NEW ZEALAND | Nz1, Kāmahi | Nz2, Rewarewa | Nz3, 1000+ Manuka| Nz4, Rata | Nz5, Tawari | Nz6, Thyme |
Nz2, Rewarewa Honey
|
|
|
|
The honey
Rewarewa honey comes from the Rewarewa tree (Knightia excelsa) which is a native to New Zealand. It makes a honey which is an amber colour with a reddish tinge measuring between 85 to 95 on the pfund scale.
This honey was collected over October of 2024 and harvested Early November. It had a moisture of 14.5 at extraction. It has a full bodied caramel flavour that is a family favourite. We gained a third place for this honey in 2023 at the last National honey competition and won the best tasting Rewarewa from our extraction facility Manuka orchard for the 2025 season. We also entered that honey in the Rainforest class at Apimondia in 2023 and it was nominated for a gold medal however it was unfortunately knocked out due to low levels of Amylase which it is naturally low in. Most of the native trees in New Zealand were designed to be pollinated by birds as there were no honey bees so the honey often has low levels of pollen. The bees are able to collect the nectar without touching the anthers at the end of the long pistil. It has antioxidant antibacterial and anti inflammatory properties but has not had the same level of research as manuka honey. The nectar of Rewarewa used to be collected and eaten by Maori prior to Europeans and Bees. They picked the flowers in late spring and tapped them onto the inside of a gourd vessel. It is now commonly used as an everyday eating honey for toast and drinks that has a more complex flavour than the traditional white clover or bush honey. The beekeeping
JBees is based in Tauranga New Zealand and run 1,000 hives with three Beekeepers.
We collect Native Rewarewa honey from some of our hives in the Bay of Plenty Region while the majority of our hives s are pollinating Green and Gold Kiwifruit Mid Spring. Following pollination some of our hives collect Tawari and Pohutukawa honey in the local area. The rest begin the 300km trip to the Manawatu-Whanganui District to collect early Kamahi Honey. By Christmas all hives are on Manuka Honey in the Manawatu Whanganui region. |
