MGO 550+ Raw Manuka Honey

Best Manuka honey! I’ve bought many different Manuka honey brands but this one is the best so far. Great flavour and also helped us get through a recent bout of flu. Will buy again.

This honey was lovely, my kids love it, and hopefully it scares away any winter ills and chills!

I’m loving this - I take a teeny spoonful each evening as this is so packed with good stuff, including all the enzymes and minerals which, thankfully haven’t been processed out. Really high MGO count of 550 too, so for me, this is terrific. I keep this in a cupboard rather than the fridge and although once or twice my husband has spread it on his toast, I want the benefits of this all winter for myself! It has a rich, creamy flavour, less sweet than I’d anticipated but it’s soo good. Yes, it’s inevitably dear but the real stuff is - and this has met every strict criterion. I’m confident I’ll derive many benefits from this.

Manuka honey is famous, but as I'd never really considered paying the very high prices it commands, I wasn't even sure, when it was offered to me for review, whether I was supposed to eat it or stick it on wounds! (Spoiler: either is possible, but you can DEFINITELY eat it! 😋)All honey is good for you in moderation, but what makes Manuka honey so special (and expensive) is its high concentration of a compound called methylglyoxal (MGO), which has antibacterial properties. Manuka honey is reputed to support oral health, gut health and skin health, among other things.It came in a very nice little giftable box, which was sealed. The jar was also sealed, both inside and out. I was slightly surprised that such a high-end product was in a plastic jar, not glass, but it comes all the way from New Zealand, so this may be a necessary concession to reduce shipping weight.Manuka honey production is very tightly regulated in New Zealand, so provenance was an important aspect of the presentation. A QR code on the lid let me trace the exact batch and see all its lab test results, confirming quality and authenticity. I could even see the approximate location of the hive. This was all very geeky, and some people will just want to eat the honey, but I found it interesting and informative. According to its published lab results, the particular batch I got comfortably exceeded the minimum for its labelled ratings. It was labelled at 555+ for MGO and 15+ for NPA, which are two alternative measures of antibacterial potency, but its actual scores were 591 and 16.3 respectively. It was reassuring to know the product achieved better than the legal minimums for its category. You could also see that it wasn't contaminated with pesticides.It is a "set" type honey (compared to runny), and quite dark. In taste, I found it quite caramelly, and almost fruity. It's different to other honeys I've tried, but still very definitely honey, so picky eaters should not feel too far outside their comfort zone.I have found it interesting and enjoyable to try it, and think it would make a nice gift for someone who's into that kind of thing.

PROS-nice taste-I appreciate the efforts the producers went to to ensure we consumers are happy with knowing where it was sourced, and how it was produced-produced in New Zealand-high MGO ratingCONS-really rather pricey (but on par with other Manuka honeys I’ve seen in stores)NOTES-I am not qualified to speak to any health benefits, though the high MGO rating will please those who know what it isMY STAR RATINGS:1* substandard, mostly cons2** barely acceptable, cons outweigh the pros3*** meets the basic requirements, cons balance the pros4**** good product, pros outweigh the cons5***** exceptional, all (or almost all) pros