Kalamata is the lively capital of the Messinia region with its beautiful beaches and harbour. At the foot of the majestic Taygetos Mountains, nestled in the enchanting landscape of the Peloponnese, lies the charming city of Kalamata with its almost 70,000 inhabitants. The small town is surrounded by shimmering grey olive groves that stretch across the mountain and coastal landscape. This is one of the reasons why Kalamata is famous for its worldwide export of olives and its excellent olive oil.
An excellent olive oil is the result of the harmonious interplay of several factors. The right location, the careful and gentle care of the olive groves, the climate (cool temperatures in the winter months without frost, sufficient water and no periods of heat in the summer) and the soil (rich in nutrients and minerals) are decisive quality factors for a high-quality olive oil. In this respect, Kalamata and its surroundings have the best conditions for producing top quality liquid gold. Due to its location, Kalamata is exposed to milder temperatures (compared to other regions in Greece). In the winter months, the temperature normally never drops below 0°C and in the summer months the temperature rarely rises above 32°C. At the same time, there is sufficient rainfall from November to March. At the same time, there is sufficient rainfall from November to March. The olive variety of choice in Kalamata is the Koroneiki olive for oil production.
This small, hardy olive variety is typical of the steep slopes of the Greek Peloponnese peninsula as well as Kalamata and its surroundings. Koroneiki olive oil is considered one of the best olive oils in the world due to its flavour and composition (polyphenol content, fatty acid content, etc.).
Kalamata and its surroundings offer ideal conditions for growing olives. However, it is not only factors such as climate (many hours of sunshine, sufficient rain), soil (rich in minerals) and olive variety (Koroneiki) that are decisive, but above all experienced care and careful harvesting. The cold-pressed (<27°C) Kalamata olive oil that you will find in our range is sourced directly from Greece from 2 traditional producers. The first is Konstantopoulos S.A., a family business that was founded in the 1950s by Leonidas Konstantopoulos, a passionate olive grower, as a small olive trade, and the second is MANI Bläuel, organic pioneers from the Mani region. We also source our organic Kalamata olive oil from the latter.
MANI's organic Kalamata olive oil with a protected designation of origin (PDO) is an outstanding olive oil and a product of the unique terroir and climatic conditions that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. The oil is produced according to the strict rules of organic farming, which means that the use of fertilisers and/or pesticides is strictly prohibited in the cultivation and care of the olives.
