{"title":"New Arrivals","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"aoraki-mackenzie-country-viper-s-bugloss","title":"Aoraki Mackenzie Country Viper’s Bugloss","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocation:\u003c\/strong\u003e Te Manahuna, the Mackenzie Basin. Tussock country and braided riverbeds beneath Aoraki Mount Cook, from Burkes Pass to Lakes Tekapo, Pukaki and Ōhau.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlavour Profile:\u003c\/strong\u003e Delicate and pale, with creamy fudge, soft vanilla and light summer florals, finishing dry and clean with a distinctive chewy, almost tacky texture.\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Story: Under the Darkest Sky in the World\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTe Manahuna, the Mackenzie Basin, is a hundred kilometres of glacier-carved country sitting in the rain shadow of the Southern Alps. Hot dry summers, hard frosts, tussock to the horizon, and turquoise lakes that get their colour from rock flour ground fine by ice. Aoraki stands at the head of it. Above it all sits the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, 430,000 hectares of protected night sky, one of the darkest places on earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePerfect Pairings\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn Coffee and Tea:\u003c\/strong\u003e Its delicate floral character and high fructose make it the best sweetener we sell for hot drinks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFresh Cheese:\u003c\/strong\u003e Over burrata, fresh ricotta or a young goat cheese with black pepper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFruit and Yoghurt:\u003c\/strong\u003e With stone fruit, especially Central Otago apricots and peaches, or over Greek yoghurt with pistachio.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDelicate Baking:\u003c\/strong\u003e Where a strong honey would dominate. Madeleines, shortbread, honey custards and panna cotta.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAt a Glance\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStatus:\u003c\/strong\u003e Raw, Single-Varietal Viper’s Bugloss (Blue Borage), slow to crystallise\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpirit:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dry, Delicate \u0026amp; High Country\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mackenzie Basin, Canterbury, South Island, NZ\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Be Local","offers":[{"title":"80g","offer_id":58811425882443,"sku":"BLARKMCKNZVPBGL-80","price":7.9,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300g","offer_id":58811425915211,"sku":"BLARKMCKNZVPBGL-300","price":13.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1kg","offer_id":58811425947979,"sku":"BLARKMCKNZVPBGL-1kg","price":30.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0952\/1424\/0075\/files\/AorakiMcKenzieVipersBuglossHoney.png?v=1792972003"},{"product_id":"kaikoura-blue-borage-honey","title":"Kaikoura Blue Borage Honey","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocation:\u003c\/strong\u003e Kaikōura, Te Tai o Marokura. River valleys and dry inland faces beneath the Seaward Kaikōura Range, where the mountains meet the Pacific.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlavour Profile:\u003c\/strong\u003e Pale and delicate, with vanilla, creamy fudge and light summer florals, a soft buttery body, and a clean, dry finish.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Story: \u003c\/strong\u003eWhere the Mountains Fall Into the Sea\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKaikōura is a place of extremes stacked on top of each other. The Seaward Kaikōura Range climbs to around 2,600 metres within sight of the beach, and a few kilometres offshore the seabed drops into the Kaikōura Canyon, a submarine trench that draws sperm whales and dusky dolphins close to land all year round. The name itself means \"to eat crayfish\", from Tama ki te Rangi, who stopped here and ate kōura on his journey south.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBehind the ranges the country changes completely. The river valleys are dry and stony in the rain shadow, and in high summer they turn blue. Blue Borage covers the riverbeds and the hard faces where little else bothers to grow, and our hives sit out among it from December.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Coastal Alpine Spirit\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKaikōura is still rebuilding. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake of November 2016 ruptured more than twenty faults, lifted stretches of the seabed metres out of the water, and cut the town off by road and rail. The coastline is literally a different shape than it was. Honey from here carries some of that resilience with it.\u003cbr\u003eWhy It's Unique: The Weed That Makes Great Honey\u003cbr\u003eBlue Borage is a European biennial that arrived in New Zealand around 1870 and made itself thoroughly at home on dry, stony ground. Farmers class it as a weed. Beekeepers count it among the best summer nectar plants in the country, because it secretes nectar at lower temperatures than clover and a deep taproot keeps it flowering right through a drought. In a hot, dry January it is often the nectar that is still flowing.\u003cbr\u003eIn the jar it is lower in glucose than most honeys, so it stays smooth and resists setting, with a dry, slightly chewy mouthfeel unlike anything else we sell. Its pale gold colour deepens to amber with age, so it is best enjoyed fresh.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePerfect Pairings\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e•⁠ \u003cstrong\u003e ⁠Coffee and tea:\u003c\/strong\u003e Dissolves cleanly and adds a vanilla-soft floral note. Our best hot-drink honey.\u003cbr\u003e•⁠  \u003cstrong\u003e⁠Seafood:\u003c\/strong\u003e A local pairing that works. Whisk a little into a dressing for crayfish, or brush it on grilled fish with lemon and chilli.\u003cbr\u003e•⁠  \u003cstrong\u003e⁠Fresh cheese: \u003c\/strong\u003eBurrata, ricotta and young goat's cheese, with cracked pepper and good oil.\u003cbr\u003e•\u003cstrong\u003e⁠  ⁠Blue cheese:\u003c\/strong\u003e Its dry, delicate sweetness softens the salt of a strong blue.\u003cbr\u003e•⁠\u003cstrong\u003e  ⁠Delicate baking:\u003c\/strong\u003e Madeleines, shortbread, honey custards and panna cotta, where a stronger honey would take over.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAt a Glance\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e•⁠  \u003cstrong\u003e⁠Status:\u003c\/strong\u003e Raw, single-varietal Blue Borage (Echium vulgare), slow to crystallise\u003cbr\u003e•⁠  \u003cstrong\u003e⁠Spirit: \u003c\/strong\u003eBright, delicate and resilient\u003cbr\u003e•⁠  \u003cstrong\u003e⁠Origin: \u003c\/strong\u003eKaikōura, Canterbury, South Island, NZ\u003cbr\u003e•⁠ \u003cstrong\u003e ⁠Flowering season: \u003c\/strong\u003eDecember to March\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Nectar Source: \u003c\/strong\u003ePlant and Place\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is Blue Borage? \u003c\/strong\u003eBlue Borage is the name New Zealand beekeepers use for Echium vulgare, a member of the borage family (Boraginaceae) that came here from Europe. It is also called viper's bugloss, and the two names describe the same plant. It is not the culinary herb borage, Borago officinalis, which is a different species in the same family.\u003cbr\u003eThe botanical name has a story of its own. \"Echium\" comes from the Greek echis, meaning viper. The seeds were thought to resemble a snake's head, and under the old doctrine of signatures a plant that looked like an affliction was believed to cure it, so the plant was prescribed for snakebite. \"Bugloss\" is Greek for ox tongue, after the coarse, bristly leaves.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA plant built for dry country. It is a biennial. The first year is a flat rosette of leaves and a deep taproot. The second year sends up a flowering spike of around 90 cm, crowded with vivid blue flowers and protruding red stamens. The taproot is the whole trick: it reaches water that shallow-rooted pasture plants cannot.\u003cbr\u003eHow it got here. Blue Borage arrived around 1870 and spread quickly. It is now common through both islands, and especially abundant in the drier inland South Island, on roadsides, stony riverbeds and disturbed land. Kaikōura's inland valleys, in the rain shadow of the Seaward Range, suit it perfectly.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhy bees love it. It is a top-tier bee plant for good reasons. It yields nectar at lower temperatures than white clover, which lengthens the bees' working day, and its deep root carries it through dry spells that stop clover flowering. The blooms also give the bees a distinctive deep-blue pollen. Flowering runs from December to March, with the size of the crop shaped largely by earlier rainfall.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the jar. Typical analysis is about 30% glucose, 36% fructose and 3% sucrose. The low glucose-to-fructose balance is why it crystallises slowly and stays smooth, and the high fructose is why it dissolves so easily in a hot drink. Its colour averages around 24 mm on the Pfund scale, a pale honey with a faint brown cast. It darkens with age about twice as fast as most New Zealand honeys, which is a good reason to eat it fresh and keep it cool and dark. The texture is its signature: dry, with a chewy, slightly tacky quality on the palate that no other New Zealand honey quite matches.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe place. Kaikōura, Te Tai o Marokura, is one of the few places on earth where alpine and deep-ocean environments meet within a few kilometres. The Kaikōura Canyon runs close inshore and drives a nutrient upwelling that supports sperm whales, orca, dusky dolphins, fur seals and albatross, which is why the town's economy shifted from whaling to whale watching in the 1980s, a change led by local Ngāi Tahu whānau.\u003cbr\u003eOn 14 November 2016 a magnitude 7.8 earthquake ruptured more than twenty faults along the coast. Stretches of seabed rose out of the water, leaving pāua and crayfish exposed to the air, and landslides buried State Highway 1 and the main trunk railway and isolated the town. The coastline is permanently changed. Beekeeping here happens in a landscape that is still visibly settling.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHandling\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKeep it cool and out of the light, and eat it while it is young. Its delicacy is exactly the point.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Be Local","offers":[{"title":"80g","offer_id":58811426275659,"sku":"BLKKRVPRBGLSS-80","price":7.9,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300g","offer_id":58811426308427,"sku":"BLKKRVPRBGLSS-300","price":13.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1kg","offer_id":58811426341195,"sku":"BLKKRVPRBGLSS-1kg","price":30.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0952\/1424\/0075\/files\/WhatsAppImage2026-10-26at04.04.37.jpg?v=1792972274"},{"product_id":"waiheke-manuka-80-mgo-honey","title":"Waiheke Manuka 80+ MGO Honey","description":"\u003cp\u003eRare Waiheke Island Mānuka honey with 80+ MGO. A rich, earthy honey with authentic bioactive properties, harvested along the wild coastal bush of the Hauraki Gulf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLocation:\u003c\/strong\u003e Waiheke Island, Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFlavour Profile:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rich, earthy sweetness with a subtle caramel undertone, balanced by a smooth, coastal finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Story: An Island of Wine\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis Mānuka honey is harvested from the rugged, untamed corners of Waiheke Island, where ancient native bush meets the salt air of the Hauraki Gulf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Coastal Canopy:\u003c\/strong\u003e Sourced from the wild scrubland that fringes Waiheke's hidden bays, where Mānuka thrives in the sea swept microclimate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Island Legacy:\u003c\/strong\u003e On Waiheke Island, the \"Island of Wine,\" bees forage along rugged cliffs and secluded coves, distilling the essence of the Gulf into a potent, golden honey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Daily Essential:\u003c\/strong\u003e While higher MGO ratings are for targeted use, our 80+ MGO is crafted for your everyday ritual. It captures the essence of the island, where the air is salt kissed and the bees forage in pure, coastal bushland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It's Unique\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur Waiheke Mānuka is prized for its balance. It offers the authentic, bioactive properties Mānuka is famous for, with a distinct coastal character shaped by its island terroir. Pure, potent, and full of life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePerfect Pairings\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMorning Ritual:\u003c\/strong\u003e Stir into warm lemon water or your morning tea for a natural wellness boost.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBreakfast:\u003c\/strong\u003e Drizzle over Greek yoghurt, overnight oats, or fresh fruit bowls.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHealthy Snack:\u003c\/strong\u003e Perfect as a natural sweetener for smoothies or spread on warm grain toast.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAt a Glance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eStatus:\u003c\/strong\u003e Raw, Unprocessed \u0026amp; Certified 80+ MGO\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSpirit:\u003c\/strong\u003e Coastal, Rich \u0026amp; Island Vitality\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin:\u003c\/strong\u003e Waiheke Island, Hauraki Gulf, NZ\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Be Local","offers":[{"title":"80g","offer_id":59026942001483,"sku":"BLWHKMNK80MGO-80","price":7.9,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300g","offer_id":59026942034251,"sku":"BLWHKMNK80MGO-300","price":16.5,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1kg","offer_id":59026942067019,"sku":"BLWHKMNK80MGO-1KG","price":36.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0952\/1424\/0075\/files\/Waiheke-Manuka80g-front.png?v=1793162380"}],"url":"https:\/\/belocal.co.nz\/collections\/new-arrivals.oembed","provider":"Be Local","version":"1.0","type":"link"}