Jarrah Honey Is the New Superfood from Australia You Need to Know

DECEMBER 30, 2017
by TODD PLUMMER

There’s a gold rush of sorts happening in Australia and New Zealand—liquid gold, that is. New Zealand’s manuka honey, known for its antioxidant properties as well as its steep price tag, has been one of the great superfood success stories of recent years.

But the story of manuka has not been entirely sweet. Search “manuka” on any Kiwi or Aussie news site, and you’ll find stories of beehive thefts, corporate espionage, and trademark disputes over who gets to call which honey “manuka.”

And as with any good melodrama, there is always a dark horse to shake things up. Enter jarrah honey. Harvested from the jarrah tree, it is rarer and more costly to produce than manuka because it comes from a species of tree endemic only to the most pristine, remote stretches of Western Australia.

“It’s quite a unique honey compared to all other eucalypts,” says Dr. Rob Manning, PhD, a former researcher for Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Food who spent three decades studying Australian jarrah honey and comparing its benefits to New Zealand manuka. Once a cheap honey “prior to the discovery of its antimicrobial properties, it’s now $30 per kilogram because of the demand and limited quantities available.”..