Why does Honey vary on colour and taste?
The colour and flavour of honey differs depending on the nectar source (the blossoms) visited by the honey bees. Honey colour ranges from nearly colourless to dark brown, and its flavour varies from delectably mild to distinctively bold, depending on where the honey bees buzzed.
Honey is produced in every region of New Zealand, but depending on floral source location, certain types of honey are produced only in a few regions such as Honey Dew.
Honey also vary in the size of the crystals formed. And crystallised honey tends to set a lighter/paler colour than when liquid. This is since glucose sugar tends to separate out in dehydrating crystals form, and that glucose crystals are naturally pure white. Darker honey retains a brownish appearance. Crystallisation is easily changed by standing the honey pot in room temperature or a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
Case Study
The Beekeepers Manuka Honey seasonal change depends on what else the bees are foraging on when the Manuka flowers are yielding. Traditionally, North Island Manuka’s are darker because the bees are generally gathering other bush honeys, which are traditionally a darker colour (think honey dew) and in the South, the bees are often gathering from more pastural honeys, i.e. clover, borage etc. which are a lot lighter in colour, making the Manuka a lighter colour.
All our Manuka has passed the MPI Manuka 5 attributes test to be classed as Manuka.
