Meet Manolis and Andreas: Cretan Olive Oil Tasting on a Family Grove

Coming up: family values, 5,000 years of history, unexpected health benefits, a knowledgeable sommelier, and traditional-style Cretan olive oil.

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“EFKRATO is the optimized version of the same pure olive oil we grew up with.”

Back when they were kids, cousins Manolis and Andreas visited their families’ olive groves with their fathers.

They shaded under trees from the hot Greek sun. They munched on traditional Cretan lunches. They spent their summers sweating and toiling. They enjoyed many fruits straight from the trees, and learned how to love and respect nature.

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Then: they got older, moved away, and lived in different cities and countries.

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But back in 2019, they decided to revisit their roots; they took their families’ olive groves, rejoined them, and created something very special.

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… and it’s a flavor-packed mixture of old and new.

2019 (and thousands of years of history)

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When they rejoined the family groves back in 2019, Manolis and Andreas didn't want to use widespread-but-harmful modern methods.

Instead, they wanted to treat their land with the same love and respect the Minoans did, around 5,000 years ago. Just like the ancient Minoans, Manolis and Andreas know humanity and nature are closely intertwined.

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So, the cultivating cousins use natural and regenerative methods to make their Cretan olive oil, and limit their use of harmful technology. You won’t find their unique methods in large-scale production, or on any supermarket shelves.  

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What exactly is their production process?

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Manolis and Andreas harvest the olive fruits early, before they become ripe.

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So, that means less oil.

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But it also means better health—ancient Greeks knew this early-harvest oil was the most nutritious they could get (and modern scientific studies have confirmed this belief!).

Manolis and Andreas aren’t interested in making things simple or easy.

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Instead, they’re interested in:

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• Sustainability
• Real flavors
• Authenticity
• And health 

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During harvest season, the oil is extracted every day—usually only a few hours after harvest. And even then, only the best batches are bottled. 

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Fruits are selected and inspected by hand, one by one. 

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Equipment is minimized, and nature is emphasized: the growing methods here are stricter than those found on most organic farms—and local sheep sometimes visit the grove to wander and graze.

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Many other plants and creatures grow and live on the grove—prickly pears, wild asparagus, almonds, figs, herbs, birds, butterflies, and insects. This biodiversity helps control unwanted pests—so the fruit thrives and survives without any need for harmful pesticides.

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The grove is almost-exclusively home to Tsounati trees, which are notoriously difficult to manage and maintain. 

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In the words of the cousins, this is “the exact opposite of the hyper-intensive cultivation of olive trees in other olive oil producing countries. It is also in line with the ancient history of Crete”.

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Although their carbon footprint is only small, Manolis and Andreas make financial contributions to MyClimate (to cover the cost of their emissions). This money assists environmental-protection projects in various pockets of the planet.

The end result of all this careful earth-first work? EFKRATO: an all-natural all-organic high-phenolic* extra virgin olive oil, which has received many awards and accreditations. And when you visit the family grove, that’s one of the oils you’ll be tasting.

*Wait: what does ‘high-phenolic’ mean?

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Good question.

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When an olive oil is ‘high-phenolic,’ it contains many polyphenols.

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Polyphenols are antioxidants—they have anti-inflammatory benefits, and they’re good for your brain, your heart, and your body.

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But that’s just the beginning:

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Studies have shown early-harvested olive oils have some of the same anti-inflammatory properties as Ibuprofen (but without any of Ibuprofen’s downsides!).

2023: here come the tourists 

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In 2023, Manolis and Andreas began inviting tourists to their grove, for olive oil tasting.

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And when you visit, you’ll be exploring the same places Manolis and Andreas spent their time as children.

Highlights include:

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• Nature: you’ll wander between the olive trees, see local nature, and hear from a bunch of bees, birds, and cicadas (and sometimes even sheep!).
• Olive oil tasting (obviously): you’ll meet a trained sommelier, who’ll help you enjoy and understand the olive oil. Expect tasting tips, surprising aromas and flavors, and real olive oil tasting glasses. Fun fact: the variety of aromas you get from good olive oil is wider than the variety of aromas you get from wine!
• Varied award winners: you’ll taste the cousins’ award-receiving Tsounati-tree extra virgin olive oil, along with awarded oils from Crete’s 2 other olive tree varieties. You’ll compare these to a ‘normal’ oil, so you can understand what premium extra virgin olive oils really have to offer.

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And when you’re done, you’ll taste three traditional Cretan dishes; each specifically paired with an ideal olive oil.

‍As you’ve probably now realized, Manolis and Andreas are interested in preserving and presenting real Greek heritage and history. And so are we at Upiria! So book an experience with their sommelier, taste some awarded local olive oils, and explore a real (and really sustainable!) Cretan olive grove.

Oh, and to follow the cousins’ olive-oil exploits, head to their Instagram.

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Thanks for reading, and we’ll see you again soon. Yassas!

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For more tastes and treats, here’s wine tasting at the foot of Mount Olympus, and olive oil experiences 90 minutes from Athens.

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And for more Cretan culture, here are unique tours with a local couple, and off-road island adventures in local-led Jeeps.

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