Frequently Asked Questions
Jarrah honey is a rare, bioactive honey from the south western region of Australia. It is known as liquid gold and as a healing honey, due to its incredible beneficial properties. These include having very strong antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. In addition Jarrah Honey has an incredibly low GI, is prebiotic rich and packed full of antioxidants and other beneficial phytochemicals. It rivals and often exceeds Manuka with all of its incredible natural properties. Learn more about Jarrah honey here. Learn all about Total Activity in Honey on this page here.
Although both honeys contain incredible properties, Jarrah honey offers a wider range of benefits and typically for a lower price than Manuka honey. Learn more about Jarrah Honey vs Manuka Honey on this page here.
Raw honey has almost the same composition as honey in a beehive. Raw honey is not heat treated (pasteurised) or ultra-filtered. Heating and filtering honey remove all of the beneficial natural substances plus changes the chemistry of some of the sugars.
All of our honey is sourced from WA’s pristine native forests and rangelands, far removed from industry and chemicals, so it is pure, raw, and natural. All of our selected beekeepers must have an operation that is capable of Organic Certification, but we do not require that they incur the steep cost of such certification. We purchase based on quality, not certification. We have the expertise to screen the honey we source to ensure that Golden Leaf is only the best quality.
We are experts in Jarrah honey. Our selection is based on the Jarrah Factor (JF), a value calculated with a proprietary formula that uses compositional analytical data as inputs. The higher the value, the stronger the unique Jarrah honey properties such as low GI, prebiotic strength, resistance to crystallization and more. The Jarrah Factor, in conjunction with the assayed Total Activity (TA), tells us which honey is suitable for our Jarrah ranges, including the Jarrah Platinum TA50+ range. A unique property of good Jarrah honey is a very strong resistance to crystallization. If you would like to learn even more about the Jarrah Factor or our selection process, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Total Activity (TA) is the bacterial and fungal killing strength of honey. The higher the value, the more bacteria (and fungus) the honey can potentially kill. Values above TA10 deliver beneficial properties, while values of, or above TA30+ are exceptional and have great health benefits. It is often compared to the MGO rating of Manuka honey. Jarrah honey with TA35+ is comparable to Manuka honey with MGO 2000+. For more information on this, please see this page here.
No, our honey is not pasteurised or ultra-filtered. Honey can not be described as “Raw” if it has been pasteurised. Pasteurising honey to kill microbes involves heating to 60 or 70℃, then rapid cooling. Any honey imported into Western Australia must be pasteurised to prevent introduction of the nasty diseases that are not present in the state, which is why you should, where possible, purchase Western Australian honey. Ultra-filtration is a high-tech procedure where honey is heated, sometimes watered down and then forced at high pressure through extremely small filters to remove all the natural fine particles in honey (pollen, wax and propolis). The purpose is to either conceal the origin of the honey (by removing the pollen) or to impede the crystallization process that happens naturally in most honeys.
No. Here in Western Australia, we use a species of bee that loves to make honey, and our native flora provides much more nectar than the bees need for the small amount of honey they want to store over winter or to feed growing offspring. We harvest honey during spring and summer when there is an abundant supply, so it does not cause them any harm at all. WA beekeepers also typically move their bees in winter to the coastal woodlands where trees like Banksia continue to produce nectar throughout the colder months. The bees forage this nectar and pollen during the warmer days when they can leave the hive, providing them with an additional source of food.
No, Golden Leaf Honey only sells pure raw Western Australian honey.