Honey made by bees that pollinate the Manuka flower is famous the world over, and its unique flavour and antibacterial properties have been celebrated for years. So why is it that pure Manuka honey can be difficult to find, and why does it cost more than the conventional commercial honeys?
Manuka Honey Is Not Like Other Honey
Common varieties of honey found across the world will always be available, and provided that they are appropriately processed, are perfectly fine. Nonetheless, pure Manuka honey can contain up to 20 times the individual natural compounds of conventional honey, giving Manuka honey a range of unique health benefits.
To make the highest quality genuine Manuka honey, bees must solely pollinate the Manuka flower. This is why Manuka honey can be so much harder to find than regular honey. The few species of tree on which the Manuka flower blooms are only found in isolated areas of Australia and New Zealand. In addition to its scarcity, some species of Manuka tree have very brief windows of time in bloom - in some cases bees have as little as 12 days to collect the nectar they need to create their Manuka Honey for the year.
The Power of Manuka
We have described how Manuka honey is graded in previous blogs, and if you would like to see exactly what the various ratings of Manuka honey are, you can find that information here (B Brothers Blog: What Manuka Honey is Right for You?).
Manuka honey is not valuable simply because it is hard to find, it is celebrated because the honey made from the Manuka flower possesses natural healing and therapeutic properties that can’t be found anywhere else on Earth.
In addition to its full rich flavour, medicinal quality Manuka starts at an MGO rating of 250+. The strength of these health benefits and concentration of naturally occurring antibacterial enzymes, increases with the grade / MGO rating of the honey. To achieve the highest grades of Manuka honey, bees must collect nectar almost exclusively from the Manuka flower. Such samples of honey are especially rare and often the most coveted.
The cheapest and most readily available sources of Manuka honey are those with the lowest MGO ratings. These products are perfect for those looking for the rich floral flavour of Manuka, but are not concerned with the health benefits seen in higher grades. The highest grade pure Manuka honey currently produced by B Brothers Honey is 1000+ MGO. This is not only the highest rated Manuka honey we have ever produced, it is one of the highest grades available worldwide.
To see our range of Manuka honey products, visit our store here.