The Apokoronian Origins

Meet Yiannis Kapokakis and the products of The Apokoronian Origins which bring to your kitchen table all the enchanting aromas and the unique flavours of Crete.

Discovery

When this brand reached out to our site, I was immediately impressed by their bold profile and the mellifluous name.

The Apokoronian Origins was recently founded in February 2018 by Yiannis Kapokakis in the Apokoronas region of Chania in Crete.

Yiannis wanted to make full use of his island’s brand which is strong in itself, but did not want to create yet another line of Cretan products. His typical consumer is someone who searches for unique products and appreciates their provenance.

Yiannis wanted to make full use of his island’s brand which is strong in itself, but did not want to create yet another line of Cretan products.

His tagline “pure Crete”, emphasises the purity of the terroir conjuring up everything one might imagine when they think about Crete; unique flavours, traditions, including music, and of course black shirts.

The graphic design of their logo featured the Α and O suggests a man sitting upon the land which is both his passion and his livelihood.

The graphic design of their logo featured the Α and O suggests a man sitting upon the land which is both his passion and his livelihood.

To date they have launched two types of olive oil, Cretan thyme honey, herbs and vinegars. Their vinegars are 100% natural and free of added sugar, preservatives and sulphites.

A Magic Cabinet stocks the hot and spicy wine vinegar, made from local grape varieties, essence of green and red peppers and chili.

Memory

Yiannis studied Statistics and Economics and worked in the food and beverage sector. He felt the need to escape multinational companies with their constant meetings and tight deadlines, in order to create something of his own. This entailed weekly visits to Crete.

In the beginning he had trouble adjusting to the slow-paced world of farming and the fact that every meeting ended with rounds of the powerful local pomace brandy tsikoudia. His Cretan heritage and characteristic surname opened the right doors and welcomed him back.

The area is known for its green hills, fertile ground baked with the local spring water from the mountains. Apokoronas has the only natural lake in Crete, as well as a network of rivers that head out to sea.

Narration

The company is based in the village of Stylos, in the Apokoronas region, with all its suppliers in the surrounding area. Yiannis splits his time between Athens and Chania intending soon to move to Chania full time.

Being the co-ordinator is demanding but creating a product from scratch is really exciting for Yiannis.

His next product launches including herb infused olive oils and sea salt.

Apokoronas is in the North Eastern part of the province of Chania, which extends from the base of the White Mountains to the north coast of the island.

The area is known for its green hills, fertile ground baked with the local spring water from the mountains. Apokoronas has the only natural lake in Crete, as well as a network of rivers that head out to sea.

Due to the unique microclimate, the vegetation is abundant here: olive trees, avocado, kiwis and bananas are just a few of varieties that flourish in the area.