The difference between multifloral & monofloral Mānuka honey?

If the grading systems of Mānuka honey weren’t confusing enough, you also have to battle with multifloral or monofloral. So, what’s the difference?

Whether a honey is multifloral or monofloral depends on where the bees are allowed to go…

Multifloral

In a sense, multifloral honey is when the bees are free to roam and naturally forage from Mānuka and any other flower that takes their fancy. This means that the pollen they collect is mainly Manuka, but not exclusively.

The bees can travel up to 2kms, returning home each night with a bounty of pollen. While Mānuka pollen is predominantly collected, other floral sources have been visited. The result: A naturally blended multifloral Mānuka honey.

Multifloral - multiply floral sources  

Monofloral

Monofloral, on the other hand, is slightly more challenging.

To craft monofloral honeys, our beekeepers must ensure that the beehives are in a site that the Mānuka flower dominants, so that the bees can forage on them. The bee will return to the hive with Mānuka nectar, ready to craft the purest Mānuka honey possible.

While it’s inevitable that traces of other floral sources will be present, only our monofloral Mānuka honey contains abundant levels of the magical, beneficial compounds unique to the Mānuka source!

And don’t worry, our Mānuka honey is tested in a lab to ensure that it is genuine and of a high standard (the UMF standard that is).

Monofloral - 'singular' floral source 

The science behind Mānuka honey:

All honey labelled as Mānuka honey must be tested by an MPI-recognised laboratory to make sure it meets the Mānuka honey definition.

This definition is made up of a combination of 5 attributes: 4 chemicals from nectar and 1 DNA marker from mānuka pollen.

4 chemicals from nectar:

Phenyllactic acid
Methoxyacetophenone
Methoxybenzoic acid
Hydroxyphenyllactic acid 

These 4 attributes also have bench marks that they must measure greater than or equal to, to be to authenticated.

Testing for these attributes allows the industry to:

1. Separate mānuka honey from other honey types
2. Identify it as either monofloral or multifloral mānuka honey

To classify as monofloral Mānuka honey, the honey is required to have all of the five attributes. If the honey fails to meet 1 or more of the attributes, it is not monofloral mānuka honey. 

To called a multifloral Mānuka honey, the honey is still required to have all of the five attributes, however, the chemical levels do not have to measure as high as a monofloral Mānuka would.

For example for Phenyllactic acid levels in Mono/multiforal Mānuka:

Which one should I get?

So, in conclusion if you’re searching for a purer form of Mānuka honey, with the optimal benefits that Mānuka is famous for, then go for the monofloral. If you’re looking for a tasty, smooth honey that has a taste unique to New Zealand, then go for the multifloral.