We're providing some information about granulation because we've received a few inquiries about this subject.
We've started shipping honey to our customers from a shipment we received in March from New Zealand. This honey was from the same batch as our previous shipment, but we found that it is a bit courser in granulation than we have experienced in the past. Manuka honey naturally will granulate or "set" after packing. Almost all honeys granulate to some degree since in liquid form they are supersaturated solutions. Manuka honey is prone to courser granulation due to the ratio of glucose to fructose sugars naturally occurring in the honey.
Many manuka honey packers put the honey through a process called "creaming", which is a controlled way to allow the honey to "set" with a very fine granular structure. To “cream” honey you have to introduce a "starter" honey with a finer granular structure. When you do this it changes the product slightly. We have experimented with some creaming, and some raw (completely unprocessed) honey. On balance, we had gotten better feedback on the raw honey, and had determined we would stick with only packing in this form. However, this shipment, which came from the same batch as our earlier shipments, is tending to granulate a bit courser as it sets. We are researching and working through the differences in how the honey "sets up" after packing. This may be temperature related and have to do with the time of year & other transportation factors.
However, the honey still retains all of the great taste & wonderful health properties. It also melts into toast nicely, so the impact of granulation may vary depends on how you consume it. Our honey can be gently (about 100 degrees) heated to return it to a liquid form if that is a preference. I have read that some real hardcore "foodies" will look for granulation in the jar and only buy it if they can see this evidence of the pureness, and lack of processing.
We'd like to keep our honey as pure, natural, and as unprocessed as possible. I'd encourage you to enjoy it in its most natural form, but if you are unhappy our policy is very clear, we’ll fully refund your money if you would like to return it. Post or e-mail us your thoughts with regard to this subject.
While exploring the natural characteristics of Manuka honey, it's also crucial to be aware of how it's presented on labels. For more insights, read about understanding Manuka honey labels.
Purchase Bees & Trees Manuka honey here.
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