Sweetree Hamilton City Honey Wins Silver!
Sweetree’s Kirikiriroa Honey recently won a silver award in the ‘Beekeepers Special Reserve’ section of the National Beekeepers Association Honey Competition. Sweetree’s Dried Bee Pollen also won bronze the national bee pollen section.
The National Beekeepers Association awards are judged purely on the product with no packaging, marketing or gimmicks to detract from the product. All honeys and pollens are entered in the same packaging and the products are judged on characteristics such as taste and texture. The judge, Maureen Conquer - President of Apimondia Oceania, commented, “It was very steep competition this year”. Read more details on our awards.
Peter Sergel, Hamilton Gardens Director, says the arrangement with Sweetree is a real benefit to the gardens.
"This is a great result for Martin and his team in their first year of working with us, and we're looking forward to selling the Kirikiriroa Honey at the Hamilton Gardens shop. I'm confident our visitors will be keen to sample, quite literally, a taste of Hamilton Gardens."
When Martin dropped the zoo beehives into their site adjacent to the giraffe enclosure at 6:30am. It was very quiet and also a little surreal to see seven long necks towering above the foliage and 14 large eyes staring at him stock still and watching his every move! That's a first in beekeeping for him!
Purchase Kirikiriroa Honey here
Bee pollen is collected by honeybees. As the bee moves from one flower to another it places flakes of pollen into pollen baskets on its back legs. It combines the flakes with nectar to make a granule of bee pollen.
Bee pollen is an incredible natural source of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Studies have shown that it has a nutritional composition that surpasses that of virtually any food eaten. Regular consumption of bee pollen aids your general health and well-being. Just some of the benefits reported of our Sweetree Bee Pollen are: Sustained energy, enhanced immunity, reduced stress, relief of inflammation, more rested sleep and better skin condition.
Sweetree Bee Pollen is collected from our home apiary site at rural Horsham Downs, near Hamilton. With abundant nearby flora, Sweetree honey bees gather pollen from a wide range of flowering plants, reflected in the many different colours of pollen. These colours indicate a highly nutritious bee pollen and we have received many favourable comments from our customers regarding its effectiveness.
Purchase Sweetree Dried Bee Pollen here
The National Beekeepers Association awards are judged purely on the product with no packaging, marketing or gimmicks to detract from the product. All honeys and pollens are entered in the same packaging and the products are judged on characteristics such as taste and texture. The judge, Maureen Conquer - President of Apimondia Oceania, commented, “It was very steep competition this year”. Read more details on our awards.
About Kirikiriroa Honey (from Hamilton City!)
Sweetree honey owners Martin and Stephanie Lynch have struck up a partnership with the Hamilton City Council in which a number of our beehives are located in three of the city’s most popular iconic parks – Hamilton Gardens, Hamilton Zoo and Taitua Arboretum. The honey harvested from these parks is packed as ‘Kirikiriroa Honey’. Kirikiriroa is the Maori name for Hamilton. “This is the first year we have taken honey from the city beehives and it’s fantastic that it should win an award," Martin says.Peter Sergel, Hamilton Gardens Director, says the arrangement with Sweetree is a real benefit to the gardens.
"This is a great result for Martin and his team in their first year of working with us, and we're looking forward to selling the Kirikiriroa Honey at the Hamilton Gardens shop. I'm confident our visitors will be keen to sample, quite literally, a taste of Hamilton Gardens."
When Martin dropped the zoo beehives into their site adjacent to the giraffe enclosure at 6:30am. It was very quiet and also a little surreal to see seven long necks towering above the foliage and 14 large eyes staring at him stock still and watching his every move! That's a first in beekeeping for him!
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Hamilton City Garden Flowers | Taitua Arboretum | Hamilton City Zoo Giraffe |
Purchase Kirikiriroa Honey here
About Bee Pollen

Bee pollen is an incredible natural source of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Studies have shown that it has a nutritional composition that surpasses that of virtually any food eaten. Regular consumption of bee pollen aids your general health and well-being. Just some of the benefits reported of our Sweetree Bee Pollen are: Sustained energy, enhanced immunity, reduced stress, relief of inflammation, more rested sleep and better skin condition.
Sweetree Bee Pollen is collected from our home apiary site at rural Horsham Downs, near Hamilton. With abundant nearby flora, Sweetree honey bees gather pollen from a wide range of flowering plants, reflected in the many different colours of pollen. These colours indicate a highly nutritious bee pollen and we have received many favourable comments from our customers regarding its effectiveness.
Purchase Sweetree Dried Bee Pollen here
Comments