Science andSourcing
Upper North Island Mānuka varieties contain high levels of calming flavonoids:
The New Zealand Mānuka plant has many and varied forms due to its climactically diverse growing range. It can grow from sea level up to the timberline in mountainous areas. Remarkably the mānuka can thrive in many different types of soil, from thermally active areas such as Rotorua to the drought prone, nutrient deficient areas of the East Cape.
In adapting to this geographic variegation, the Mānuka plant has evolved different ecotypes that are specific to their location. These differing ecotypes means that manuka tea produced from these different ecotypes has different taste & functionality characteristics .
In the 1990’s German Scientists Haberlein & Tschiersch, discovered that certain manuka ecotypes contain flavonoids which can influence the action of GABA in the brain. GABA is a neurotransmitter that calms down neural activity and can relax muscles. Similar herbal teas such as chamomile and valerian can similarly influence GABA activity but to a lesser extent compared to mānuka.
These scientists discovered that manuka growing in the top ½ of the North Island contains significantly higher amounts of anxiolytic flavonoids compared the rest of New Zealand.
Enzo has discovered a manuka ecotype growing in the Waikato region that contains even greater amounts of anxiolytic flavonoids compared to the mānuka grown in the Coromandel region .This means we are using the best mānuka variety discovered so far for providing the most soothing, relaxing cup of mānuka tea and we use this variety in the manufacture of Mānucha.
Currently Enzo hand harvests wild manuka from a particular location in the Waikato region, however in time we plan to plantation grow the mānuka to ensure freshness and year round availability.
Enzo’s Instant Mānuka Tea (Mānucha)
In setting out to produce instant manuka tea, we already knew that applying any industrial process to a food product, inevitably alters the taste and chemical profile. If you have ever compared instant coffee with freshly brewed coffee you will understand quickly that even the world’s best food technology companies struggle to manufacture a dried powder product that compares to freshly brewed coffee.
Similarly it is just as difficult to produce an instant tea powder that matches the taste and functionality of freshly brewed tea. There can be issues with water quality, oxidation, loss of aromatic compounds, polymerisation, and off-flavour development all of which adversely effect that taste of the tea. Over many months of experimentation at Enzo’s laboratory in Paeroa, we were able to identify the optimal methods to retain the flavour and functionality (calming effect). Our process uses only pure deoxygenated, water that contains no minerals whatsoever. We have identified heat sensitive compounds in the tea and have worked out how much steeping we can apply before we damage those compounds. Then we rapidly cool and freeze dry the tea to minimise oxidation.
Like wine making, it is this attention to quality at every step, from selection of ecotype, to minimal gentle processing, that goes into every batch of mānucha. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
