FAQ
Where does Kurio olive oil come from?
Kurio is made from olives grown on small, family-run groves across southern Crete, specifically in and around the Messara plain and villages like Kamilari and Tympaki. Olive growing here is deeply personal and generational, shaped by stony soils, dry hillsides, and long-established farming traditions.
Are the olives from a single farm?
Kurio comes from a network of neighboring family farms that share the same landscape, olive variety, and harvest practices. These groves are small, often tended by the same families for generations, and pressed locally to preserve freshness and integrity.
What makes small-farm olive oil different from industrial production?
Olive farms in Crete are typically very small, averaging around 1.5 hectares. Compare this to industrial olive production in Spain and Italy, where farms are designed around machinery, with trees planted in uniform rows for mechanical harvesting, optimized for volume rather than flavor, and pressed in facilities that process olives by the truckload. Small farms allow farmers to watch individual trees, harvest at the right moment, and press oil in batches they can taste and approve themselves.
Why does early harvest matter?
Harvesting in early October means the olives are still green and firm, with naturally high levels of polyphenols and antioxidants. The yield is lower, but the oil is more concentrated and resilient, both nutritionally and structurally. This choice prioritizes quality over quantity.
What olives does Kurio use?
Kurio is made exclusively from Koroneiki olives, a small-fruited variety native to Greece. Koroneiki olives are prized for producing oil with naturally high polyphenol content, excellent stability, and concentrated character, even in small quantities.
What makes Koroneiki olives different?
Koroneiki olives are small, resilient, and naturally high in polyphenols. They produce oil with exceptional stability, even at early harvest, and retain intensity and structure over time.
Is Koroneiki common in industrial olive oil?
Koroneiki is hard to find in industrial olive oil. Koroneiki trees produce less oil by volume and are less suited to high-density, mechanized farming. They are valued for quality rather than yield, which makes them a better fit for small-scale, family-run groves.
Is Kurio organic?
Yes. The groves we work with follow organic practices, shaped as much by tradition and necessity as by certification. The dry climate and low-input farming methods of southern Crete naturally support organic cultivation.
Is the oil blended or refined?
No. Kurio is not blended for consistency and never chemically refined. The oil is cold-pressed below 27°C, filtered once, and bottled as it leaves the press.
Why is it bottled in Crete?
Bottling at the source protects freshness and traceability. The oil is never shipped in bulk or rebottled elsewhere. What leaves southern Crete is what arrives in your kitchen.
Why does Kurio taste different from most olive oil?
Fresh, early-harvest olive oil is naturally bold, with a strong aftertaste. Many supermarket oils are older, blended, or produced at industrial scale, which flattens flavor and strips away character. Kurio tastes the way olive oil does at the beginning of its life.
Can I cook with it? What about smoke point?
Yes. Kurio is suitable for everyday cooking as well as finishing. Fresh extra virgin olive oil with high polyphenol content is naturally stable at heat, and its smoke point is well above typical home cooking temperatures. In Crete, olive oil is used for everything from sautéing vegetables to slow cooking, not reserved for special occasions.
How should I use Kurio olive oil?
Use it generously and often. This is everyday olive oil in the Cretan sense. Cook with it, finish dishes with it, and do not save it for special occasions.
Where does Kurio olive oil come from?
Kurio is made from olives grown on small, family-run groves across southern Crete, specifically in and around the Messara plain and villages like Kamilari and Tympaki. Olive growing here is deeply personal and generational, shaped by stony soils, dry hillsides, and long-established farming traditions.
Are the olives from a single farm?
Kurio comes from a network of neighboring family farms that share the same landscape, olive variety, and harvest practices. These groves are small, often tended by the same families for generations, and pressed locally to preserve freshness and integrity.
What makes small-farm olive oil different from industrial production?
Olive farms in Crete are typically very small, averaging around 1.5 hectares. Compare this to industrial olive production in Spain and Italy, where farms are designed around machinery, with trees planted in uniform rows for mechanical harvesting, optimized for volume rather than flavor, and pressed in facilities that process olives by the truckload. Small farms allow farmers to watch individual trees, harvest at the right moment, and press oil in batches they can taste and approve themselves.
Why does early harvest matter?
Harvesting in early October means the olives are still green and firm, with naturally high levels of polyphenols and antioxidants. The yield is lower, but the oil is more concentrated and resilient, both nutritionally and structurally. This choice prioritizes quality over quantity.
What olives does Kurio use?
Kurio is made exclusively from Koroneiki olives, a small-fruited variety native to Greece. Koroneiki olives are prized for producing oil with naturally high polyphenol content, excellent stability, and concentrated character, even in small quantities.
What makes Koroneiki olives different?
Koroneiki olives are small, resilient, and naturally high in polyphenols. They produce oil with exceptional stability, even at early harvest, and retain intensity and structure over time.
Is Koroneiki common in industrial olive oil?
Koroneiki is hard to find in industrial olive oil. Koroneiki trees produce less oil by volume and are less suited to high-density, mechanized farming. They are valued for quality rather than yield, which makes them a better fit for small-scale, family-run groves.
Is Kurio organic?
Yes. The groves we work with follow organic practices, shaped as much by tradition and necessity as by certification. The dry climate and low-input farming methods of southern Crete naturally support organic cultivation.
Is the oil blended or refined?
No. Kurio is not blended for consistency and never chemically refined. The oil is cold-pressed below 27°C, filtered once, and bottled as it leaves the press.
Why is it bottled in Crete?
Bottling at the source protects freshness and traceability. The oil is never shipped in bulk or rebottled elsewhere. What leaves southern Crete is what arrives in your kitchen.
Why does Kurio taste different from most olive oil?
Fresh, early-harvest olive oil is naturally bold, with a strong aftertaste. Many supermarket oils are older, blended, or produced at industrial scale, which flattens flavor and strips away character. Kurio tastes the way olive oil does at the beginning of its life.
Can I cook with it? What about smoke point?
Yes. Kurio is suitable for everyday cooking as well as finishing. Fresh extra virgin olive oil with high polyphenol content is naturally stable at heat, and its smoke point is well above typical home cooking temperatures. In Crete, olive oil is used for everything from sautéing vegetables to slow cooking, not reserved for special occasions.
How should I use Kurio olive oil?
Use it generously and often. This is everyday olive oil in the Cretan sense. Cook with it, finish dishes with it, and do not save it for special occasions.