Manuka Honey UMF 10+ - 1839 - 250g

Honey is one of the oldest foods we know, and it is also one of the most varied. Open a few jars side by side and you will find colours ranging from pale gold to deep amber, and flavours that shift from delicate and floral to rich and almost treacle-like. That variety is no accident. Every honey carries the character of the flowers the bees visited to make it, which is why no two types taste quite the same. Here is a friendly guide to the main kinds of honey, what makes Manuka so special, and how to pick the right jar for you. Why honey tastes so different The flavour, colour and texture of any honey come down to one thing: the flowers. Bees gather nectar from whatever is blooming nearby, and the type of blossom shapes the finished honey. As a rule, the paler the honey, the milder and more delicate the taste, while darker honeys tend to be stronger and more robust. The season, the region and even the weather all play a part, which is what makes honey such a fascinating natural product. Honey generally falls into two broad camps. Blossom honey, sometimes called multifloral, is made from the nectar of many different flowers and offers a rounded, classic honey flavour. Single-flower honey, known as monofloral, comes mostly from one type of blossom and has a more distinctive character all of its own. Popular floral honeys Some of the best-loved honeys are named after the flower that defines them. Acacia honey is very pale and mild, with a light, almost syrupy sweetness that makes it a favourite for drizzling and for sweetening drinks without overpowering them. Orange blossom honey carries a gentle citrus note and a fragrant aroma. Wildflower honey, gathered from a mix of meadow blooms, changes with the seasons and gives you a true taste of the local landscape. At the deeper end of the scale, heather honey is thick, amber and full-bodied, with a bold flavour that stands up well on toast or alongside cheese. Chestnut honey is darker still, with a rich, slightly bitter edge that many people come to love. Part of the joy of honey is exploring these differences and finding the ones you keep coming back to. What makes Manuka honey special No honey has captured attention quite like Manuka. It comes from the nectar of the Manuka bush, which grows in New Zealand, and it has a thick texture and a distinctive, earthy flavour that sets it apart from lighter floral honeys. Manuka's real claim to fame is a natural compound called methylglyoxal, or MGO for short. You will see MGO ratings printed on the jar, and the higher the number, the greater the concentration of this compound. A honey labelled MGO 100+ is milder, while higher ratings such as 250+ are prized and priced accordingly. You may also see the letters UMF, which stands for Unique Manuka Factor, another grading system used to show quality and authenticity. Because genuine Manuka is highly sought after, it pays to buy from a trusted source and to look for a clear MGO or UMF rating on the label. If you would like to explore it, our range includes options from everyday Manuka honey at MGO 40 up to a stronger Manuka honey at MGO 250+, so you can start gently or go for a more intense jar. Raw, set and runny honey Beyond the flower, you will also see honey described by how it has been processed and how it looks. Raw honey is minimally filtered and not heated to high temperatures, so it keeps more of its natural character. Runny honey is smooth and pourable, perfect for drizzling, while set or crystallised honey has a thick, spreadable texture that many people love on toast. Crystallisation is completely natural and is not a sign that anything is wrong. A gentle warm-water bath will loosen a set honey again if you prefer it runny. Choosing the right honey for you The best honey is really a matter of taste and how you plan to use it. For sweetening tea or drizzling over yoghurt and porridge, a mild, pale honey such as acacia or a light blossom honey works beautifully. For baking and cooking, a good all-rounder blossom honey does the job without costing a fortune. If you enjoy a bold flavour on toast or with cheese, reach for a darker honey like heather. And if you are curious about Manuka, start with a lower MGO rating and work your way up. One thing to keep in mind: honey is a natural sugar, so it is best enjoyed in moderation as part of a balanced diet. It should also never be given to babies under one year old. A jar worth savouring From the palest acacia to the boldest Manuka, honey is a reminder of just how much variety nature packs into a single ingredient. Every jar tells the story of a particular place, season and set of flowers. Try a few, notice how different they taste, and you will soon discover which honeys deserve a permanent spot in your cupboard.

Picture your usual breakfast. Maybe a bowl of fruit, a spoonful of honey stirred into porridge, a coffee, a handful of berries on the side. Now take away everything that depends on a pollinator, and the plate starts to look bare. That simple thought is the reason so many people are paying attention to bees, and it explains the growing worry about what happens if their numbers keep falling. Bees are easy to overlook. They are small, they get on with their work quietly, and most of us only notice them when one drifts too close on a summer afternoon. Yet these tiny insects sit at the heart of the food system, and protecting them is one of the most practical things we can do for the future of what we eat. Why bees matter so much Roughly a third of the food we eat depends on animal pollination, and bees do the lion's share of that work. When a bee moves from flower to flower collecting nectar, it carries pollen with it, and that transfer is what allows many plants to produce fruit and seeds. The list of crops that rely on pollinators is long and familiar. Apples, strawberries, blueberries, almonds, tomatoes, courgettes, coffee and cocoa all benefit from the work bees do. Without pollination, harvests shrink, quality drops, and some crops fail to set fruit at all. It is no exaggeration to say that many of the foods we take for granted would become scarcer and more expensive in a world with fewer bees. The trouble bees are facing Bee populations have come under real pressure in recent decades, and the causes are stacked on top of one another. The loss of wildflower meadows and hedgerows has stripped away the flowers bees rely on for food. Certain pesticides can harm bees directly or leave them weaker and more prone to disease. Parasites such as the varroa mite put honeybee colonies under strain, and a changing climate is shifting the timing of when flowers bloom and when bees are ready to feed. None of these problems has a single, simple fix. Taken together, though, they help explain why supporting pollinators has moved from a niche concern to something gardeners, farmers and shoppers are all thinking about. Small changes that help pollinators The encouraging part is that individual choices genuinely add up. You do not need a wildflower field to make a difference. Planting for bees is one of the easiest places to start. A few pots of lavender, borage, thyme or crocuses give bees food across the seasons, and letting part of a lawn grow a little wild does more good than a perfectly manicured one. Leaving a shallow dish of water out on hot days gives thirsty bees somewhere to drink. Cutting back on garden chemicals, or dropping them altogether, protects the insects you are trying to attract. What lands in your shopping basket matters too. Choosing organic food supports farming that tends to be kinder to pollinators, since it avoids many of the synthetic pesticides linked to bee decline. Buying local, seasonal produce and supporting growers who look after hedgerows and field margins all help keep the landscape friendlier to bees. Choosing honey with bees in mind Honey is the most obvious gift bees give us, and it is worth choosing thoughtfully. Buying good-quality honey from responsible producers helps support beekeepers who care for their colonies well, and the flavour of a proper honey is a world away from the mass-produced kind. If you love honey, our range of pure honey, including organic Manuka honey, is a lovely place to start. And if you follow a plant-based diet but still want that natural sweetness, a vegan honey alternative made from flowers rather than bees is a thoughtful way to keep the taste while giving pollinators a break. Every plate depends on them It is easy to feel that one garden, one shopping choice or one pot of lavender cannot change much. But bees respond to the world we build around them, and millions of small decisions shape that world. Plant a few flowers, ease off the pesticides, choose food grown with care, and you are helping to keep the hum in the hedgerows going. Look after the pollinators, and they will keep looking after breakfast. It really is that simple.