Organic Beechwood honey originates from the mountain-based forests of New Zealand"s South Island. The sweet aromatic sap is sourced from the beechwood trees and collected by bees. Once in the hive, the process begins of turning the sap into honey. The apiarist extracts the Honeydew Honey from the wax at very low temperatures. Depending on when it is harvested, in the spring or autumn, colors and taste can be quite different. Unlike the Manuka honey, beechwood honey is liquid in texture. Beechwood honey has the richest mineral content of all honeys - Calcium, Zinc, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese,,Iron, Selenium, Chromium and Sodium. Oligosaccharides: Another feature of New Zealand"s beechwood honey is the presence of Oligosaccharides (complex sugars) in greater levels than average floral honeys. Oligosaccharides are known as prebiotics because they help promote the growth of friendly bacteria that help balance microflora in the human gastrointestinal tract, particularly after treatment with antibiotics. Beechwood honeys in general are normally low in glucose and they are also lower in fructose than flower honeys. This low glucose and fructose is supplemented by higher levels of more complex sugars, such as maltose and melezitose. This has the effect of reducing the tendency to crystallize. Beechwood honey is likewise very slow crystallizing and in fact some beechwood honeys never crystallize. High in Antioxidants: New Zealand beechwood honey is known to have higher levels of antioxidants than most other flower honeys. In a study at Lincoln University, NZ, Forest honey had the highest levels of polyphenolics, one of the most significant classes of antioxidant compounds. Additionally, using the ABTS and ORAC methods for antioxidant calculation. Forest honey consistently ranked near the top of 10 monofloral honey varieties tested. The results of these three tests indicates that New Zealand beechwood honey has one of the highest levels of antioxidants of all New .