What is Manuka?

The cottage is surrounded by protected Manuka bushes.The flowers produce a high quality honey which is great for eating but it is also known for its health benefits. The information below will provide some back ground information.

Manuka Leptospermum scoparium

Manuka is found throughout New Zealand and probably is one the most common species in New Zealand from wetland, coastal and lowland forest.

It is a shrub growing to 3-4 metres and is also fast growing and is one of the first species to come back after land disturbance.
Manuka by contrast prefers wetter soils, persistently dominating wetland margins. Manuka is very tolerant of wind but is not shade tolerant.

The leaves are very small and prickly to touch and It has white flowers 10-12mm and flowers profusely and additionally in irregular bursts at other times.

Manuka has hard woody seed capsules that remain on the plant for a year or more after flowering.
At any time of the year you will see seed capsules of various ages. In New Zealand Manuka is commonly referred to as tea tree which arose from the leaves being used by the early settlers to brew tea.Feel free to pick you own leaves to brew a cup of tea or enjoy the two different kinds of Manuka blended herbal teas which were specially created for us, using our Manuka leaves. Naturally there will be Manuka honey in the cupboard for you to try as well.

Manuka Honey and the UMF factor.

From the bees in the faraway North Island of New Zealand comes manuka honey. The bees feed on the manuka shrub which in turn, allows them to create honey that has higher therapeutic properties than any other type of raw honey in the world.

While all types of raw, organically-produced honey have an antibiotic quality, what makes manuka honey so unique is MG (methylglyoxal), which is found in other types of honey but not in such large quantities as with manuka honey. It is because of this natural content of antibacterial powers that manuka honey is revered for safe and effective use topically to treat a variety of skin conditions.

Manuka Honey is gaining worldwide recognition for its unique properties. New Zealand UMF® Grade Manuka Honey is highly regarded and its reputation continues to grow.

UMF stands for ‘Unique Manuka Factor’. Almost all genuine Manuka Honey is sold with a UMF® rating. UMF® is a measure of the unique type of activity naturally present in Manuka honey. UMF® is registered by the UMF® Honey Association and can only be used by licensees whose products meet criteria including quality monitoring and auditing.