Black Beech Honey begins in the forest.
Its character is shaped by the relationship between Southern beech trees, native scale insects, honeybees, weather and time.
Scientific research lets us look more closely at what this ecosystem creates — its origin, its natural composition, and the differences found from one harvest to another.
Black Beech Honey does not begin with flowers.
Native scale insects (Ultracoelostoma species) live on New Zealand beech trees and produce honeydew. Honeybees gather this honeydew and transform it in the hive.
It is a relationship between tree, insect and bee — shaped by the forest in which it occurs.
Glentui · North Canterbury
South Island · New Zealand
Beyond its deep colour and distinctive flavour, New Zealand honeydew honey contains a complex range of naturally occurring compounds.
Scientific research has examined its minerals, sugars and oligosaccharides, phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity and free amino acids. Each gives us another way of looking at what the forest, insects and bees create together.
Research comparing New Zealand honey types has found honeydew honey to have a distinctive mineral profile.
Potassium was the dominant mineral reported, alongside phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and sodium. In one comparative study, honeydew honey recorded the highest mean total mineral content among the honey types examined.
A forest leaves more than a flavour. It leaves a chemical signature.
Honeydew honey has a different beginning from blossom honey — and its carbohydrate composition reflects that difference.
Research on New Zealand beech honeydew has identified fructose and glucose together with a range of naturally occurring sugars and oligosaccharides.
Different origin. Different composition.
Scientific analysis of New Zealand honeydew honey has identified a range of phenolic compounds and measured antioxidant activity using established laboratory methods.
These measurements describe laboratory-observed chemical activity. They are not presented by Bee Charm® as medical or therapeutic claims.
Science is most valuable when comparison leads to understanding — not competition.
Research has also begun to describe another layer of honeydew honey's natural composition.
A 2022 study quantified 17 free amino acids in New Zealand honeydew honey, with proline reported as the most abundant.
There is still more to learn. And that is part of what makes the science meaningful.
These figures describe findings reported in published research on New Zealand honeydew honey. They do not represent guaranteed values for every Bee Charm® harvest.
Mean total mineral content reported for honeydew honey in one comparative New Zealand study.
Quantified in a 2022 analysis of New Zealand honeydew honey.
Established methods used to examine antioxidant activity in published research.
Published science helps us understand New Zealand honeydew honey as a category. But every Bee Charm® harvest is its own harvest.
That is why we distinguish between published scientific research and measurements taken from individual batches.
Research helps us understand the honey.The batch record tells you about your harvest.
How we measure each harvest — Understanding BBH® →We believe scientific evidence should be accessible, not hidden behind marketing.
The Bee Charm® Evidence Library brings together published research, scientific references and independent laboratory records relevant to New Zealand honeydew honey and individual Bee Charm® harvests.
Explore the Evidence Library →Nature gives us something to wonder about.
Science gives us another way to listen.