Perfume Illuminated: The Mead Moon

The full moon tomorrow is called the "Mead" moon in reference to the time of year when bee hives are full of honey, which in turn is used to create mead. When I hear the word mead I think of the Renaissance fair and times of old.


Mead is a wine beverage made with a combination of honey, water and yeast. The yeast is the alchemical component which transforms the the trio of ingredients into wine. Find a series of links here for Mead Making Tutorials.

FRAGRANCE

There is no "Mead" essential oil, however there is honey and beeswax absolute, as well as our own creativity.

Honey absolute, Apies millifera or Apis melliferra, is an extremely, viscous material with a delectable aroma. The raw material, in general comes from France and India, it resembles honey both visually and aromatically. Some honey absolute is only soluble in alcohol while others are soluble in both alcohol and an oil base.

Beeswax absolute, Apies millifera, also termed Absolue Cire d'Abeille in most cases comes from France. The material is either a waxy, paste-like mass or a viscous liquid. The aroma resembles pure beeswax with a stronger animalic and hay-like quality.

A few years ago there was a Wheat absolute on the market that would work nicely here as the "yeast" element of the mead. Another alternative is to make a Yeast accord including Hops. Since varieties include herbs, spice and fruits consider creating accords of each and adding them to create different versions of Mead perfumes.

FLAVOR

The flavor of mead is dependent on the honey as well as the addition of fruit, herbs and spices. Spices most often added to mead are cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, herbs tend to include hops, thyme, oregano, lavender and/or chamomile. These types of mead are called metheglin. Fruit meads, termed melomel, contain a berry such as blackberry, strawberry and raspberry. The spices, herbs and fruits included depend of the variety of local materials available.

For more mead flavor goodness visit Beth at the Windesphere Witch blog.

Reference: Wikipedia, Mead
Images: Old engravings digitally enhanced ©RoxanaVilla