From Hive to Jar: How We Harvest Mānuka Honey

Mānuka honey is unlike any other type of food product - it’s valued for its powerful wellbeing properties and distinctive taste. At PURITI, we know that the harvest process plays a crucial role in delivering a pure, high-quality product. 

From the moment our bees collect the nectar from wild Mānuka tree flowers to our careful extraction process, every step has been carefully designed to preserve our honey’s natural goodness. 

With PURITI, you can trust in the care and transparency we bring to every step of the process, preserving its potency and delivering quality Mānuka honey. 

Finding the Perfect Mānuka Environment

Creating quality Mānuka honey begins long before it reaches your jar - it starts with the Mānuka plant itself. Mānuka honey originates from the New Zealand native Mānuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium). While this tree is widely considered to be native to New Zealand, there has been unofficial speculation that the tree may also grow in specific parts of Australia. 

This native shrub produces flowers that bees flock to for their nectar, resulting in the unique flavours and well-being benefits that make Mānuka honey so prized. 

At PURITI, we ensure that our hives are placed in untouched, pristine areas that are rich in Mānuka flowers. This sustainable, ethical approach not only supports our local bee populations, but it also guarantees that our honey is of the highest quality. 

By carefully selecting locations that are abundant in wild Mānuka, we create an ideal environment for our bees to thrive - which enhances the purity and potency of our honey. 

This commitment to sourcing means that every jar of Mānuka honey reflects our dedication to quality and sustainability, allowing you to enjoy honey that is both high grade and delicious. 

The Role of Bees in Harvesting Mānuka Honey

The process of bees collecting Mānuka honey is done during a narrow window of only a few weeks every year, when the Mānuka flower is blooming. This short flowering season can also become easily affected by hostile weather conditions - which only further increases the rarity of collecting Mānuka. 

During one foraging trip, a single worker bee can collect the nectar from over one hundred flowers. Once the bees have returned to the hive, the unloading process begins. 

The house bees will receive the nectar and begin to produce Mānuka honey by adding enzymes and passing the nectar in a chain. This process alters the honey’s PH and chemical composition, whilst also reducing any excess water content - which helps with preservation.

To properly dry the honey, the bees will spread it over honeycombs to increase the surface area, then fan their wings for airflow. This reduces the moisture content to below 20%, enhancing the viscosity of the Mānuka honey. 

Once dried, the honey will be stored in honeycomb cells which are capped with beeswax, further aiding the preservation of the product and keeping it secure until it’s harvested. 

Gentle Extraction: Preserving Mānuka Honey’s Natural Qualities



The extraction methods used by PURITI’s beekeepers play a crucial role in preserving the pure Mānuka ingredients. 

The process begins with our beekeepers paying extra care to minimise any disruption to the bees. PURITI is a big believer in ethical beekeeping, which means ensuring the welfare and safety of bees and their natural surroundings. 

When harvesting the honey, our beekeepers will avoid disrupting the work of the queen bee, allowing her to continue populating the colony naturally without artificial mating practices. 

We also refuse to use any harmful chemicals, pesticides or honey replacements in order to prioritise our bees’ health and sustainability. 

Our beekeepers remain vigilant throughout the extraction, they’ll continue to adjust their methods to ensure a thriving, healthy environment for the bees and preserve both their vitality and the quality of the honey they produce. 

The resulting honey mixture that our beekeepers extract is then kept in large, sterile drums to avoid contamination. From here, the product is lightly churned to break up any clumps - this process is undertaken without heating or influencing the MGO (methylglyoxal) content. 

This keeps the Mānuka honey pure, raw and unpasteurised. 

Testing Our Mānuka Honey

The final step of harvesting and producing Mānuka honey is the testing stage, which ensures the Mānuka product can be certified to meet the high quality standards that we strive to meet. 

The testing process for Mānuka honey is essential to confirm its authenticity. Only independent, accredited laboratories should conduct testing for premium brands to ensure accuracy and impartiality. By using unbiased facilities, consumers can trust that the honey they purchase meets all the necessary quality standards.

This is why PURITI will use a third-party laboratory to conduct all of our testing practices.

One of the key tests that we have conducted on our honey is the Unique Mānuka Factor (UMF™) certification, which assesses the essential chemical and DNA markers that verify its purity. 

While other certifications like KFactor, BioActive, MGS and NPA exist, UMF™ stands apart by measuring all of the key bioactive ingredients. 

This makes UMF™ the gold standard for authenticating Mānuka honey, saving you time in choosing the right product. Though it’s primarily for raw honey, UMF™ can also certify other Mānuka products such as lozenges. 

Our honey is also tested to meet the scientific definition of monofloral Mānuka honey, which is set by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). Each honey product that we sell meets and often exceeds the minimum required leptosperin and MGO concentrations set by UMFHA. 

This is our way of reassuring consumers that they’re buying 100% genuine New Zealand Mānuka honey. 

Harvesting Mānuka Honey With Great Care

The process that PURITI follows for harvesting Mānuka honey is focused on preserving the natural qualities of the product, every step of the way. 

From carefully selecting hives in pristine environments that are rich in Mānuka flowers, to employing gentle extraction techniques that put the needs of the bees at the centre, every effort ensures the honey remains pure and potent. 

Ethical beekeeping practices protect the bees and the hive, avoiding chemicals and disruptions.

Plus, we incorporate rigorous testing - including  UMF™ certification - as a way of guaranteeing that every jar of honey that we produce reflects the highest standards of quality, sustainability and authenticity.