It's that time of year, everyone around me has a cold, the flu, or one of those oh-so-fun viruses. Even though I'm surrounded by sick people, I'm still going strong, well not really. I have a bit of congestion and raspy throat, but so far that's it, and I intend to keep it that way.
This is another item that's been sitting in my review pile for a while, and what better time to try it out? Honey is perfect for raspy throats, so let's give these spoons a try.
At a glance, there isn't very much to this package at all. The box is plain, and it acts as a display case for the spoons, while all of the information is printed on a kraft paper label that keeps everything together. The fact that it's so simple while everything else on the shelves is so bright and colorful, really helped this product stand out.
(At least it did at Marshall's/Home Goods. All of the other food items were heavily decorated.) The graphic design work is kept classic and clean, while the limited palette and san serif typefaces give this a modern flair. I really like this. It looks like some kind of fancy retro hipster item you might buy at Urban Outfitters, or Modcloth.
Sure, the packaging may seem simple, but inside there is quite a lot of plastic. Not only are the honey spoons wrapped in a little cellophane bag with a twist-tie, but there's also a thick layer of shrink wrap underneath. I understand why, it's to keep the product fresh, but it was HELL to get this little spoon out of the packaging. Sure, the first bag with the twist tie is easy enough, but that shrink wrap is thick! I struggled with my nails for a while, then attempted freeing the spoon with my teeth, but I ended up having to grab a pair or scissors. Sure, it's pretty, but if I had taken a few of these to work, or put these out at a party, trying to actually use them for their intended purpose is pretty difficult due to all that thick plastic. If you plan on using these, be sure to have scissors or a knife on hand.
Once it's out of all that plastic, the honey spoons look gorgeous! It looks like an edible piece of amber
(mosquito free) and there are little balls
(pft, I'm mature) of bee pollen on the surface. It doesn't really have any scent straight out of the package, but it looks absolutely gorgeous.
I decided to try it on it's own, like a lollipop, so I could see what bee pollen tastes like, and it's a bit waxy in texture, but the flavoring is like delicious golden honey.
There's really not much else to say, it tastes like a honey flavored hard candy with little balls of beeswax. It's extremely sweet and soothing, but these are meant to be stirred into tea, so I figured I might as well try it that way too. I boiled up some water, and stirred it around a bit until the spoon had dissolved a bit. The water started to turn a slightly yellow color, so I took a sip, and man, was it sweet.
I hadn't even dissolved the whole spoon, and it was already way sweeter than I usually like my tea! Is one spoon meant to sweeten a cup? Or a pot? The honey flavoring in my tea was really nice, and tasted almost as good as the fancy local honey I buy from
Mill Creek, but it's so sweet and concentrated, I can't imagine dissolving the whole thing into one cup. I added a splash of lemon to balance out the sweetness, and it turned out to be a pretty nice cup of tea.
These spoons look lovely, they do a good job sweetening hot beverages, and my throat did feel a bit better after drinking it, but it's hard to use a portion of this item, and then re-wrap the sticky partially dissolved spoon away for another cup of tea later, and it's way too much for one cup all on it's own. Maybe this will be good for sweetening a whole pot of tea, but people are very picky, and they like to sweeten their cups on their own.
I really like this product, but it's hard for me to think of a time when I can really use it. I love it, but due to it's portion control issues it really isn't all that more convenient than adding real, liquid, honey to my tea. Maybe I'll use one of these the next time I whip up a batch of honey
lemon for the beach, or when I'm making iced tea.
Have any of you tried this item or a similar one? If so, what did you think and how did you use them? 
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