Pamako is a highly prized ultra premium extra virgin olive oil of high nutritional value in a limited number of bottles and is produced in the mountain Selino from olive trees of 100 years and more. The rich content of polyphenols makes it one of Europe’s few olive oils with a certified health claim and, thus, in 2018 alone, it has collected 18 awards at national and international level.

The production company is newly established and was created by Eftichis Androulakis, who grew up in Chania and the family land, studied Agricultural Technologist at TEI of Heraklion and from 2012 decided to deal with the family estates and to extract olive oil of high nutritional value. He succeeded along with his partner at the olive mill, Michalis Marakas, after two years of continuous research on the way of harvesting, grinding and standardizing olive oil.

“From 2012, when I first dealt with all this, I wanted olive-oil that originally stands on the table as a foodstuff, as something aromatic and tasty over food, and finally as a “medicine”. My “motto” is that “For us Olive Oil is not just Food, it’s a Hyperfood. We have been able to have acidity 0, 22 and 0, 28 per variety. Who would have believed twenty or ten years ago that from the forgotten variety of Cretian “tsunati”, olive oil with such acidity would be created?”

“Our passion, our research and the continuous effort to create a phenolic organic olive oil reward us with a surprising, extraordinary result,” Mr. Androulalis himself explains. The «Pamako» is a translation of the ideograms of the linear B, which represent the word medicine.

The centuries-old olive trees, located in the mountainous, mostly sunny area of Selino, southwest of Crete, give Pamako the beautiful scents and the spicy and bitter taste. Using traditional methods of harvesting, the Greek company produces several new methods of milling, bottling and storage to produce a great quality of olive oil.

The products produced are two, Pamako Monovarietal and Pamako Blend and are available in special dark bottles of 500ml & 250ml, bottles that have a special sun protection film and in combination with the cork top with a wooden finish give the best possible protection of extra virgin olive oil. Pamako ultra premium is a uniquely virgin olive oil of 100% with a fresh and fruity aroma, strong spicy details and light sweet taste.

In a chemical analysis conducted every season at the Department of Pharmacology and Physical Chemistry of the University of Athens in October, the evaluation of both olive oils showed impressive results. The rich polyphenols content of oil makes it one the top products of the kind, as polyphenols are colored, antioxidants found in plants that protect them from stress, ultraviolet radiation and infections.

The Oleocanthal and Oleacein levels found in PAMAKO Monovarietal and PAMAKO Blend are much higher than the average values revealed to date by international university studies. Recent scientific studies have linked Oleocanthal and Oleacein with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, cardioprotective and neuroprotective action.

Taking into account the standards laid down in European Regulation 432/2012: Hydroxytyrosol derivatives in PAMAKO are more than 5 mg per 20 grams of olive oil. Because its concentration in phenolic compounds is so higher than that required by the Health Claims Regulation, according to an analysis of 2016 PAMAKO olive oil, the daily consumption of just 7 grams of PAMAKO protects blood lipids from oxidative stress. To maintain all these healthy features, they use dark bottles with an exterior mirror so that the light does not affect the quality of the olive oil.

“For this reason, among our other sales, we are working with a small pharmaceutical company that sells our olive oil in Zurich and Belgium. Giving weight to cholesterol, which helps our olive oil, while experiments are being carried out to prove that they can slow the growth of cancer in various stages and forms. ”

“Our olives are next to the ancient city of Elyros, the rocky region of Selino, in Chania, Crete, at an altitude of 500-700 meters in a rough terrain, very difficult to reach, because there is no road access to the majority of the olive groves. Cultivation and harvesting are extremely challenging due to the soil morphology and the size of the trees”.

The use of chemical fertilizers or sprays does not exist, so that olive juice is as healthy as their ancestors produced it 200 years ago. Following the traditional ways of older generations and respecting what this mountainous nature has given and still generously gives them, they treat each tree separately according to its needs.

“At an average height of about 11 meters with some over 18 meters and an average age of about 200 years, each tree has a different “personality” and so we treat each of them as unique. The microclimate of the area is an ideal ally for the effort. The sunny and stormy days form the best conditions, while the cold rainy days at harvest naturally protect the threes against diseases and make fertilization much easier”.

Eftichis Androulakis’ young age, his open mind for collaborations and the constantly produced fresh and innovative ideas brought Pamako to another domain, in the cocktail of olive oil. The award-winning bartender Lefteris Broupis works at Boheme in Chania with the support of the owners/bartender, Michalis Botonakis and Dimitris Skordylis, where they create unique coctails, some of them with Eftichis Androulakis’ high-value olive oil.

The Promise Land Cocktail uses as a base a rum made of RAM flavored with Pamako olive oil, grapefruit liqueur, homemade cinnamon syrup and lemon, and Aromatic Elixir uses Pamako olive oil as a mastic liqueur base.

Varieties

– The main variety is Cretian “tsounati”. This rare olive tree is located around the Minoan areas and even some of the trees in the area are landmarks due to their size and age. Most of these trees grow naturally around the rocks and bloom over the years as altitude and climate make ideal conditions for cultivation.

– The second variety is Koroneic. A much more recent variety, introduced in the past century, but has shown an amazing durability that grows alongside the “tsounati” variety. These trees have survived wars and wildfires and because they have protected many villagers, they have become part of their life. In addition, they were a major source of nutrition for them and their families in a barren, different landscape. This led them to create an olive-rich diet and to adapt a healthy lifestyle in the Mediterranean.

Both varieties produce an olive oil high in polyphenols and a rich, spicy flavor.

Harvesting – Pressing – Preservation methods

Challenging, Painstaking, Traditional, Innovating. These are the four words that best describe the full process of creating the best quality olive oil. Rough and rocky terrain prohibits the use of heavy machinery, so harvesting is done manually by means of electric combine harvesters, which due to the height of the trees must be transported to the tree as they ascend higher and higher.

Harvesting takes place while the olives are still in pale green color before they start to darken. This usually begins in mid-October and lasts for about four weeks – or until all the fruits are collected.

Milling and compressing olives takes place on the day of harvest at a specific temperature below 27c (cold pressed olive oil) – and lasts up to forty minutes for each load. This ensures that Gourmet extra virgin olive oil will retain all its aromas and valuable phenomena, even though they usually lose in olive oil, after gaining in quality with all the health benefits of organic olive oil.

“Then the olive oil is stored in stainless steel containers away from sunlight and under strictly controlled temperatures. Nitrogen gas is also used in our tanks, which is suitable for food, ensuring that olive oil will keep its first day fresh and quality for the longest possible time.”

Finally, bottling is done by semi-automatic machine and each bottle closes by hand, ensuring that passion and love for excellent olive oil reach the table of every consumer. To keep the aroma of olive oil well preserved, cover the bottle with the best natural cork with a wooden finish.

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