Learn About Manuka Honey

https://steenshoney.com/blogs/manuka-honey/what-is-manuka-honey

At a Glance

Steens manuka honey is raw and unpasteurized, made by bees who pollinate flowers from the manuka plant in New Zealand.

The benefits of Steens manuka honey include its high amino acid profile, higher nutrient content, and natural enzymes that aid digestion.

Manuka honey is used to treat wounds, improve oral hygiene, prevent acne, and more.

What is Manuka Honey?

Manuka honey is a monofloral honey produced by bees who pollinate flowers from the Leptospermum scoparium tree, also known as the manuka plant. Along with enzyme-created hydrogen peroxide, manuka honey has many benefits stemming from its special antibacterial properties. Additionally, this type of honey is known for being earthier, richer, and more viscous than other types of honey.

How is manuka honey made?

Manuka honey is made from honey bees that pollinate the manuka flower. The ornate Manuka flower is a fickle beauty, only appearing for a short time during the summer months, and only if conditions are suitable. It blossoms on the Leptospermum scoparium tree, which is indigenous to New Zealand. To make pollination even more difficult, manuka flowers only keep their blossoms open for roughly 12 days.

There are many reasons why this flower attracts so much attention — from both honey bees and humans.

The manuka flower is treasured because of its lasting benefits like its antibacterial, anti-fungal, and natural healing properties. 

Manuka is proven to help accelerate wound healing and is also approved under the strict standards of the Food & Drug Association for this purpose.

Where is manuka honey made?

New Zealand accounts for nearly all of the world’s production of real, pure manuka honey. As the manuka plant is native to New Zealand, its rugged countryside features an abundance of manuka flowers for honey bees to pollinate. Despite being roughly the size of the state of Colorado, the island of New Zealand alone produces 15,000 to 20,000 tons of honey annually.

Is Manuka honey “raw honey”?

Minimally processed manuka honey is generally considered “raw”. Higher levels of processing remove the manuka honey’s beneficial properties making it now longer raw. Therefore, the level of processing that your manuka honey goes through, will determine if it is considered “raw” or not.

Commercially Processed Manuka vs Steens Whole Comb Technology

Commercially processed manuka honey is heated to high temperatures (150 degrees Fahrenheit) during the creaming process. This eliminates yeast spores that could cause the honey to ferment, as well as melts the honey crystals to make the product less viscous. Additionally, the honey undergoes a filtration process to remove fine particles for a smooth and uniform finish. Unfortunately, this commercial process destroys some of manuka honey’s enzymatic properties, beneficial nutrients, as well as its taste and aroma — thus making it no longer “raw.”

At Steens, we believe nature knows best and so we’re determined to bring to the world a honey entirely honest in nature, by keeping it raw without the need for secondary processing. Our proprietary Whole Comb Technology™ maintains temperatures that naturally occur in the beehive. We also control any undesirable fermentation in our manuka honey by ensuring its moisture content is kept within strict parameters. In addition, we do not fine filter our honey, as this removes the nutritious bee bread, pollens, enzymes, and minerals.

Manuka Honey Grading Systems

Because pure manuka honey is rare and extremely difficult to harvest, this type of honey must undergo a series of rigorous lab tests and be given a Unique Manuka Factor™ (UMF) rating to ensure its quality. This rating is given by the UMF Association, an independent body in New Zealand that regulates the UMF quality trademark through internationally recognized quality standards.

At Steens Honey, our UMF grading system uses the most comprehensive and transparent test currently available for manuka honey, as it accounts for a number of natural elements — including Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) and Methylglyoxal (MGO) — found in manuka honey to ensure its purity.

Many of our competitors’ grading systems only test for one marker — typically MGO — as their reference point for grading their manuka honey. It’s important to note that MGO can be adulterated and found in other types of honey, which makes it a poor standalone rating system.

The visual below shows how these different grading systems compare from good to best.

Browse our Anytime Range for everyday wellness

Perfect for everyday wellness, this milder line of manuka honey products is best used as a natural sweetener for cooking or baking. 

Explore the Anytime Range

Choose from our Daily Range for a healthy boost.

Our stronger Daily Range products boost immunity and can be used to treat common throat and gut ailments, with just a spoonful a day. 

Explore the Daily Range

Turn to our Targeted Range for specific conditions.

For optimal health, our doctor-recommended Targeted Range treats topical concerns like skin wounds and internal issues like autoimmune diseases. 

Explore the Targeted Range

Still unsure which strength of Manuka honey is right for you? Follow our Manuka honey grade guide to discover which range will fit your needs!

Tips on Buying Manuka Honey

When purchasing manuka honey, always look for a UMF label and grading level clearly displayed on the front label. Also, the honey must be packaged and labeled in New Zealand, as well as produced by a New Zealand company licensed to use the UMF quality trademark.

Finally, the package must have the UMF licensee's brand name and license number on the front label, and it must come with an official UMF certificate with its batch information and laboratory test results.