All orders above $100 receive free standard postage when mailed to a single Australian address.

Orders below $100, and sent within Australia, will attract a postage charge starting from $10. This charge will be calculated at checkout and is subject to the size and weight of your parcel.

An Express Post option is also available for all Australian deliveries. This option will be presented at checkout.

All International deliveries are sent via Australia Post's Standard Airmail service. Postage cost is dependent on the weight and size of your parcel. For International orders above 5kg in weight please contact us for a custom postage quote.

No. Honey entering Western Australia must be pasteurised and inspected by AQIS prior to entry. This requirement exists in order to prevent the potential spread of bee diseases across the country. West Australian bees have not been exposed to a bacteria that has been found in the Eastern States. This bacterium is harmless to humans but deadly to honeybees. As Western Australia is a virtual island, due to the desert, infected bees are unable to fly from east to west. However spores of the bacterium could be transported across in unpasteurised honey. To prevent this from occurring honey sold in Western Australia must first be pasteurised. As Melita Honey is not pasteurised we are unable to send honey to Western Australia.

Kangaroo Island is a bee sanctuary for a very special breed of honeybee – the Ligurian bee. To protect this bee no honeybee product is allowed to be sent to Kangaroo Island.

We do mail our products internationally. Please note that it is the customer’s responsibility to ensure that products ordered are permitted entry into your country. The customer is responsible for all import duties, taxes and fees should these be applicable. International postage fees are non refundable.

You will receive tracking information, so that you can follow the progress of your delivery, once the parcel has been lodged with Australia Post.

Australia Post will leave your parcel in a secure location at the delivery address if this is possible. Should a secure location not be available a card will be left directing you to collect your parcel from your nearest post office.

All of our honey is 100% Australian. At Melita Honey Farm we source honey from a number of Tasmanian and Australian beekeepers who cherish their bees. Many of our beekeepers have been keeping bees for many generations. These are people with a heart for bees, the environment and for producing an authentic, ethical, high-quality product.

We have built long lasting relationships with our beekeepers, who each produce honey of the highest standard. These are people we know, value and trust.

Melita Honey is 100% pure natural Australian honey. We pride ourselves on sourcing honey of the highest quality. Nothing is added or removed to change its composition. Melita honey is never adulterated or diluted.

The short answer… yes.

To remove honey from the honeycombs, and to strain out the beeswax and other hive debris and pack the honey into jars, honey must be able to flow. To assist with this process honey is gently warmed.

Honey can be warmed to temperatures of 45 degrees, the same as a hot summer’s day, without harmful effects.

When honey is heated above this temperature, and held there for long periods of time, the healthy amino acids and enzymes present in honey deteriorate.

Our honey is warmed to low temperatures to enable bottling. Our warming system is controlled by thermostats to ensure accurate temperature control.

For the ultimate purist, we do have honeycomb available in season. This is the most unprocessed form of honey available – pieces of honeycomb are cut from the frame and placed into containers… nothing can get any simpler than that!

In Australia we are incredibly blessed with an abundance of pristine natural environments from which bees harvest nectar. Many of these areas are remote forests and wilderness regions that are untouched by man.

Australian honeybees are also some of the healthiest in the world. We do not have many of the diseases present in other countries, and therefore do not need to use chemicals to control those diseases.

Melita Honey is sourced from ethical beekeepers who cherish their bees, collecting honey from some of the most pristine, clean and green areas on earth. This is the way we ensure that we are able to provide a product that is pure, ethical and authentic… even though it doesn’t have the official certification.

No.

Many of the large commercial honey packers who supply Australian supermarkets commonly pasteurise their honey to prevent it from crystalising.

Pastuerising destroys the amino acids and enzymes that play a large part in the crystalising process. However, these amino acids and enzymes also have health giving properties.

Melita honey is not pasteurised or heated to high temperatures – thereby retaining the natural health promoting enzymes, flavours and aroma of our pure Australian honey.

When honey is extracted from the honeycomb it is a liquid golden colour. Over time honey may crystalise – changing from a liquid into a solid.

Not all honey crystalises, and some honey will crystalise faster than others.

Honey is a complex natural sugar. It contains a large number of naturally occurring sugars including glucose and fructose.

We perceive honeys with a high fructose content to generally be sweeter, whilst honeys with a high glucose content tends to crystalise faster.

The presence of enzymes in the honey also encourages crystalisation – as they play a role in converting the sugar from its liquid state to a more stable solid form. When honey is pasteurised these health promoting enzymes are destroyed and this delays the onset of crystalisation. Melita Honey is never pasteurised.

Crystalisation is also dependent on temperature – cooler temperatures encourage crystalisation.

Firstly, honey that has crystalised is still perfectly good to eat, actually many people prefer their honey this way. It is not a sign that honey has spoiled.

However, if you prefer your honey in the liquid state just gently warm the jar of crystalised honey and it will go back to liquid. You can do this by sitting the jar in some hot water.

Putting the honey in the microwave is not recommended. Whilst it will return the honey to a liquid state it will also destroy the health giving properties.

Creamed honey is very finely crystalised honey. Making it is quite an art. It involves selecting the right honey and then allowing it to crystalise. As the honey crystalises it is whipped to ensure that only small crystals form, creating a honey that is smooth and spreadable.

What is the shelf life of honey?

Honey doesn’t spoil!

Clay jars filled with honey have been found in the tombs of Egypt’s ancient Pharaohs – and the honey is still perfectly edible - even though it is thousands of years old.

Just make sure to store it correctly.

You will notice a best before sticker on our products. This is a legal requirement, which allows for product tracing. Please note this is a “best before” date and not a “use by” date.

Storing honey is as simple as ensuring that the lid is securely fastened and the jar is stored in a cool dark cupboard.

Honey doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

If you live in a hot area our creamed honeys may soften significantly, and even return to a liquid state. If this happens the honey is still fine to consume. To prevent this from happening honey may be stored in the refrigerator – the honey will set hard, so remove from the refrigerator to allow it to soften before serving.

Honeybees collect nectar from flowers which they turn into honey. Different varieties of plants grow in different geographical areas and bloom at various times of the year.

When honeybees leave their hives in search of nectar they can travel approximately 3 kilometres away from the hive.

The bees will harvest the nectar from the most abundant flowering plant that is in bloom within this area. A bloom generally lasts for about 2 to 4 weeks. Once the bloom has finished, the beekeeper removes the honey from the hive and then relocates it to another area where different flowers are in bloom – thereby ensuring that the honey from differing floral sources are separated.

In Tasmania the honey season usually starts with clover and blackberries that grow in the dairy pastures. This is followed by the Tea Tree and Manuka that grows on the coastal plains. Then the bees are transported to the Tasmanian Wilderness to collect the main crop of the year – Leatherwood honey, after which the bees may be moved to the Great Western Tiers in search of Brown Top Stringy Bark honey (which generally flowers once every seven years), before the hives go into hibernation for winter.

Once the honeycomb has been filled with honey and capped with a beeswax lid the beekeeper will remove it from the hive.

The wax capping is removed by slicing the face of the honeycomb with a hot knife, after which the frame is placed into a centrifuge. The spinning action forces the honey out of the cells and onto the sides of the extractor. Gravity pulls the honey down to the bottom of the extractor from where it is pumped out, passing through a sieve to remove any beeswax and hive debris. It is settle in a tank so that any air bubbles can rise to the top before the honey is bottled.

We don’t like plastic and would much rather pack our product in something else. Packaging technology is evolving quickly, however at this time there are no viable alternatives. Unfortunately, glass is very heavy and as most of our in store customers are travelling there are concerns about both weight and breakage.

As small manufacturers in a regional location we are also limited by what is commercially available.

We ensure that the containers we use contain recycled plastics, and that any plastics we do us are of high quality plastic – ensuring that the plastic can be reclaimed when it is recycled.

Bees are beneficial insects. Not only do they provide us with delicious honey but they also play an important role in pollination.

A big threat to bees is the use of pesticides in the garden. Whilst these pesticides may help you get rid of unwanted guests in your garden and home they are also disasterous for honeybees. So think twice before reaching for the pesticide spray – consider bee friendly alternatives like neem oil or vinegar.

Create a bee friendly garden. Bees are attracted to purple- so plant flowers such as lavender, asters and borage. Planting a bee friendly garden also decreases the amount of weeds, which create a habitat for pests, and therefore reduces your need to use pesticides.

Keep a your own hive of bees in your backyard. Not only will these bees help pollinate your fruit trees and flower garden, but also provides you with a crop of your own honey. Join your local beekeeping association to partner up with a local beekeeper who can show you the ropes.

Support your local Australian beekeepers by purchasing Australian honey. Not only are you helping your local beekeepers but you will also be ensuring there will be healthy populations of bees to help pollinate local fruits and vegetables.

Royal Jelly is a protein rich substance produced by nurse bees. It contains high levels of vitamin B and is probably the richest known source of pantothenic acid.

This is fed to the developing brood and to the Queen bee.

What effect does Royal Jelly have on the Queen Bee?

The Queen Bee only eats Royal Jelly, whilst worker bees and male drones consume a mixture of bee pollen and honey.

Queen Bees lives for up to 5 years – that is 50 times longer than a worker bee. During that time she can lay up to twice her weight in eggs every single day – that is about 2000 eggs!

She is able to do these amazing things due to the special cell regenerating properties found in Royal Jelly… it is the Queen Bee’s fountain of youth!

The benefits of Royal Jelly

Improves stress tolerance and nerve function

Royal Jelly is rich in acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is released by nerve endings to transmit impulses across small gaps between nerves and muscles. Deficiency of this substance has been found to be associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.

The acetylcholine present in Royal Jelly assists in nerve function and thereby improves stress tolerance.

Royal Jelly can reduce cholesterol levels by 14%

Improves skin elasticity

Royal Jelly contains hydroxy fatty acids. These have been used in skin care products because they improve skin condition. Hydroxy fatty acids significantly improve (by up to 25%) skin thickness, elastic fibres, density of collagen and reverses the effects of skin photo-aging. The cell regeneration properties in Royal Jelly are also of great benefit to wound healing (especially burns), tissue repair and skin cleansing.

Royal Jelly is available in capsule, blended into Manuka honey and incorporated into skin creams.

For general well being one capsule of Royal Jelly, taken daily with meals, is sufficient. Up to 6 capsules can be taken daily, should a boost be required.

When a honeybee visits a flower to collect the nectar she becomes covered in pollen. She brushes this pollen to special hairs on her hind legs that are called “pollen baskets”, and brings this back to the beehive. This pollen is the heavy pollen, as opposed to the light airborne pollens that are commonly associated with allergies. This heavy pollen is known as Bee Pollen. How do bees use Bee Pollen? Bee Pollen is highly nutritious. It is the main source of nutrients for the honeybee and their only source of protein. Bee Pollen is nature’s multivitamin - containing nearly every vitamin needed to support life in addition to a wide range of minerals, enzymes, amino acids and folates. Benefits of Bee Pollen Boosts stamina and energy levels Bee Pollen is extensively used by athletes to improve endurance and performance. Consuming Bee Pollen has been shown to increase the number and volume of red blood cells – enabling faster recovery after heavy exertion. Bee Pollen is also a stimulant in that it contains vitamins B, C and E, in addition to trace elements and minerals. Bee Pollen is a plant based protein – giving a sustained release of energy, combating fatigue. A natural antioxidant Bee Pollen contains a wide range of flavonoids which are well known antioxidants and form part of the immune defense in plants.. Can reduce hay fever allergies Clinical studies suggest that Bee Pollen can reduce the symptoms associated with hay fever. Hay fever is caused by an allergic reaction response to the light airborne pollens which releases histamines into the body. The heavier Bee Pollen contains a flavonoid that inhibits the release of these histamines, thereby decreasing the allergic response and desensitising the user to lighter airborne pollens. Aids digestion Honeybees add saliva to the pollen they collect. This saliva is rich in enzymes and enriches the pollen with probiotics. Bee Pollen also contains approximately 12% fibre, and is rich in B3 – which assists the metabolism.

A daily maintenance dose of a single teaspoon of Bee Pollen granules is recommended. A Bee Pollen program to boost your health can be created by consuming between 2 and 6 teaspoons daily, spread over two meals, for at least 4 weeks. Bee Pollen can be consumed off the spoons, mixed into yoghurt or fruit salad, or incorporated into a smoothie.

Honeybees collect plant resins and bring these back to the hive. They add beeswax, a little honey and enzymes to the resins and this substance then becomes propolis.

Propolis contains over 180 different compounds – the most important of these are the flavonoids which come from the plant resins. Flavonoids are an important and essential part of the plant’s immune system. They have been studied extensively and have been shown to have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-tumour, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and immune stimulating effects.

Propolis is used by the bees to protect the hive from disease as it has strong antibiotic properties. Propolis can inhibit both bacteria and viruses.

Honeybees construct a doormat made of propolis at the entrance to their hive. As the bee returns from the hive she crosses over this propolis doormat – thereby ensuring that the hive remains free of disease.

Prior to the Queen bee laying an egg into a honeycomb cell a Worker bee will apply a thin layer of propolis on the walls of the cell – thereby providing a sterile environment for the baby bee to develop in.

Relieves upper respiratory diseases

Propolis is an effective treatment if you suffer from upper respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, laryngitis, throat inflammation and inflammation of the nasal membranes. Propolis kills the bacteria ad viruses associated with these conditions. Propolis aids in the recovery from influenza, reducing symptoms and shortening the recovery time.

Relieves the discomfort of ulcers

Propolis has a significant anesthetic effect. It has been used for centuries in the treatment of mouth sores, ulcers and sore throats. In addition to the anesthetic effect which reduces the discomfort of mouth ulcers, propolis will also cover the ulcer with a thin protective layer which provides further relief.

Soothes psoriasis and eczema Propolis is anti-inflammatory.

It has a softening and soothing effect on the skin, reducing irritation.

Propolis comes in a number of different forms – capsules, tinctures, throat sprays, creams, soaps and blended into Manuka honey.

To boost the immune system take 1 propolis capsule daily with meals.

For the relief of mouth ulcers place 10 drops of propolis tincture into a small glass of water and use this to rinse the mouth – it is perfectly safe to swallow.

Relief from psoriasis and eczema can be obtained through the use of Propolis Cream, and washing the affected skin with Propolis Soap.