Honey is one of the oldest known sweeteners. It has been an essential part of our diet since earliest times and there is increased interest in its culinary and health properties. Not only is it delicious to eat, honey is hailed for its medicinal properties – it is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal and packed with highly valuable nutrients.
What's Different About Sweetree Honey?
Sweetree Honey is a true reflection of the Waikato's flora. Much like a great wine reflects the terroir of where the grapes have grown, Sweetree Honey’s different varieties reflect the area and season the bees worked their magic. From the buttery and salted toffee apple taste of of Marokopa Spring to the gorgeous caramel and butterscotch flavour of the Hakarimata - there is a Sweetree honey to suit all tastes and occasions.
Unblended honeys are not new, but the fact that Sweetree's honeys are not based on a single flower source but the local area and season make our approach quite different.
People who try Sweetree honey often comment how it tastes like the honey they used to have when they were young. It’s much more than just a sweetener. Being in attractive glass jars with stylish labels it makes a great gift.
How is Sweetree Honey Processed?
Sweetree honey is extracted by cutting the wax cappings off each wooden honey frame, they are then placed into a spinner, where the centrifugal force extracts the honey from the frames. We then cream our honey, this is to ensure that your honey does not granulate (look sugary) and it maintains a consistent texture. During this process the only thing that is added is a fine grained natural honey, this is used like a starter to start the creaming process. The honey is then stirred and left to cream over a few days. We manually pack the honey into re-usable glass jars.
Our honey is not heat treated or pasteurised. You can be confident that Sweetree Honey has not been damaged by heating or finely filtered. It still retains the enzymes, antibacterial qualities and high pollen counts naturally occurring in the honey. Samples of Sweetree honey tested have a HMF level of <4mg/kg, indicating very fresh honey! Fresh extracted honey is usually below 10mg/kg, higher levels such as 40mg/kg indicate excessive heating. Find out more about HMF. Find out more about HMF.
All our products are processed and packed in a NZ Food Safety Authority approved premises – LOR4HONEY/01.
Why is Sweetree Honey in Glass Jars?
When we were deciding how to package our honey it had to be glass. It is so much more healthier, attractive and environmental friendly. We came across this on Glass for Life facebook page which sums it up quite well - "People trust glass more than any other packaging material to protect the flavor and freshness of their food and drink. And for good reason. Glass is safe and healthy, pure and virtually inert. It’s made of natural ingredients—sand, limestone and soda ash. Glass is 100% recyclable and highly sustainable— unlike most other packaging materials, it can be recycled over and over. And glass says quality without even trying. Glass is life, for all the right reasons.
"We also use wooden honey frames in our beehives as opposed to plastic frames, which have become very popular with beekeepers over the last few years. We believe it's better for our bees, us humans and the environment. Enjoy the wonderful diverse flavours of Sweetree’s quality honeys!
