About "Saint Spiridon" award winning extra virgin olive oil.

The name “Saint Spiridon” is derived from the Greek "Agios Spiridona", the name of a small hamlet which clings to the eastern slopes of the valley connecting Sitia, on the northern coast to Makriagalos on the southern coast of the beautiful eastern end of the island of Crete. The olive groves that surround the village produce some of the finest olive oils of the region and our own home farm is situated there, consisting of trees that are between three and four hundred years old. The area is also renowned for the historic and ancient ruins of Praissos, inhabited by the Minoan civilisation some 3,000 years ago. It is known that the Minoans cultivated olives all that time ago and created many of the mountainside terraces still in existence now.

The famous olive oils of the region fall into two categories depending on the acidity of the oil. The highest quality is the oil with an acidity of 0.3% which is produced only by certain olive groves and is the premium oil of the region. This oil, which has won many of the top awards in the olive oil world is considered one of the world’s best oils by experts and it is this oil that is brought to you under the name “Saint Spiridon”.

Please see our “Awards” page for details of the recent international awards garnered by Sitia cooperative 0.3% against competition from Italy, Spain and the rest of the olive oil producing regions of the world, plus awards for the quality and hygienic standards of our olive presses. “Saint Spiridon” extra virgin olive oil is cold pressed , normally within one or two days of harvesting the olives to ensure that that the intense fruitiness of the oil and it’s low acidity are preserved.