Where does our Olive Oil come from?

Where Does Our Olive Oil Come From?

Sitia is on the eastern end of Crete. Rocky, dry, hot. Koroneiki olives have grown there for a long time and it's one of the main olive-producing regions in Greece.

Koroneiki is a small olive but it punches above its weight for oil production. High yield, high polyphenol content, and a flavour profile that runs peppery and green with a bit of bitterness. It makes up more than half of Greece's olive oil production.

PDO Sitia is a Protected Designation of Origin, an EU certification. It means the olives were grown, harvested, and extracted in Sitia under specific standards. It's a legal thing, not a branding exercise.

The olives get harvested and cold extracted on-site in Crete. No heat over 27 degrees, no solvents, no refining. The oil ships to New Zealand where we bottle it. Stored cool and out of light the whole way.

Most olive oil you buy is a blend. Could be oil from Spain, Tunisia, and Greece all in one bottle. Blending makes it cheaper but it also makes quality hard to track. Single origin means one region, one variety, one harvest. You can trace where it came from.