The Mihelakis family’s Kolympari S.A. olive oil company near Chania in northwest Crete is continuing the time honored traditions of true artisans who have created fine extra virgin olive oils from the Koroneiki olives that have been harvested for centuries from olive groves in their region, which offers the perfect climatological conditions for olives.

The family continues to meticulously care for the orchards, day in and day out. Then, when the olives are ready, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles join forces to hand-pick the fruits of their labor during the harvest. The olives are promptly transported to modern, fully automated production facilities where their oil is soon extracted under carefully controlled conditions to meet the company’s main goals: high quality, variety, safety, and hygiene.

At the bottling facility, Maria, the family’s quality control specialist, scrutinizes the olive oil’s taste, ensuring that the quality of all Kolympari extra virgin olive oil lives up to the legacy of their name and their reputation. As their video says, “the result is purity--one that transforms meals, maximizes olive oil’s renowned health benefits, and captures the spirit of a 3,000 year old tradition. This is the taste of legacy, Kolympari extra virgin olive oil.” 

It is not only Maria who guarantees Kolympari olive oil’s quality. All of the company’s employees work toward this end, aiming to produce some of the best olive oil in Greece. In addition, the company implements the Quality Assurance System ISO 22000:2005, performing frequent quality checks and chemical analyses at certified chemical laboratories and the government’s laboratory, as well as sensory evaluation by an accredited olive oil testing panel.

Kolympari S.A.’s products are certified by both national and international organizations, such as TÜV, BIOHellas, Agrocert, and the Organized Kashrut Laboratories, for certification of production standardization, organic products, products of protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI), and abidance by kashrut rules for Kosher products.

These certifications have prepared Kolympari S.A. to export their extra virgin olive oil around the world, for example throughout much of Europe and in Australia, the USA, Canada, China, South Africa, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates.

Since 2011, Kolympari S.A. has been collaborating with the Department of Rural Development of the municipality of Chania to use contract farming with a certificate of authenticity and quality. The contract between a group of producers, the Kolympari S.A. company, and domestic and international businesses ensures a steady supply and demand of high quality olive oil at a predictable, fair price.

The contract farming program started with 30 certified olive producers, and the number increases each year, because the company supports the work of the farmers, encouraging them to improve the conditions of production in order to improve the quality of the final product. This enables Kolympari S.A. to offer consumers extra virgin olive oil with a clear origin in the olive groves of northwestern Crete.

Kolympari S.A. features a balsamic vinegar and several different extra virgin olive oils: Fresh & Fruity, Organic Olive Oil, Kolymvari PDO, Kolympari S.A., Mihelakis, and Liohimo, with a variety of container sizes, shapes, and materials. 

Fresh & Fruity Extra Virgin Olive Oil PDO Kolymvari and Fresh & Fruity Balsamic Vinegar of Crete in 150 ml spray bottles are two of the company’s most innovative products. They are ideal for those who want to control the quantity of olive oil and vinegar they use while following a balanced diet. The spray bottle distributes the oil and vinegar evenly over salad or food, providing the same pleasant taste with less quantity. It gives a rich flavor to salads, vegetables, and sauces.

Kolympari S.A. Mihelakis Family Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced from the thousand-year-old trees planted in the Kolymbari area during the Venetian occupation of Crete, supplemented with olives from more modern trees. The creative, harmonious collaboration between these trees and the environment--the soil, the sun, the water, and the sea breeze of the Cretan Sea--as well as the zest of the area’s olive cultivators produce an olive fruit that yields a superior quality olive oil after natural processing in the family’s own oil presses.

Kolymvari Extra Virgin Olive Oil PDO is a product with Protected Designation of Origin from the area of Kolymvari. Its olives come from the Michelakis Family Groves in Crete, where the olive trees with their lustrous silvery green leaves stand peacefully overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. At the Michelakis Family Groves, using environmentally conscientious traditional harvesting methods for optimum quality and flavor, selected Koroneiki olives are handpicked under pristine conditions. The olive fruit is then brought to the Michelakis family mill, where the olive fruit is mechanically cold pressed, producing this superior category mild and fruity olive oil, ideal for salads, pasta, and grilled vegetables.
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Content and photos by Kolympari S.A.
With writing and editing assistance from Lisa Radinovsky