The quality of the honey is one of the first considerations when making mead. In general, a lighter honey yields a lighter coloured and more refined mead, and a dark honey a more robust, richer coloured mead. Choosing which honey to use is a matter of personal taste. There will be variations in the amount of sugar, minerals and vitamins between honeys. The specific composition of any batch of honey will depend largely on the mix of flowers consumed by the bees that produced the honey.

The basic ingredient for any mead is honey, yeast and water though there can be many variations when other ingredients are added like spices, herbs and fruit. If you would like to learn more on the whole mead making process the book 'The Complete Meadmaker, by Ken Schramm is a mine of information and is highly recommended.

view information on mead making from the American honey board