Tawari Honey
Tawari
(Ixerba brexioides) is an endemic New Zealand tree (found nowhere
else in the World). "Tawari" is a Maori name where an "a"
is pronounced like the "a" in "art". The tree grows up
to around 15 metres (50 feet) in height and when flowering is a beautiful
sight with perfectly formed flowers in very symmetrical bunches contrasting
against a dark green backdrop of similarly arranged leaves. The flowers were
highly prized by the Maori people who used them for necklaces and adornment
during festive occasions. The honey is a light colour with a beautiful taste
reminiscent of butterscotch.
FLOWERING
Tawari flowers from October to the end of December but this varies 
according
to location and altitude - usually the more South the latitude and the higher
the altitude, the later the flowering.
The
nectar is copious and very watery producing a prolific honey crop under ideal
conditions - but often with a high final moisture content
Tawari is a predominantly bird pollinated flower with the flower size and
structure arranged to deposit pollen from the widely spread anthers on a bird
collecting nectar from the centrally located nectaries. Consequently the honey
is usually under represented
in pollen. Levels as low as 20% Tawari pollen may indicate a good quality
Tawari honey (but under ideal conditions we have recorded levels as high as
71%) and levels of more than 30% are routinely achievable. Total pollen levels
are also correspondingly low with an average from our database of 57,000 pollen
grains per 10 grams of honey.
Colour
Tawari is a light coloured honey with an average of 23 mm (Pfund
Scale). Other honey floral sources flowering alongside Tawari include
Manuka and Rewarewa - both of which are substantially darker (84mm and 93mm
respectively) and can have a marked 
impact
on the colour of Tawari honey.
The
structure of the flower is laid out in 5s. i.e. five petals, 5 anthers, 5
nectaries, even the pollen grains have have a 5 sided shape.
Sugar Profile
Tawari is a higher fructose honey. We have few sugar analyses for Tawari at present but from initial data, Glucose is around 30%, Fructose 43% and Sucrose < 1%. This gives the ratios of a very slow crystallizing honey but in fact Tawari has a more pronounced tendency to crystallize than indicated by the ratios. Just another example that the immense variability of honey often produces results that are not always immediately explainable.
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Airborne Honey Ltd
