The HouseTesting
Numbers, not adjectives.
Every batch Thymelia bottles will carry a laboratory certificate of analysis, published on this site in full — real units, against the legal limits, per batch. This page explains what gets tested, what the figures mean, and what testing cannot tell you.
What “raw” has to prove
Heat is the enemy. Two measurements expose it: HMF, which rises when honey is heated or stored badly, and diastase, an enzyme that heat destroys. UK law (assimilated from the EU honey rules in the Honey (England) Regulations 2015) sets the limits for all honey — raw honey should sit far inside them, and each batch page will show exactly where ours lands.
- HMF (hydroxymethylfurfural)Rises with heat and age
- A compound that accumulates in honey with heating and age. Legal limit: 40 mg/kg. Fresh, unheated honey typically measures in single figures.
- Diastase activityDestroyed by heat
- A natural honey enzyme, measured on the Schade scale, destroyed by heat. Legal minimum: 8. High readings are consistent with honey that has never been meaningfully warmed.
The batch record
Published for every batch, in this form:
The RecordPublished per batch
| Analyte | Reference | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture | house limit ≤ 17.5 g/100 g | published per batch |
| HMF | legal limit ≤ 40 mg/kg | published per batch |
| Diastase activity | legal minimum ≥ 8 Schade | published per batch |
| Pollen analysis | thyme share of count | published per batch |
| Residue multi-screen | multi-compound panel | published per batch |
The oil’s record
The olive oil we are sourcing — from the hills above Kalamata — will publish to the same discipline. “Extra virgin” is a statutory grade, and UK law (the olive oil marketing standards, assimilated from EU Regulation 2568/91) sets ceilings on its chemistry: free acidity, peroxides, the UV absorbance figures. The grade is sensory as well as chemical — an accredited taste panel must find a median of defects of exactly 0.0 and a fruity attribute above 0.0; clean chemistry alone cannot earn it. Phenolic content carries no legal threshold, but it is the standard we buy against, so it is reported per batch — as total hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol after hydrolysis, the measure that counts when a phenolic figure is quoted.
The RecordPublished per batch
| Analyte | Reference | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Free acidity | legal limit ≤ 0.8% (as oleic acid) | published per batch |
| Peroxide value | legal limit ≤ 20 mEq O₂/kg | published per batch |
| K232 | legal limit ≤ 2.50 | published per batch |
| K268/K270 | legal limit ≤ 0.22 | published per batch |
| ΔK | legal limit ≤ 0.01 | published per batch |
| Taste panel | median of defects 0.0 · fruity above 0.0 | published per batch |
| Phenolic content | total hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol after hydrolysis, mg/kg | published per batch |
Whose laboratory?
The per-batch certificate comes from the producer’s accredited laboratory and travels with the harvest we buy — we publish it unedited. On top of that, we will commission independent UK verification periodically as a deliberate check on the paperwork, and publish those results side by side with the originals.
Batch lookup
Every jar will print its lot code, and entering it here will return the full filed record: apiary and coordinates, extraction date, the certificate in real units, and how many jars the batch drew. The lookup ships with the first harvest — like everything on this page, it goes live when there is a real batch to look up, not before.
What testing cannot tell you
A certificate can show what the honey is and what was never done to it. It cannot tell you how the honey tastes, or how it will set in your cupboard. Pollen analysis reads the forage, not the flavour — for that, open the jar.
Asked, answered.
What is tested on every batch?
Two panels, one per harvest. For honey: moisture, HMF, diastase activity, pollen analysis and a residue multi-screen. For the oil: free acidity, peroxide value, the ultraviolet absorbencies K232, K268 and delta-K, a trained taste panel, and a phenolic figure. Both — published in full for each batch, in real units, against the legal limits.
What do HMF and diastase show?
They are the two laboratory markers of heating. HMF rises when honey is heated or stored badly — the legal limit is 40 mg/kg. Diastase is a honey enzyme that heat destroys — the legal minimum is 8 on the Schade scale. Read together, they show whether a honey has been meaningfully warmed.
What must an olive oil certificate tie to?
The lot number on the bottle. Free acidity, peroxide and the K-values are measured on one specific pressing, and the phenolic figure falls as an oil ages — so a certificate proves something about your bottle only when it names the lot your bottle came from. A figure with no lot number attached is an advertisement, not a measurement.
Who carries out the testing?
The producer’s accredited laboratory tests each batch, and we publish that certificate unedited. On top of it, we will commission periodic independent UK verification as a deliberate check on the paperwork, and publish both side by side.
Why are no results shown yet?
Because there is no batch yet. We have no shop and no stock, and this page holds the format only — certificates appear here when there is a real batch to publish, not before.
Can a certificate prove where a honey comes from?
Pollen analysis reads which plants the bees foraged, which is how a thyme share and a stated origin are checked. What it cannot read is flavour — for that, open the jar.