Beekeepers point out why we should never add honey to a hot drink

Adding honey to a hot drink, whether it’s milk, tea, coffee, or any type of infusion, is a fairly common practice. People look to add a sweet touch to their drinks and infusions whilst avoiding sugar but according to Giorgio Poeta, one of Italy’s most famous beekeepers, this is something we should never do given that honey is a superfood packed with nutrients and its greatest enemy is heat.

Honey hates heat

Honey is a highly nutritious food but according to Poeta, mixing honey at high temperatures eliminates the beneficial properties of honey and causes a rapid loss of nutrients. Furthermore, this process increases the level of a quality indicator substance in honey, called HMF, which is a substance that reflects the freshness and state of preservation of the honey itself. Specifically, HMF is a fructose degradation product and is used as a quality indicator of honey, since mixing honey at high temperatures causes an enzymatic decomposition, which simultaneously causes the loss of all health benefits.

Now, as a preventative measure to avoid key nutrients from being lost, Poeta recommends waiting a few minutes before pouring the honey over the drink or infusion.

He adds that putting honey in hot drinks is not harmful to human health but highlights that its benefits are lost, since they are destroyed by heat. Of course, the sweetening effect produced by mixing honey with any type of infusion or drink is not lost.

Pasteurized honey

The same process is repeated with pasteurized honey, i.e., when it’s heated to approximately 78°C to extend its shelf life. This process leaves only the sweetness and eliminates the health benefits of raw honey. Poeta recommends preserving honey’s unique properties by avoiding high temperatures. This way, you’ll get the most out of this fantastic natural product.

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