Terra Creta

From their inception in 2001, Terra Creta products have been recognized and awarded top prizes for their superb taste and aroma in more than eight International and Greek tasting competitions. Terra Creta takes great pride in providing important production information to their consumers. In 2006, Terra Creta launched an innovative on-line traceability system, called the Traceability Tree. By entering a product’s five-digit lot number on their Traceability Tree webpage at www.terracreta.gr, consumers can view detailed information about harvesting dates, quality, bottling and packaging stages.  Customers may even view satellite photographs of the very olive groves where the olives for their specific bottle of olive oil were produced.  

Terra Creta Corporate video - ENG -HD from terra creta on Vimeo.

Meet the Producers: Terra Creta

Mr. Karpadakis, tell us what is so special about the island of Crete and specifically the area of Kolymvari 
Crete is the largest island in Greece, 200klm long! Several aspects make it special:
  • The micro-climate created between the sea and the “Lefka Ori” known as White Mountains, give us ideal conditions for the olive tree cultivation, where extra irrigation is not even necessary for some of the trees.
  • The heritage in olive tree cultivation, extra virgin olive oil production, and olive oil gastronomy, is really strong, considering that some of the world’s oldest olive trees can be found in our region and still producing olives today
  • Family owned and well cultivated olive groves, with respect to the nature and biodiversity, give us stability in production volume and a very good quality profile
  • Continuous improvement in knowledge, practices and infrastructure in order to meet the requirements of the modern market, in terms of elevated quality profile and targeted communication

What is the most challenging part of  production / harvesting?
The most challenging part is to keep a “happy” balance between the farmer, the consumer and the production of quality and quantity extra virgin olive oil.

How do you ensure that you have year on year such good Extra Virgin Olive Oil? 
This is a very important question.  We work intensively in two directions for that. 
Firstly by cooperating closely with teams of farmers and agronomists, we are able to implement best practices in both cultivation and harvesting. As a result we get a healthy, intact and rich in natural ingredients olive fruit (olives), delivered fast to the olive mill for immediate extraction.  
Furthermore continuous training within Terra Creta on the parameters that are affecting EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) quality along with everyday detailed quality evaluation of all EVOO batches before bottling,  creates the assurance of both high quality and stability for Terra Creta products
Other than Extra Virgin Olive Oil, what other products do you produce, and perhaps can you share with us some hints of what is in the pipeline?
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is still today our main product, however in our assortment we have a wide selection of Greek table Olives and balsamic vinegars from grapes, all available in organic and non-organic.

There is a lot of information and misinformation about olive oils and extra virgin olive oil. 
What do you think are the most common misconceptions?Good point. There are so many actually, however I am listing the most common:
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil is only for salads. FALSE - It’s been proven scientifically that EVOO is the best-ever oil, in terms of functionality and health benefits, for cooking and frying as well.
  • I do not like the bitter or pungent taste of EVOO, I prefer something more flat in taste. FALSE - EVOO use is all about health benefits, elevated tasting experience, and environmental culture. Bitter and pungent characteristics are closely associated with some of the healthiest ingredients of EVOO, such as bio-phenols, or antioxidants. When we taste and use EVOO of high quality we expect to experience a level of bitter and pungent sensation.
  • I am using light olive oil, I believe it is better. FALSE - The term light is describing only the taste, and usually applies to some refined (or processed) olive oils. Total calories are the same for all types of oils. Better to use only EVOO, which is the highest quality category, if you want to have all the health benefits and the lovely taste of a totally natural product.  

Describe Terra Creta for us in 3 words. 
Quality, Innovation, transparency

Share with us a Fun Fact! 
How much time an olive tree needs to produce one litre of Extra Virgin Olive Oil? (11 months) 

 

#terracretaoliveoil

 

Terra Creta Sustainability Report

Being consistent with its commitment to transparency, Terra Creta publishes a Sustainability Report, the first ever in the field of Greek olive oil. All actions and goals within the framework of the initiative “Our World 2025” are stated in the 2019-2020 Report, in detail. Click on the image and enjoy reading!