Honey Odyssey

Unifloral honey

Lavender honey

Lavandula spp. (mainly Lavandula x intermedia)

Lavender honey is made mainly from the hybrid Lavandula x intermedia, grown for essential oil in France and Spain, and also from other species such as Lavandula angustifolia. Its pollen is strongly under-represented or absent. The honey is light, 33.3 mm Pfund on average, with low electrical conductivity and high sucrose, and crystallises at a moderate rate.

Lavender honey
Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0

What we know

Origin and plant

  • Unifloral lavender honey is produced mainly from the hybrid Lavandula x intermedia.

    Confirmed fact[1]

  • Lavandin is cultivated for its essential oil in France, Spain and, to a lesser extent, other southern and Mediterranean countries.

    Confirmed fact[1]

  • Unifloral honey can also come from other lavender species, such as Lavandula angustifolia in France and Spain.

    Confirmed fact[1]

How to recognise it

  • Lavandula x intermedia pollen is strongly under-represented in the honey and may even be absent.

    Confirmed fact[1]

  • Colour is light, a normal honey colour with a bright yellow tone, averaging 33.3 ± 6.5 mm Pfund.

    Confirmed fact[1]

  • In sensory analysis the odour is of medium intensity, described as woody, floral like fresh fruit, and vegetal.

    Observation[1]

  • Sensory panels rate sweetness medium, acidity medium, bitterness absent, aroma medium and described as woody, fresh, floral and warm, with medium persistence.

    Observation[1]

Composition

  • Lavender honey is characterised by low electrical conductivity, slightly low fructose plus glucose, and high sucrose values.

    Confirmed fact[1]

  • Mean electrical conductivity of lavender honey is 0.21 ± 0.05 mS/cm, with fructose 36.0 ± 1.9 and glucose 30.6 ± 1.7 g/100 g.

    Confirmed fact[1]

Crystallisation and storage

  • Lavender honey crystallises at a moderate rate.

    Confirmed fact[1]

Standards and rules

  • EU law allows lavender honey up to 15 g/100 g sucrose, three times the general limit of 5 g/100 g.

    Confirmed fact[2]

  • The Codex honey standard likewise sets a sucrose limit of not more than 15 g/100 g for lavender and borage honeys.

    Confirmed fact[3]

Honey Odyssey describes composition, origin and tradition. It does not give medical advice or health claims.

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Sources

  1. Persano Oddo L., Piro R. (2004) Main European unifloral honeys: descriptive sheets. Apidologie 35 (Suppl. 1): S38-S81, Lavender sheet pp. S64-S65. doi:10.1051/apido:2004049 Link
  2. Council Directive 2001/110/EC of 20 December 2001 relating to honey, Annex II point 1.2. Official Journal of the European Communities L 10, 12.1.2002, p. 47 Link
  3. Codex Alimentarius Commission. Revised Codex Standard for Honey, CODEX STAN 12-1981, Rev.1 (1987), Rev.2 (2001), section 3.5.2. FAO/WHO Link

Last checked: 30 October 2026. Every statement on this page was compared with the source it cites.