow
FloweringFlowering and harvest
The guide places the main harvest in summer, coinciding with the chestnut woodlands’ summer flowering.
How to recognise Alpujarras sierra honey
- 1Dark, from 84 mm Pfund, with greenish-brown reflections against glass.
- 2Look for dry wood. This woody aroma is typical of chestnut and differs from damp forest-floor notes.
- 3Bitterness without an earthy heather background. The guide describes chestnut forage without heather.
- 4It often stays liquid. It has little tendency to set.
- 5Check the harvest area. The guide places this profile in Granada’s Alpujarras. Check the PDO certification if the protected name appears on the jar.
For a broader view, see how to assess honey quality and our guide to Spanish honey labelling requirements.
Composition and health claims
The PDO sets requirements for geographical origin and production. It does not establish special health effects. Health claims made for foods are subject to separate EU rules.
These characteristics matter when tasting or using the honey.
- The guide explicitly links the profile with the Miel de Granada protected designation.
- The chestnut contribution is apparent without the forest-floor character that heather can add.
- Slow crystallisation often leaves it fluid and easy to pour.
- Try it with mature cheese, game, roasted chestnuts or dark chocolate.
Who should take particular care?
Children under 12 months. Do not give honey to infants under one year. It can contain spores of Clostridium botulinum that may cause infant botulism. This applies to all types of honey.
Diabetes. honey is a source of sugars. This also applies to natural and monofloral honeys when planning a diet.
Known allergy. Anyone with a diagnosed allergy to honey or bee products should consult their clinician if unsure what is safe for them.
Frequently asked questions
What is sierra honey from Granada?
It is a honey from a plant community that includes mountain chestnut woods in the Alpujarras. The guide describes at least 20% chestnut pollen and no heather. The official Miel de Granada PDO specification recognises a type named “Miel de la Sierra” with at least 20% Castanea pollen.
How does it differ from chestnut honey?
The associated forage matters. North-western Spanish chestnut honeys often include heather, which can add forest-floor aromas and bitterness. The Alpujarras profile keeps the dry-wood aroma and salty or bitter notes of chestnut without that heather influence.
Where does the bitterness come from if there is no heather?
In the sierra profile the authors attribute bitter notes to chestnut itself. Comparing the two entries helps explain why heather can intensify bitterness in a mixed flow without being its only possible source.
Who should take particular care?
Never give honey to a baby under 12 months because of the risk of infant botulism. People with diabetes should count its sugars in their diet. Anyone with a diagnosed allergy to hive products should seek individual medical advice.
Where to buy sierra honey from Granada
We do not currently carry this particular honey. To buy a certified lot, check producers registered with the Miel de Granada PDO. For another dark, intense honey in our range, see raw heather honey.
Sources
The reference ranges come from the fourth edition (June 2023) of the Guía de mieles monoflorales ibéricas by J. Orantes, F. Gonell, C. Torres and A. Gómez-Pajuelo, published by Laboratorios Apinevada and Pajuelo Consultores Apícolas. Their work draws on a series reaching back to 1980 and more than 3,600 analyses a year across the two laboratories. The printed guide in Spanish is available in our shop.
See our series on Iberian honeys. Compare it with chestnut honey for the woody aroma and with our broader mountain honey profile for the montane landscape.
