Ag News

Habersham's Webb recognized for best-tasting honey in the world

The Center for Honeybee Research selected sourwood honey produced by Virginia Webb of Habersham County as the recipient of its "2025 Best Tasting Honey in the World" award in Asheville. Webb is a longtime member of the Georgia Farm Bureau Honeybee Advisory Committee.

For the past 14 years, the center has received thousands of entries from around the world for its "Black Jar" contest. The beekeepers and the origins of the honey are unknown to the judges. After several elimination rounds, the top contenders undergo additional taste testing by a panel of expert honey judges who have received special training. The judges evaluate and score the taste of dozens of honeys.

In addition to her repeated victories at the Center for Honeybee Research, Webb has won the top prize four times at Apimondia, the World Honey Show, which is held every two years by the World Beekeeping Federation.

The United States boasts a wide variety of artisanal honeys, ranging from well-known varieties like clover honey to more unique ones, such as tupelo, black sage, fireweed, basswood, and sourwood.

The flavors of these honeys are primarily determined by the flowers that the bees visit.

Webb is the only person in the United States to hold three Master Beekeeping certifications. A third-generation beekeeper, she has been keeping bees for more than 60 years, ever since her father gave her a hive in 1963.

Her honey has been served at the White House in Washington, D.C., the Georgia Governor's Mansion, the United Nations in New York City, and Le Cordon Bleu cooking school, among other prestigious locations.

The Center for Honeybee Research cares about all pollinators, not just honeybees. They educate the public about the importance of pollinator gardens and using fewer chemicals in yards to provide habitats for insects. While many insects, birds, and bats provide pollination services, honeybees are crucial to the agricultural industry.

In the United States, more than one-third of all crop production- including 90 different crops ranging from nuts and berries to flowering vegetables-requires insect pollination. To make 1 pound of honey, bees must visit more than 2 million flowers. That is the power of the honeybee.

To find out more information on the Center for Honeybee Research go to: https://centerforhoneybeeresearch.org.

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