The weather is getting cold, the leaves are changing, and we can all feel that crispness in the air. Soon, depending on where you live, you might see frost in the early morning or sleet at night. Nobody likes bundling up just to get in the car, wait five minutes for it to heat up, and then have to maneuver out of those heavy coats in the cramped seat. But with a simple biological hack, you can enjoy a tasty Hot Honey treat and give yourself enough warmth to get past that hurdle. Enjoy non-sweaty drives and freeze-less days!

It all starts at the tip of your tongue—and carries down your esophagus. Your tastebuds have a receptor called “TRPV1,” which is sensitive to hot and cold. Triggering these receptors begins a fascinating effect called “thermogenesis,” which is a substantial element of metabolism—the process of converting food into energy. If you trigger these receptors, your body will heat up. But how do we do that?

 It’s very simple: Capsaicin. Capsaicin, the active chemical component in cayenne pepper, binds to TRPV1 receptors and tells your body that you’re warming up. That’s enough to kickstart thermogenesis and get your body digesting latent food and metabolizing fat to give you enough energy to stay warm.

You might wonder: Does this come at a cost? Technically, yes. It comes at the cost of stored calories, and in some way, will help you lose weight. But to avoid the sleepiness that comes with a caloric deficit—or at least to mitigate it—you can use a simple carbohydrate to boost your blood sugar at the same time. 

This sounds complicated, but it comes down to two necessary ingredients: Sweet and Heat. 

Now, if only there was some product that had the delicious, clean sweetness of Raw Honey and the comforting heat of cayenne peppers… maybe an infused honey? A cayenne-infused honey? What a coincidence!

Hot Honey is more than just a viral snack for New York pizza—of course, that’s delicious too. But we love to make your life easier, and it’s just not sustainable to eat greasy pizza or fried chicken for breakfast every day. Instead, check out our Recipes for inspiration, or here’s a really simple idea:

Buy a cheap-quality cheese that tastes good enough on its own—something like gouda or sharp cheddar. Take five minutes at the start of the week and slice it into bite-sized pieces, just a few to enjoy with whatever the rest of your breakfast is. Each morning, drizzle some of our Hot Honey over the cheese and, for an even nicer effect, dip it in some salt. It’s delicious, and the residual heat will keep your body warm as you start your whole day.

That’s not the only way it helps, either! Have you noticed that your hands and feet get freezing cold in the winter? That’s because your body restricts blood flow to your extremities to keep your core warm. It’s called ‘Vasodilation.’ Warming spices like cayenne act as ‘vasodilators,’ gentle expanding blood vessels and improving circulation to keep your fingers and toes warm. It’s a natural bodily response, and it’s only bad if you’re going to be exposed to the cold for hours on end. But if you’re going from your house to the car, come on; you don’t need such an extreme survival mechanism. We invented heaters for a reason.