The Jarrah you can check
Every jar of Forest Fresh Jarrah Platinum TA50+ comes from a numbered lot with its own independent lab result. Read the result for that lot, then decide.
Western Australian jarrah honey. Tested lot by lot. Priced per jar, not per story.
Most honey is sold on a name. Try finding the number.
Pick up a premium jar in the supermarket and look for three things. The grade on the front. Who tested it. Which batch it came from.
Most of the time you will find a brand, a price and not much else. You are being asked to trust the name.
Honey is not a factory product. It changes with the forest, the season and the hive site. A grade that is not tied to a specific lot is a grade for the brand, not for the jar in your hand.
We think you should be able to check your jar. So we test every batch and publish the results we have on record.
Total Activity is a lab result. It is not a health claim.
Total Activity, or TA, is a laboratory measure of the honey itself. A sample from each lot goes to an independent laboratory. The lab is Analytica Laboratories in Hamilton, New Zealand. The test is an agar well diffusion assay that measures total antibacterial activity against a phenol standard and reports it as a percentage phenol equivalent. TA50+ means that lot tested at 50 or above on that scale.
What TA is not: it is not a claim about what honey will do for you. It tells you how that lot performed in a laboratory test. We publish it because it is the one number on a honey label you can take back to a lab report.
How a lot is tested, in three steps
- A sample from the lot is sent to the independent lab, before the lot is sold.
- The lab runs the test and issues a report with the lot number on it.
- The result is kept on file, listed on our evidence page, and the report for that lot is available on request.
Read the lab results on record
Why every lot gets its own test
Each lot gets its own test and its own report. The results we have on record are listed by lot on our evidence page, so you can compare them. That is the whole point.
Jarrah grows in one place
Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) grows in the native forests of south-west Western Australia and nowhere else. Jarrah forests are over 1,000 years old, with trees that flower every 2 to 4 years, making each commercial harvest exceptionally rare and unpredictable.
That makes jarrah honey a seasonal thing. When a good lot comes in, it is finite. When it is sold, there is no more of that lot.
The honey is dark amber, malty and less sweet than most, with a long caramel finish. It is also slow to crystallise: in the jarrah lots our labs have analysed, fructose sits well above glucose, and that balance keeps the honey liquid far longer than most. Read why jarrah honey does not crystallise.
Our family has kept bees in Western Australia for five generations, since John Fewster began with 12 hives in Muchea in 1916.
Who buys Platinum, and what they do with it
People who read labels and want the test, not the tagline. People who have been paying high prices for a graded honey and want to compare on a number they can check. People who like a honey with a bit of character: a teaspoon in warm water or tea, on sourdough, over porridge, on a cheese board next to something sharp. People who want a gift that holds up to a second look.
Honey is not suitable for babies under 12 months. That is a safety rule for all honey, including ours.
What we can show you
Analytica Laboratories. Results by lot on our evidence page.
Awarded Best Dark Peroxide Honey.
Same forests, same family, since 1916.
Applies to TA30+ Jarrah, unopened, stored cool and dark, valid to the best before date. If it crystallises, we replace it.
Glycaemic index of 46 at Sydney University's GI Research Service, November 2023. Specific to that lot; holds while composition and process stay the same.
Fair questions
Price. Platinum 500g is $50, which is $10.00 per 100g. Put that next to the per-100g price on the jar in your cupboard and compare like for like. What you are paying for at $10 per 100g is a lot-numbered result from an independent lab, on a honey that grows in one forest. One honest note on comparing numbers: TA and MGO are different tests on different scales. Compare what each test measures, not the raw numbers.
Taste. Jarrah is dark, malty and less sweet, closer to a light treacle than to clover. If you like a mild honey, start with the 250g jar and see.
Storage. Keep it at room temperature with the lid on and use a dry spoon. No fridge. Jarrah is slow to crystallise, and Platinum carries our crystallisation-free guarantee. If a jar ever thickens, stand it in warm water for a few minutes.
Jarrah Platinum TA50+
- 250g, $28 ($11.20 per 100g)
- 500g, $50 ($10.00 per 100g)
- 3 x 500g, $147 ($49.00 a jar)
- 6 x 500g, $276 ($46.00 a jar)
Every batch independently tested. Free standard shipping on orders over $120, so the 3-jar and 6-jar packs ship free. New here? Join the newsletter for 10% off your first order.
Questions people ask before they buy
What does TA50+ actually mean?
TA50+ means that lot of honey tested at 50 or above on the Total Activity scale in an independent laboratory. Total Activity is a laboratory measure of the honey itself, expressed as a percentage phenol equivalent. It is not a claim about what the honey will do for you.
Can I see the lab report for my jar?
Yes. Email contact@forestfreshhoney.com.au with the details printed on your jar and we will send the report for that batch. The lots we have on record are listed on our evidence page.
How does TA compare to MGO?
They are different tests on different scales, so the numbers are not interchangeable. TA is measured by an agar well diffusion assay against a phenol standard. MGO is a measure of one compound, methylglyoxal, used for Manuka honey. If you want to compare honeys, compare them on the same test.
What is the crystallisation-free guarantee?
We guarantee that our Jarrah honey TA30+ and above stays free of bulk crystallisation until the best before date on the jar, provided the jar is unopened and stored in a cool, dark place. If it crystallises under those conditions, we replace it.
How is it shipped, and how fast?
From our fulfilment centre in Bentley, Perth. Orders are dispatched in 1 to 2 business days. Standard delivery is 3 to 7 days, express 1 to 3 days. Standard shipping is free Australia-wide on orders over $120.
Is this honey suitable for babies or young children?
Honey is not recommended for babies under 12 months. For children over 12 months it is a sweet food like any other honey, and the portion is your call.
Is it low GI?
One lot was tested. Lot J142 returned a glycaemic index of 46 at Sydney University's GI Research Service in November 2023, which is in the low GI range. The result is specific to that lot and holds while the composition and process stay the same. It is a measurement in healthy adults, not a health claim.
Check it, then choose it.
A lab report behind every batch. One forest, one family, one honey you do not have to take on trust.