My Honest Review of Kiva Manuka Honey (2025 Edition)

As a devoted fan of manuka honey, I’m forever seeking innovative brands to try. In this blog post, I aim to offer my sincere views concerning Kiva’s Manuka honey. This review will mainly cover their UMF 15+ and UMF 20+ variants, giving you insights into everything from taste to authenticity.

Taste and Appearance

On first glance, Kiva’s manuka honey showcases a warm caramel hue, and its texture is granular. But don’t let its gritty appearance trick you—this honey is lusciously creamy and oh-so-sweet. The taste is robust, carrying an earthy inflection, quite potent, distinctive, and pleasantly therapeutic. Notably, it differentiates itself with a slightly more medicinal flavor than your local raw honey, yet trust me, it’s no less delightful.

This honey truly offers a one-of-a-kind taste sensation that won’t be mistaken easily. As far as consistency goes, it’s incredibly dense, requiring a bit of patience to dissolve in tea or water, but leaves no bitter aftertaste.

Grades Available

One admirable feature of Kiva’s manuka honey is the variety of UMF grades on offer. These range from UMF 5+ (MGO 83+), UMF 10+ (MGO 263+), UMF 15+ (MGO 514+), UMF 20+ (MGO 850+), to UMF 24+ (MGO 1122+).

UMF is a grading system that measures the concentration of unique compounds found in manuka honey, such as methylglyoxal (MGO). Higher UMF ratings indicate higher levels of these beneficial compounds.

If you’re looking to boost your immune system and reduce symptoms of cold sores, the flu, or even a stuffy nose, the UMF 15+ rated honey is suggested as a good option. Moreover, UMF 15+ and higher grades are considered ideal for dermatological use.

Purity and Authenticity

When it comes to Manuka Honey, authenticity is key. Kiva Manuka honey hails from the land of the Long White Cloud — New Zealand. With the UMF seal on its packaging, you can be certain of its authenticity—something I confirmed for myself via the UMF website. The company’s UMFHA license number (#2240) also attests to its credibility.

Kiva uses minimal processing methods to keep essential nutrients intact. Techniques such as low-temperature processing and freeze-drying ensure that the honey’s integrity is preserved.

In terms of therapeutic use, I have found it to be quite effective. Taking small doses a few times a day noticeably moistens and soothes my mouth and gums. This has been especially helpful in curing a sore throat, often showing results after just a few doses. Mixing it with warm water, turmeric, and half a lemon has proven particularly effective for alleviating sore throat symptoms. After just three days, my cough was almost completely gone. Additionally, it seems to work well for healing small cuts and improving oral health. Not to mention, it has been beneficial for alleviating my stomach issues.

Brand Reputation

Kiva Manuka honey is made by Kiva Health Brands LLC, which can be found at their official website www.kivahealthfood.com. This brand proudly enjoys continual high ratings on Amazon, with more than 10,000 reviews backing them up. Their commitment to sustainability and ethical business practices adds to their credibility. They are recognized as one of the global leaders in the UMF Manuka honey market, attesting to their quality standards.

Packaging and Size

Kiva Manuka honey comes in a well-sealed 8.8oz or 250g plastic jar — ensuring that it arrives in excellent condition. Both the lid seal and the opening seal were intact upon arrival, providing an extra layer of assurance about the product’s safety and freshness. If plastic isn’t to your liking, it’s worth mentioning that their UMF 24+ grade honey comes in a glass jar instead. An additional option offered is the portable snap packets for UMF 10+ grade honey, which are perfect for on-the-go use.

A unique feature of their packaging is the inclusion of a QR code on the bottle; scanning this code takes you to the Kiva website, where you can enter the batch number to verify the product’s authenticity. However, this feature didn’t seem to work as expected as it kept asking me to “try again.”

Price and Value

Despite being a premium product, Kiva Manuka Honey offers commendable value for its quality. The UMF 20+ grade is priced at approximately $64.00 on their website, while the UMF 15+ costs around $42.00. These prices may seem high at first, but compared to other high-grade Manuka honey options, they are relatively reasonable.

What’s more, Kiva offers a ‘Subscribe & Save‘ program that grants a 10% discount, and they provide free shipping on orders above $35. If you consider its multi-dimensional use – from health benefits to culinary delight, Kiva provides excellent value for money.

Pros & Cons

Overall Rating

After fine-combing through all aspects of Kiva Manuka honey, I’m quite impressed with this product. The taste is unique and satisfying; it is powerful in its health benefits and checks all the boxes with authenticity and purity. The brand stands up to its reputation, and the packaging fortifies the product’s quality.

However, despite the wonderful properties of this honey, the malfunctioning batch number verification tool and the slightly steeper price compared to regular honey can be minor drawbacks.

Overall, considering all the attributes, I feel comfortable giving Kiva Manuka Honey a 7.1 out of 10. The benefits substantially outweigh the cons, making it worth a try if you’re exploring Manuka honey options for health or skincare purposes.

Nutrition Information

• Calories: 60
• Total Fat: 0g
• Total Carb: 15g
• Total Sugars: 12g
• Sodium: 0mg
• Protein: 0g

*Serving size: 1 tbsp (21g)