Pamako

Discover Pamako and their unique olive oil made exclusively from olives of the Tsounati variety, grown on some of the oldest and highest olive trees in the Mediterranean.

Discovery

A fortuitous journey made just in time will always be remembered. I visited Thessaloniki on the evening of 24th February to add to our substantial choice of artisan products from Northern Greece. On a sunny Monday, I visited Olicatessen whose multiple bottles and jars on the shelves jostle for your attention. There I was drawn to Pamako’s sculptural black bottle and strident logo. Greece had its first reported coronavirus case that day so I had made my visit in time.

Pamako, founded in 2014 in Chania, Crete by Eftychios Androulakis and his wife Dorothea, is a family business. They cultivate olives of the Tsounati and Koroneiki varieties which produce two prime organic virgin olive oils, coupling Cretan tradition with 21st century technology.

Pamako is from the language of the Ancient Minoans which had an alphabet of signs on tablets known as Linear B. Every symbol matched a syllable: PA-MA-KO which means medicine. The producers chose this word with its remedial significance because their oils are high in polyphenols which are known for their health benefits.

Pamako is from the language of the Ancient Minoans which had an alphabet of signs on tablets known as Linear B. Every symbol matched a syllable: PA-MA-KO which means medicine. The producers chose this word with its remedial significance because their oils are high in polyphenols which are known for their health benefits.

We have selected the Monovarietal Mountain Extra Virgin Olive Oil which is extracted exclusively from Tsounati olives. It flows extravagantly out of its glass bottle which is sealed by hand.

The flavour reveals hints of artichoke, green grass and almonds, initiating with a sharpness yielding to a satisfyingly fruity aftertaste.

Eftichios and his devoted team undertake the production from the harvesting and pressing through to the packaging and the distribution. This way the brand’s quality and organic provenance is ensured. No chemicals are used and Pamako has been awarded over forty prizes.

The abrupt morphology of the ground in the village of Agriles, makes gathering from the 200 years old trees a challenge. Trees between eleven and eighteen metres high yield their fruit to intrepid gatherers who may have to climb up and harvest it by hand or with electric wands. The olives are gathered in October, when still green.

They are deposited into boxes and taken every two hours to the press. After refrigeration, the olives are washed and sorted, then pressed to make a paste. Batches of this are filtered daily.

Memory

All Eftchios’ childhood holidays were spent in the village where his grandmother would welcome him with home cooked food and skaltsounia, a hard baked Cretan pastry. From a small child, he was entranced by the height of these olive trees, so much loftier than the others on the island.

Eftychios studied technical agronomy and had worked in many different fields of work. In 2012 he acquired his first press and bottled his first olive oil, thus realizing his vision.

Tsounati is one of the oldest olive varieties in the world and the oldest fruit bearing tree is 3.500 years old and stands in the village of Vouves, in Chania.

Narration

The Pamako olive grove boasts trees which are over a hundred years old. The altitude is between 540 and 750 metres above sea level. The regional microclimate is ideal for olive trees, the weather is sunny and windy when they blossom in May and cool and rainy when the harvest in the autumn comes which protects the fruit from disease.

The press is situated in the village of Xamouthohori and the bottling plant close to Chania.

Tsounati is one of the oldest olive varieties in the world and the oldest fruit bearing tree is 3.500 years old and stands in the village of Vouves, in Chania.