Our Honey
OUR GOAL is bring you seasons in a jar. We are out there with the bees and the honey they make is not more that a pure reflection of their environment. The rainfall, the winds, the spray of the sea is all expressed in the trees and flowers. Bees forage nectar and pollen making honey that speaks for the season. Next year will be different.
Manuka Honey
Depending on the weather Manuka blooms between August and November. It is one of the first native tree species to bloom in the New Zealand spring. Because other trees bloom later the nectar available during this period is almost unique to the Manuka flower. By siting our hives amongst Manuka bush we can maximise the flow of Manuka honey. Once the Manuka bloom has finished we harvest those boxes allowing us to increase the chances of monofloral quality.
Honey by the Sea MANUKA honey is harvested and sent to a CERTIFIED laboratory to test the content of its purity and antibacterial property. As we don’t want to belong to UMF® marketing trade mark (and pay its high fees), we grade the honey by its ACTIVE ingredient: METHILGLYOXAL (MG)/Kg
As we like to think that honey is like a wine, Manuka honey’s active properties seems to follow the rule of maturity leading to excellence. Antibacterial activity increases with time and the temperature it is stored at.
Every year is a new start. The weather, the trees and the bees combined combine to make a secret recipe. Every year the honey will express its season.
We don’t mess with that; we bring you what the bees make best, seasonal honey.
Coastal Bush
Our Manuka honey comes from apiaries where the Manuka tree is dominant. Our coastal bush honey represents the wider area. Nectars from Manuka, Kanuka, Pohutukawa, Cabagge tree, Rewa-rewa, flax. Its taste and colour is a revelation of the season: darker and stronger in flavour if Manuka and Kanuka did well or lighter and sweeter and smoother if Pouhutukawa and cabbage trees had a great summer. Unlike blended honeys, we don’t mix ours, the bees do! Thanks to the variety in pollen in the honey our coastal bush is a bullet-proof tonic all year around keeping the immune system sharp and going. A must for the kids!
