A Sensory Experience

September 15, 2020

Sourced from hives located in diverse landscapes from mountain highlands to low-lying pastures, New Zealand’s wide spectrum of honey flavors and textures reflects the diversity of the country itself. Thanks to New Zealand’s rare and endemic plants, we offer honey flavors unlike anywhere else.

New Zealand produces a wide range of diverse and varied honeys, from pale, mild creamed honeys to full-flavored Mānuka honeys. Each variety reflects and represents the literal flavor of the specific place and time it has been harvested, combined with how it has been processed and handled by honey masters in order to bring out its best attributes.

Every New Zealand honey tells a story of where it comes from – the landscape, the climate, the season, and the flowers and trees. There are many similarities between honey and wine, and similar honeys grown in different regions, in different seasons can have a vastly different flavor profiles. Honey produced by the same beekeeper and sourced from the same beehives in the same location, can differ from year-to year depending on the specific climate that year. Just like each winery’s vintage differs from year-to-year, so do our honey flavors and taste profiles.

Rare and endemic plants found only in New Zealand produce totally different honey to elsewhere in the world. The most famous is Mānuka honey, which has a rich, sweet flavor with a bold and buttery finish. With some of these native plants having short harvest periods, or only blooming well every few years, this honey is a precious resource that beekeepers nurture and treasure.

People will gravitate to different flavors and tastes depending on personal preferences. For example, ‘red wine’ honeys are strong and dark and include Mānuka, Rewarewa, Thyme, Honeydew and Bush honeys. New Zealand honey is sold in both liquid and creamed form and comes in a wide array of golden tones. Generally, the paler the honey, the milder the flavor profile. Honey can be monofloral – predominantly made from one type of nectar, or multifloral – made from a variety of nectar sources.

New Zealand honey is a wonderfully diverse ingredient that can be a breakfast staple, a key ingredient in traditional baking, a soothing balm in times of sickness or incorporated into sweet and savory sauces, marinades and vinaigrettes. It can be used as a naturally sweet alternative in drinks, baking and smoothies, and it can be a perfect accompaniment to cheese platters. It can also feature as a star ingredient in indulgent desserts. With its unique flavor profiles, New Zealand honey gives favorite dishes a new added twist.

At Bees & Trees our Manuka honey is raw, hive-to-jar honey. We don’t blend it or cream it. What the bees make is what we provide to you. Because of this we feel our honey is especially delicious; just as Nature intended.

To purchase Bees & Trees honey, click here.
To learn more about Bees & Trees, click here.
To ask a question, click here.

 

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