Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey
A remarkable honey by any measure. Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey’s flavour is magnificent, quite unlike any other kind of honey. It possesses extraordinary floral aromas, and tastes quite spicy and piquant. The Leatherwood tree is a true distillate of Tasmania’s magnificent ancient landscapes.
Consider for a moment the ensuing image of this place. An ancient rainforest on latitude 42 degrees south, sharing this latitude with only the south island of New Zealand and southernmost South America. In this harsh environment, the circumpolar winds whip up constant westerlies, aptly named The Roaring Forties. This brings heavy, moisture-laden air which is drawn from The Great Southern Ocean, only to deposit most of this rain on the western coast of Tasmania, watering the rainforest where the Leatherwood trees grow. By virtue of this location, Tasmanian Leatherwood honey is naturally organic.
Summer graces this wild place with its presence for a brief 6-8 week period each year. With this comes the blooming of the Leatherwood flower, Eucryphia Lucida. Leatherwood trees bear an abundance of extremely delicate white flowers with a piquant scent. Bees visit these flowers from January to mid March to collect the distinctive aromatic nectar. During this time, our Tasmanian Honey beekeepers camp in the remote wilderness, extracting surplus honey from the hives. This enables us to provide this highly sought after honey to connoisseurs around the world.
Processing Tasmanian Leatherwood Honey
In keeping with our philosophical commitment to bringing one of nature’s most unique gifts to the world in its most uncompromised state, we have adopted a distinct low-temperature preparation technique. Through careful honey extraction and cleaning management, we preserve both the floral essence and vitality of our honey, resulting in an aromatic and naturally organic elixir.
Using such low production temperatures does not inhibit the honey’s natural tendency to crystalise. To ensure the final product is easy to use, we encourage the honey to set with an ultra-fine crystal structure. This imparts a buttery and spreadable consistency at room temperature, which is also easily spooned into your favourite beverage, from a Hot Toddy to a lemon tea. Our product is unique, as other commercial brands use high temperatures to delay the crystalising process, which in turn destroys the delicate flora essences, changes the flavour, and generally compromised any potential health benefits of the honey.
ALF – Active Leatherwood Factor
At the completion of harvest, our Leatherwood honey is tested by a specialty independent laboratory to measure the presence of compounds that give honey a Total Activity (TA) rating. These compounds generate levels of Hydrogen Peroxide that equate to hospital-grade Phenol disinfectant. We have registered the term Active Leatherwood Factor (ALF) to designate honey that has this special characteristic.
We believe that the health benefits of Leatherwood honey are as compelling, if not more, than Manuka honey.
Shop our Active Leatherwood Honey
Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an online catalogue of foods at risk of disappearing that are a part of cultures and traditions of the entire world.
Plant and animal species are to be found onboard the Ark, but also processed products, because, together with plant and animal biodiversity, cheeses, cured meats, breads and sweets, expressions of farmers’ and artisans’ knowledge are also disappearing – knowledge that exists not in written recipes, but as complex and rich skills and practices passed down through generations.
Facilitated by the Slow Food Movement, the Ark of Taste recognises over 5,700 products worldwide that are at risk of becoming extinct due to modern farming practices and environmental issues. These products are also celebrated due to their contribution to culture, history and tradition. The Tasmanian Honey Company’s founder, Julian Wolfhagen, undertook the task to have Leatherwood Honey added to this list, and was successful in his efforts.