The Mānuka guide

Mānuka is the only honey we sell with a number on the label. That number is the most misunderstood thing in the honey aisle, so it is worth ten minutes.

What MGO measures

Mānuka nectar contains dihydroxyacetone, or DHA — a compound the Mānuka flower produces in unusual quantity. Over weeks and months in the jar, DHA converts into methylglyoxal: MGO.

The figure on the label is how many milligrams of methylglyoxal a laboratory found per kilogram of that batch. MGO 512+ means at least 512 mg/kg. It is a measurement of one compound in one batch. It is not a tier a marketing department assigned, and it is not a score out of anything.

MGO, UMF, and the other numbers

You will meet several systems, and they are not interchangeable:

• MGO — methylglyoxal in mg/kg. A direct measurement of a single compound. This is the scale we use.
• UMF — a graded trademark from a New Zealand industry association, which tests several markers including MGO, DHA and leptosperin. A UMF number is roughly, but not exactly, convertible to an MGO figure.
• “K Factor”, “Bio Active”, “TA”, “NPA” — a mix of brand-owned scales and pollen-count or antibacterial measures. Some are specific and meaningful; some are close to decoration. If a number on a jar is not explained anywhere on the label, treat it as decoration.

The practical rule: compare MGO with MGO, and be wary of any number whose units are not stated.

Higher is not better. Higher is more.

This is the part that costs people money. A higher MGO figure means a more concentrated honey with a stronger, more medicinal, slightly bitter character. It does not mean a nicer honey, and for most uses it is not the jar to buy.

If it is going into tea every morning, a high grade is wasted — you will not taste the difference through the tea, and you will pay several times more per spoon for the privilege.

Which grade to start with

• MGO 83+ — the everyday jar. Mild, recognisably Mānuka, and the right place to find out whether you like the style at all.
• MGO 261+ — still a daily honey. Noticeably more character than 83+ without becoming assertive.
• MGO 512+ — the step up, and the point where the flavour starts to take over whatever you put it in. A sensible middle if you are only buying one jar.
• MGO 826+ — intense and distinctly medicinal. Bought deliberately, usually a spoon at a time.
• MGO 1197+ — the top of what we stock. Very strong, very expensive, and most often bought as a gift or for a reason the buyer already has in mind.

All five grades come in 135g, 250g and 500g, and the price per gram falls as the jar gets bigger.

Why the jar looks different every time

Mānuka is thixotropic: it forms a gel at rest and turns liquid when disturbed. A jar can look set solid, then move like syrup after a few turns of a spoon. That is the honey behaving normally rather than a fault, and it is one of the ways real Mānuka gives itself away.

What we are not telling you

Mānuka has a long research literature and a longer marketing literature, and the two do not always agree. We sell it as food: a distinctive, strongly flavoured, single-origin honey graded on a measurable compound. We make no medical claims about it, and we would suggest reading anyone who does with some care.

If you are looking for something to treat a condition, that is a conversation for a pharmacist or a doctor rather than a honey shop.