Mānuka honey

[5][6] The mānuka tree flowers at the same time as Kunzea ericoides, another Myrtaceae species also called kānuka, which often shares the same growing areas.

[12] Mānuka honey has a strong flavour,[5] characterised as "earthy, oily, herbaceous",[13] and "florid, rich and complex".

[14] It is described by the New Zealand honey industry as having a "damp earth, heather, aromatic" aroma and a "mineral, slightly bitter" flavour.

[15] As a result of the high premium paid for mānuka honey, an increasing number of products now labeled as such worldwide are adulterated or counterfeit.

Separate UMFHA tests in Hong Kong found that 14 out of 56 mānuka honeys sampled had been adulterated with syrup.

[16] There have been increasing turf disputes between producers operating close to large mānuka tree clumps.