Our mountain – century old – groves

Our olive groves are located next to the ancient city of Elyros in the rocky, mountainous area of Selino in the prefecture of Chania on the island of Crete, at an altitude of 500 to 700 meters above sea level. Most of them are very difficult to reach, since there are no roads leading to them.

Cultivation and harvesting are extremely challenging due to the morphology of the ground and the size of the trees. Following the tradition of more than four generations and respecting what Cretan nature generously offer us, we have learned to treat each tree individually, according to its needs. With an average height of 11m (when some others can reach the 20m) and an average age of 200 years, for us each tree has a different "personality", and this is exactly why we believe that every tree deserves individual attention.

Our ally in this effort is the ideal microclimate of the area: sunny and windy while the trees start to blossom, with cold, rainy days naturally protecting them from disease and feeding them before the harvest.

Our production

Challenging, Painstaking, Traditional, Innovating.

These are the four words that describe best the full procedure of creating the best quality olive oil. The rough and rocky terrain prohibits the use of heavy machinery, so harvesting is done by hand with the aid of electric harvesters that due to the tree height have to be carried on to the tree whilst climbing higher and higher.
Harvesting is carried out while the olives have still a light green colour, that is before start getting darker. Harvesting usually starts in mid- October and lasts about four weeks or until all the fruits have been harvested.

Milling and pressing of the olives is done at the day of harvesting at a specific temperature – under 27c- (cold pressed olive oil). And last for a maximum of forty  minutes for each load. This way we ensure that our gourmet, extra virgin olive oil, will keep all its aromas and valuable phenols. Even if we might have some loss regarding the produced quantity, we compensate by offering a product of  exceptional quality to our customers which contains all the health benefits of the organic olive oil.

Then the olive is stored in stainless steel containers away from sunlight and under strictly controlled temperatures. We also use nitrogen gas in our tanks, which is suitable for foodstuffs, this way ensuring that our olive oil will keep its first day freshness and quality for the longest possible time.

Finally, bottling is done by a semi-automatic machine and each bottle closed then by hand ensuring that all our passion and love for exceptional olive oil reaches intact to your table.

We have undertaken extensive research as well as an analysis of the composition of our products, assisted by the Pharmacognosy and Natural Products Chemistry Department at the University of Athens.

In October 2014, when the first analysis was complete and for the 2014/2018 harvest seasons, the results were impressive.

The levels of Oleocanthal and Oleacein present in PAMAKO Monovarietal (single olive variety) and PAMAKO Blend were extremely high compared to similar previously tested products. Oleocanthal and Oleacein are known for their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cardioprotective and neuroprotective properties.

PAMAKO olive oil has one of the highest concentrations of hydroxytyrosol-tyrosol and derivatives (as discussed in European regulation 432/2012) in the world. Daily
consumption of 4 grams of our oil is enough to protect blood lipids from oxidative stress, according to that European guideline.

Certification as organic and analysis for any chemical residues by BIOHELLAS ensure that our olive oil is exactly as our ancestors produced it: pure and clean.
To maintain all the health benefits of our range of products, we use dark bottles with a mirror-like external film to reflect light and stop it from harming the quality of our olive oil.

We also use a natural cork with a wooden finish to keep the aroma and flavour well sealed in until the last drop.

In other words, when you buying a Pamako organic olive oil, you can be sure that you are buying one of the healthiest olives with the highest amount of antioxidants!

Health benefits of Pamako olive oil

Chemical analysis: chemical analysis is done at the Pharmacognosy and Natural Products Chemistry Department of the University of Athens in October. The evaluation of both of our olive oils showed impressive results.

Oleocanthal and Oleacein:  The levels of Oleocanthal and Oleacein present in PAMAKO Monovarietal and PAMAKO Blend are far higher than the average values revealed so far by international university studies. Recent scientific studies have associated Oleocanthal and Oleacein with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cardioprotective and neuroprotective activity. Considering the standards set by European regulation 432/2012: the hydroxytyrosol derivatives in PAMAKO are over 5 mg per 20 grams of olive oil. This concentration of phenolic compounds is much higher than regulation requires for a health claim. Back in 2016 the analysis of Pamako olive oil showed that the daily consumption of just 7gr of our oil protects significantly the blood lipids from oxidative stress.

Maintenance of desirable characteristics: To maintain all these healthy characteristics, we use dark bottles with a mirrored outer layer so the light cannot affect the olive oil’s quality. To keep the olive oil’s aromas well preserved, we cap our bottle with the best quality natural cork with an oak wooden finish.