The Farm
Our Commitment to the Environment
The farm where our olives are grown is a traditional olive farm in Laconia, Greece, with a history spanning over 100 years and four generations.
The area where the farm is located is designated as part of the European Union's (EU) "Natura 2000" network of protected natural areas. It is a pristine environment, free from factory chimneys emitting harmful fumes and businesses discharging wastewater that pollutes the soil.
To ensure the health and nutritional richness of our soil, we strictly avoid using any pesticides or fertilizers that are not organically certified. By fully embracing environmentally friendly organic farming, we can produce olive oil of higher quality, superior taste, and greater nutritional value.
The Olives
Our Commitment to Variety
The olive variety we cultivate is Koroneiki, known as the "Queen of Olives." Koroneiki trees have a gracefully spreading canopy and charming small, pointed leaves. They produce tiny, round fruits, each weighing about 1 gram.
There are hundreds of olive varieties, so why did we choose Koroneiki? Because it is exceptionally rich in oleic acid, total polyphenols, and total tocopherols (Vitamin E). This makes it highly resistant to oxidation, allowing us to extract a consistently delicious and superior oil, while also offering significant health benefits. It truly lives up to its name as the "Queen of Olives," the finest variety.
And our commitment doesn't stop there. We strive to fully unlock the potential of this exceptional Koroneiki variety.
Harvesting
Our "Olive First" Commitment
Under the clear Greek sky, kissed by the sun and fanned by gentle breezes, our olive fruits mature. Our harvesting method remains unchanged from ancient times: we meticulously hand-pick each olive, one by one. It would be much easier to use machines, so why do we insist on hand-picking? The answer is simple: relying on machines can damage the precious olive trees and bruise the olives themselves. Quality over efficiency – prioritizing the olives is one of our cherished commitments.
The harvest period is also crucial. To maximize the freshness and nutritional value of our olives, we strictly adhere to the principle of early harvesting. While Koroneiki olives are generally harvested from October to January, we harvest ours in November, when the fruits are still green and not yet fully ripe. Why November? For us, prioritizing the olives, this timing is a critically important factor.
Greece is typically dry throughout the year, but November is a rainy season. When it rains, the olives absorb a lot of water. Where does all that water go? Into the olive fruits. When the fruit's water content increases, the beneficial compounds are diluted, and the flavor becomes indistinct. Do you know one of the key factors that determines the taste of olive oil? It's polyphenols, as many are aware. Polyphenols not only offer high nutritional value but also profoundly influence the flavor of olive oil. Simply put, olive oils with more polyphenols are generally more delicious. However, if olives absorb too much rain, the polyphenols become diluted. By harvesting early, before the November rainy season and before the olives experience heavy rainfall, we can maintain the olives at their optimal quality.
The benefits of early harvesting extend beyond this. For example, if we waited until January to harvest, the olives would ripen and turn purple. Just as ripe fruits have more juice, the riper and darker the olive, the more oil it yields. But inversely proportional to the oil yield, the polyphenols are almost completely gone. If only considering oil quantity, ripe olives certainly yield more oil; more oil means more sales, which means greater company profit. But that is not acceptable. We are seriously aiming to be the world's best. If the oil is not authentic and valuable, it means nothing – because then we wouldn't see the smiles on the faces of those who taste our oil. The best time to press the olives is when they are in their optimal state, which is November.
Oil Production
Our Commitment to Pressing
Next, we extract oil from the optimally harvested olives.
Do you know how many olives are needed to produce 1 kilogram of olive oil?
Typically, about 2 kilograms of fruit are required. However, that is for mature olives with a high oil content. Our chosen "Queen of Olives," Koroneiki, produces small fruits, weighing 1-2 grams, which are smaller than other varieties, and we harvest them in November when their oil content is still low. Therefore, to produce 1 kilogram of oil, we luxuriously use a full "4 kilograms" of olives—twice the amount required for typical oil production!
Our commitment doesn't stop there. After the quantity of olives, comes speed: from harvesting to pressing, within 4 hours. We press the oil immediately after harvesting. ...While it sounds easy, it's actually a monumental task. Generally, olive oil pressed within 24 hours of harvesting is considered high quality, but we aim for 4 hours—one-sixth of that time. Considering the size of the farm, the distance to the pressing facility, and the need for careful handling to avoid damaging the olives... you can understand how difficult it is to complete pressing within 4 hours. Regardless of the effort involved, the reason we insist on pressing within such a short time is entirely for the freshness of the olive oil. High-freshness olive oil is rich in oleic acid, which can help reduce bad cholesterol. Furthermore, in Greece, where temperatures can still reach 23 degrees Celsius in November and sunlight is intense, olive fruits begin to oxidize the moment they are picked. Oxidized olives are, of course, not delicious, and you cannot extract delicious oil from unpalatable fruits. It would be a waste of our painstakingly cultivated olives, and for us, it would be heartbreaking... so harvesting is a race against time.
The Oil
Our Commitment to Quality
We have other commitments as well. For example, we store our olive oil in our own tanks and never blend it with oils from other companies or with lower-grade oils. To provide the purest olive oil, we manage the entire process ourselves.
Furthermore, we absolutely never reuse olive pomace. It's little known that after olives are pressed once, they can be pressed again using chemicals. Many extremely cheap olive oils on the market are often such secondary pressings. However, oil extracted a second time from pomace has almost no nutritional value and may even produce trans fatty acids, which are harmful to the human body... so we strictly avoid reusing pomace.
Finally, regarding the acidity of the oil. Acidity is one indicator of high-quality olive oil; simply put, it represents how easily the olive oil oxidizes. The standard set by the International Olive Council (IOC) is 0.8%, while Laconiko's olive oil measures 0.17%. *A lower value indicates higher quality.
To provide high-quality, delicious olive oil, various commitments and efforts are indispensable. We sincerely hope that this meticulously crafted oil brings you joy.
Completion!
Our Commitment to the Container
▼Completion! Our Commitment to the Container
To ensure you enjoy our meticulously crafted, high-quality olive oil in its best state, we pay close attention to the container as well.
Our bottles are imported from the United States and have passed "Food Sanitation Law inspections," meeting all strict safety standards.
Our bottles are characterized by their slender necks and concave bottoms, resembling wine bottles. This design ensures that with each pour, the oil inside circulates, preventing ingredients from settling and maintaining the flavor for a long time. Furthermore, to protect the olive oil's quality from direct sunlight, both the 375ml and 200ml bottles come in highly opaque Antique Brown and Olive Green colors. The corks are "T-Corks" imported from Italy, also meeting all strict safety standards. Our T-corks are also known for being easy to pour and use.
Moreover, the bottle design is stylish and elegant, making it a beautiful item you'll want to display. Placing it in visible areas like the kitchen or dining table adds to the enjoyment.
Please enjoy "Laconiko" olive oil, perfected through meticulous effort.
