UAE: Ever tasted ‘salty' honey? This Hatta festival lets visitors try rare golden nectars

Honey, a staple in most homes, has a distinctively sweet flavour and is often used as a sweetener in food and beverages. However, this beekeeper from Egypt, promises that the rare honey he sells tastes 'salty'.

At the 9th edition of the Hatta Honey Festival, which began on Friday, visitors can get a chance to savour the rare delicacy—salty honey.

Bees that produce the exquisite honey collect nectar from Al Garm trees in coastal mangroves, in Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah.

So, what makes it salty? Abdel Azeem, an Egyptian beekeeper and founder of Hatta Honey, says that the proximity of the mangroves to the sea "influences the nectar, giving the honey its distinct flavour."

Azeem said that he once experimented with his bees during a visit to the mangroves. “I thought to myself, let’s leave our bees here,” said Azeem, adding that they have named it 'Mangroove Honey.'

After a few days, he collected the honey and tasted it. “It had a slightly tangy flavour. A few of my customers loved it,” he said.

Since then, every May for the last three years, Azeem and his team visit the mangroves to check if the flowers are blooming. “Once the conditions are perfect, we transport honeybees in boxes to the mangroves. The bees collect nectar for two to three weeks before we bring the boxes back to our farm for extraction.”

The festival not only showcases a variety of honey but also highlights sustainable beekeeping practices and a range of honey-derived products.

White Arabian honey

Another one of the varieties at the festival that stand out is the rare 'white honey' sourced from the valleys of Salalah in Oman.

“This natural delicacy is produced by bees from the nectar of Majra and Zarkeen flowers, which bloom for only a few days after the Khareef season,” said Nasser Al Humaidi, a beekeeper with nearly 30 years of experience. “These flowers last for about two weeks in a few select valleys of Salalah, making the honey incredibly rare and highly sought after.”

Al Humaidi explained that the honey’s purity sets it apart from similar varieties. “You can find white honey from Russia and Kazakhstan in the market, but this honey is unique to Arabian soil, coming directly from Salalah’s environment,” he said, adding that only 30kgs are harvested in a single season.

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