Manuka Honey World first reviewed Steens UMF 20+ Raw Unpasteurized Manuka Honey back in 2017 and concluded that this was a superior product from a great family-run producer.
This is a brand new review for 2021 of the same UMF grade (20+) to assess whether Steens has managed to maintain its high standards.
Once again, the editor was not disappointed and as before Manuka Honey World has concluded that Steens UMF 20+ Raw Unpasteurized Manuka Honey is a genuinely delicious class act.
Respected producer
Steens as a company is highly regarded as one of the top producers of UMF manuka honey.
The business is a family-run enterprise driven by a passion for producing manuka honey in the most ethical and sustainable way possible.
Steens have been at the forefront of new extraction techniques as well as sustainability and ethical practices that are now common among the manuka honey industry, such as paying landowners to keep hives on the land.
Since the last review in 2017, Steens has perfected a new extraction method for its manuka honey, which it calls Whole Comb Technology.
This technology means the honey is extracted raw without any secondary processing and that all the enzymes, raw honey, pollen, bee bread and nutrients end up in the jar, which contributes to the fantastic taste of the company’s raw manuka honey products.
Authenticity and traceability
Knowing that you are buying a genuine product is an issue that Steens takes very seriously and for example, the jar of honey reviewed had a batch number on the label of the jar, which is part of Steens’ Track and Trace system.
Entering the batch number into the website provided access to a wealth of information about the honey including where it came from (in this case, Featherston in the southern part of New Zealand’s North Island) as well as many important supporting and authenticating documents such as the UMF certificate.
Potent manuka honey
Steens Raw 20+ Manuka Honey comes with a UMF rating of 20+, which makes it very strong and pure as well as rather rare since only a limited amount of manuka honey has this strength of purity.
The UMF rating refers to the levels of naturally occurring elements that are unique to manuka honey including methylglyoxal (MGO), and a UMF level of 20+ equates to an MGO level of 829+.
This delicious manuka honey comes in jars of three different sizes: 250g, 340g and 500g
Classic delicious manuka honey
This reviewed jar of Steens UMF 20+ Raw Unpasteurized Manuka Honey had an intense aroma with a bouquet of herbs and burnt toffee but nevertheless with a hint of sweetness.
The colour of this honey was simply gorgeous and was primarily a dark brown colour but marbled with streaks of a lighter brown that blended into each other – quite mesmerizing to look at.
These variations in the colour are also due to the company’s proprietary extraction techniques.
Amazing taste
The taste of this manuka honey was off the charts! It had a powerful full-bodied classic manuka taste full of complex flavours that simply exploded on the palate.
The flavour was of that classic Manuka taste that is initially almost astringent but which rapidly gives way to a sweet flavour of toffee that lingers for a long time.
In conclusion this is an intense manuka honey that is more like a taste explosion of sweet toffee and astringent herbs: A delicious and seriously potent and pure manuka honey for the connoisseur.
Steens also produce a range of other delicious manuka honey, which you can view here.