Airborne Rewarewa Honey, 17.6 oz (500g)

Rewarewa is the New Zealand honey to try if you already like buckwheat or chestnut. Dark amber, malty, with a caramel and burnt-toffee edge and very little of the floral sweetness most honeys lead with. It is a honey with a savoury side — good on sourdough with butter, good against sharp cheese, and it does not disappear into hot tea the way a light clover honey does.

The rewarewa — the New Zealand honeysuckle tree — flowers with the bright red brush you can see on the label. Bees work it in the North Island bush, and the result is one of the few honeys that tastes of where it came from rather than just of sugar.

Airborne has been packing honey in Leeston, New Zealand since 1910, and they are unusual in printing their own test results on the jar rather than only the marketing. This batch:

• Pollen count 37%. To be called Rewarewa it needs over 10%. This is more than three times that, so it is strongly single-origin rather than a blend carrying a name.
• HMF 16.9. HMF rises when honey is heated or stored badly, so a low number means the honey has been handled gently. Airborne's own stated ideal is below 10; this batch is 16.9, which is still a good figure for honey that has crossed the Pacific.
• Batch 242771, traceable on Airborne's TraceMe service back to the apiaries it came from.

One ingredient: honey. Nothing added, nothing blended in.

Kosher certified. Packed under a certified HACCP programme.

Nutrition — about 24 servings per container, serving size 1 tablespoon (21 g): 60 calories, total fat 0 g, sodium 0 mg, total carbohydrate 17 g (6% DV), total sugars 16 g, protein 0 g.

Net weight 500 g (17.6 oz). Product of New Zealand, packed by Airborne Honey Limited, 41 Pennington Street, Leeston. Distributed by Airborne Honey USA LLC, Oxnard, California. Store in a cool place away from direct sunlight.

Honey naturally crystallises over time — that is a sign it has not been over-processed, not a fault. Stand the jar in warm water to return it to a liquid.