Why Some Years Produce Rarer Mānuka Honey

• Mānuka honey's grade and volume can shift from year to year because the Mānuka tree flowers for only a few weeks, and that short window is highly sensitive to weather. 

• In a favourable season, bees gather concentrated nectar and yields of higher grades - such as PURITI's UMF 20+ and above - can be greater. 

• In a more difficult season, cooler temperatures, rain or wind can shorten the bloom and reduce what's available.

Why Does Mānuka Honey Vary From Year to Year?

Because Mānuka honey depends on a wild, seasonal bloom rather than a cultivated crop, its grade and volume shift naturally with the weather each year. Some seasons deliver ideal conditions for a strong, high-grade harvest; others produce less honey, or honey with a lower UMF rating.

Unlike many commercial crops, Mānuka can't be irrigated, fertilised or coaxed into flowering on schedule. It grows wild across remote corners of New Zealand - and bees can only work with the nectar that season's bushes provide. 

So when people ask why Mānuka honey is so expensive compared with everyday honey, the answer starts here: it isn't manufactured to a target, it's harvested on nature's terms - and that variability is evidence of it being genuine. 

This is why the UMF (Unique Mānuka Factor) grading system exists to measure it transparently, batch by batch, rather than to guarantee a fixed outcome every year.

What Is the Mānuka Flowering Window?

The Mānuka tree flowers for a narrow window of only a few weeks each summer, and the exact timing depends on region and local climate. Bees must gather nectar from wild Mānuka bushes during this short period, which is why timing and weather matter so much to that season's honey.

Mānuka produces small, delicate white or pink flowers that stay open for a limited stretch of the year, with no second flowering to fall back on if the first underperforms. Because PURITI works with beekeepers across different regions of New Zealand, the window isn't a single date nationwide - it shifts slightly north to south and coast to inland, giving some natural flexibility, even though any single apiary site still only gets one shot each year.

How Does Weather Affect the Bloom?

Temperature, rainfall, wind and sunlight during the flowering window all influence how much nectar is available and how easily bees can forage it. 

For example, a wet or cold period can meaningfully reduce the honey collected that season. Rain can dilute or wash nectar from the flowers before bees reach it, while wind will keep the bees grounded, cutting foraging hours, and cooler temperatures will slow the flower opening and nectar production. 

Because the bloom lasts only a few weeks, there's very little margin for error, so a single spell of poor Mānuka bloom weather at the wrong moment can affect an entire season's harvest, which is a large part of why Mānuka honey harvest season results are never guaranteed to repeat year to year.

Why Are Higher UMF Grades Rarer in Some Years?

Higher UMF grades, such as UMF 20+, 25+ and 31+, require exceptionally concentrated nectar, which is more likely in seasons with favourable weather. When conditions are less favourable, honey may still be produced, but less of it reaches the higher grading thresholds.

Remember, UMF will measure the specific naturally occurring markers in Mānuka honey, and their concentration is directly influenced by the conditions that the bees experience whilst foraging. Higher grades aren't simply ‘more of the same’ honey scaled up - there's a natural ceiling on what any season can produce. 

In a strong year, meaningful volumes may reach UMF 20+ and 25+, with UMF 31+ remaining one of the rarer grades PURITI produces. In a quieter year, those higher grades become scarcer still.

Signs of a Strong Flowering Season

Beekeepers can often sense early in the season whether conditions are shaping up in the Mānuka's favour. No two years look identical, but a handful of signals tend to appear together in a promising one:

• Steady warmth without extremes, supporting even flower opening

• Long stretches of calm, dry weather, giving bees more uninterrupted foraging time

• Strong hive activity early in the window, with rapid comb-filling

• A longer-than-usual flowering period, extending the total foraging opportunity

• Healthy, well-provisioned colonies going in, ready to make the most of good conditions

None of these signs guarantee a particular UMF outcome - that's only confirmed once independent testing is complete - but together, they're often the earliest clue a season may produce more of PURITI's rarer, higher grades.

How Do Beekeepers Decide When and How Much to Harvest?

Beekeepers will assess hive strength, honey maturity and weather conditions before deciding when to harvest, and how much honey a colony can safely spare. This decision changes season to season and hive to hive, rather than following a fixed structure.

Rather than harvesting to a schedule, PURITI's beekeepers judge each hive on its own terms - checking honeycomb is properly capped and mature, the colony remains strong and enough stores are left for the bees. 

This welfare-first approach is central to how PURITI's beekeepers work; read more in   Behind the Hive: PURITI's Commitment to Ethical Beekeeping. 

That same judgement applies to timing: waiting a few extra days for the bloom to develop fully, or harvesting earlier because weather is closing in, can shape whether a hive's honey lands in a higher or lower UMF bracket.

In a weaker season, beekeepers may harvest less honey overall, and fewer jars may reach the highest UMF grades. This is a natural limit of working with a wild resource, rather than something that can be corrected through processing.

Not every season is a strong one, and PURITI doesn't pretend otherwise. A quieter flowering window simply means less total honey, and a smaller share reaching the top of the UMF scale - not a change in how carefully it's been produced or tested. 

Whatever a season delivers, PURITI's standards stay fixed: every batch, strong year or lean one, goes through the same independent UMF and New Zealand Government testing before it reaches a jar. 

Scarcity changes what's available. It never changes what's required to earn the label.

Does Rarity Affect Price?

Yes - honey that reaches higher UMF grades in favourable seasons is produced in smaller quantities, which is one reason rarer grades such as PURITI's UMF 31+ carry a premium price. Price reflects genuine seasonal scarcity and rigorous testing, not manufactured exclusivity.

This is the honest answer to why Mānuka honey price varies so widely by grade. It comes down to supply and demand applied to a limited resource: a rare Mānuka honey vintage - a particularly strong flowering year - can't be replicated on request. 

PURITI's range is built so that quality doesn't come with a single price of entry: from everyday grades through to the rarest of limited runs, there's a genuine option at every level.

To determine if you’re buying a genuinely rare batch, look for independent certification - like UMF and New Zealand Government testing - alongside openness from the supplier about sourcing and harvest. These markers matter more than marketing language like ‘limited edition.’

The word ‘rare’ gets used loosely across the honey category - a verified UMF grade, cross-checked against the government's own scientific definition of Mānuka honey, tells you far more than a label claiming exclusivity - and so does a brand willing to explain how its honey is sourced, tested and protected against counterfeiting.

PURITI's UMF certification, Government testing and anti-counterfeit measures exist for exactly this reason: so a jar labelled  UMF 31+ can actually be verified, season after season. 

See more on PURITI's Authenticity and  Certifications pages, or explore the current range in  PURITI's shop.