Olive Oil from Greece

The cultivation of olive trees and Greek olive oil production has been perfected over centuries. There have been found wild olive tree leaf fossils that date back more than 20 million years. However, their cultivation and production of virgin olive oil in Greece is estimated to have begun about 3500 years BC. from archaeological discoveries of tools around the area.

In fact, the most ancient olive oil tree in Greece can be found in Crete and it dates back approximately 3000 to 5000 years ago, making it one of the oldest trees on earth today.

Olive oil was also a major export of Mycenaean Greece (c. 1450–1150 BC). Scholars believe the ancient olive oil was produced by a process where olives were placed in woven mats and squeezed with the oil collected in vats.

The Greek olive tree, known scientifically as olea europaea, has a wide and deep root system which gave it the ability to survive in arid conditions for months throughout the years. There was a massive trade of olive oil between the Greeks and ancient Phoenician merchants.

In ancient Greece, they used stone weights, hung from wooden beams, to crush the olives and form the olive pulp. It was then kneaded and poured from stone bases into special containers for the separation of virgin olive oil from water.

Greek olive oil carries very low acidity and peroxides which make them of premium quality, and can be recognized mainly from the fruitiness, the bitterness, and the pungency in the taste. Yes, bitter is good and a characteristic of freshness.

Sacco Imports only imports olive oil produced by independent farmers using sustainable farming methods.

Supporting Sacco Imports with your purchase, you are helping to ensure that the oldest olive oil communities worldwide continue to thrive while you savor the Mediterranean’s most exquisite olive oils.