Waitemata New Zealand Manuka Honey
Honey has a long history of use for medical reasons, with UMF Manuka Honey being the crown jewel of all honeys.
Waitemata Honey is a market leading premium brand of UMF Manuka Honey the only honey to earn the maximum 5 out of 5 stars from the Hong Kong Consumer Council when it independently tested Manuka Honey brands sold in Hong Kong.
Waitemata is a true pioneer of New Zealand Manuka Honey production and was at the forefront of the development of the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) which is now world famous. Put simply - this is great honey! You really can taste the difference.
Waitemata Honey is a market leading premium brand of UMF Manuka Honey the only honey to earn the maximum 5 out of 5 stars from the Hong Kong Consumer Council when it independently tested Manuka Honey brands sold in Hong Kong.
Waitemata is a true pioneer of New Zealand Manuka Honey production and was at the forefront of the development of the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) which is now world famous. Put simply - this is great honey! You really can taste the difference.
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UMF is predominantly comprised of DHA, Methylglyoxal and Leptosperin. The level of the UMF varies so all the different batches of Manuka honey have to be tested to assess the concentration of UMF in each batch. All Waitemata honey has its UMF content certified by a New Zealand Government approved testing laboratory.
Manuka is a shrubby tree and grows prolifically throughout New Zealand. Early farmers considered it to be a weed, and did their best to eliminate it. Its remarkable health characteristics have changed all that!
UMF – MGO
Some producers of Manuka honey are not members of the UMFHA and use a different scale that indicates the strength of methylglyoxal in their products. The most common alternative system is the MGO® scale, which indicates the measure of methylglyoxal in Manuka honey processed by members of its organization. A table of equivalents is below. This table has been compiled by the independent laboratory that assesses the UMF content for members of UMFHA.:
UMF 5+ approximately = MGO 83
UMF 10+ approximately = MGO 263
UMF 15+ approximately = MGO 514
UMF 20+ approximately = MGO 829
For more information about UMF Manuka Honey please visit the UMF NZ website here.
Waitemata is the best brand in New Zealand because it makes the best honey!
2013: Waitemata Manuka UMF15+ was the only Manuka honey to be awarded 5 stars by the Hong Kong Consumer Council. As far as we are aware, these are the only tests ever completed by an independent agency on its own initiative. Because of that they are totally objective.
2014: Waitemata won the award for best creamed honey in New Zealand.
Nearly all New Zealand honey is creamed, so this award is essentially an award for the best honey in New Zealand.
“Creamed honey” is honey that has been processed so that it is thick and creamy.
Waitemata have 70 years’ experience of producing the best honey in New Zealand.
The Waitemata Honey Company, formerly named North Shore Apiaries, has been in business for over 70 years. The current name of the company was adopted almost 50 years ago. It continues to be a family company. It has a reputation for producing some of the best quality honey in New Zealand. It has been producing and marketing Manuka honey longer than any other honey company. In the early 1960s it exported Manuka comb honey to Germany and was the first exporter of processed Manuka honey (to New York). The company was at the forefront of the development of the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF) which is now world famous.
Pictures show Waitemata trucks returning to shore after collecting honey from New Zealand off-shore islands "back in the day".
It is worth remembering that all honey is good for you. Various types of honey have been used by both Chinese and Europeans as a tonic or to help heal wounds for thousands of years. The recent awareness of the benefits of Manuka Honey with UMF as a “Super Honey” could overshadow the qualities of other honeys that have served humankind well over the centuries. Honey also provides a healthy alternative to refined sugar, and can be used as a sweetener when required.
UMF is the abbreviation for “Unique Manuka Factor”. It is the registered trademark and authorised seal of the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA), the originating organisation that identified and promoted UMF. The number represents chemical markers that indicate the content of the honey to ensure purity and quality. To receive a UMF® grading a honey must have the presence of DHA (dihydroxyacetone), Methylglyoxal, and Leptosperin. The UMF® rating is a measure of the attributes and values that make up Manuka honey, and assures purity and quality. Some Manuka honey has higher UMF than others, and a rating system which is commonly between 5+ to 20+ has been established.
For more information about the UMF Association please visit www.umf.org.nz
Discovering UMF
The Waitemata Honey Company was at the forefront of the development of UMF. Michael Stuckey, who was the manager of the company at the time, became aware of Manuka’s medicinal properties because the man he originally worked for could only obtain solace from the pain of a stomach ulcer by regular consumption of Manuka honey. The conventional remedies were not helpful.
At the same time Michael became aware that Whangarei hospital (further north in New Zealand) was using honey to dress wounds which did not respond to conventional remedies. That could only be Manuka honey as nothing much else flowers up there. He also learned that a food scientist at Waikato University was studying the medicinal qualities of the honey.
The rest is history. Michael and some other members of the New Zealand Beekeepers Association teamed up with the scientist, and employed a marketing expert to guide them in commercialising the UMF benefits. Michael was secretary of that development unit for some 5 years, and then with the job done he passed the reins over to another.
Nationwide involvement
Michael's brother Neil is still very active in the affairs of the New Zealand Honey industry. In the past he has been on the committee of the HRU (Honey Research Unit), working with the Waikato University Scientist who identified the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF); the Marketing Committee of the NBA (National Beekeepers’ Association of New Zealand), (chairman for a period); the UMFHA executive committee (chairman for a period); NBA (vice chair) and the BPSC (a committee working with government to set policy); and various other committees.
Made with care
The above, combined with the care and attention only possible with a commitment to smaller batch runs (rather than the loss of quality control that comes with mass production runs of some larger companies), is what you can expect from a smaller family company.
So you see that when you buy Manuka Honey from us, you are getting the best possible quality backed by a wealth of history and experience.
The below videos from the TV33Go guys are well worth a look. Mix of English and Chinese.
Waitemata Certificate of Incorporation.pdf |
McKenzie certificate of Incorporation.pdf |
Waitemata RMP.pdf |
Waitemata UMF Registration.pdf |
NZ/China Exclusive Distributor Letter.pdf |
NZ Distributor Certificate.pdf |