It is hard to imagine Lesbos without its olive trees that shine silver under the abundant sunlight. Apart from the sea, no other good of nature was as closely linked to the Greek area as the olive and its oil, which nourished so many civilizations, from deep antiquity until today.
The areas where olives are grown in Lesbos are mountainous or semi-mountainous with dry, poor soils. This peculiarity of the cultivation in relation to the variety is what gives the lesbian olive oil its superiority in taste and the enrichment of aromatic substances.
Due to the non-systematic cultivation or due to the mountainous areas and the inaccessibility of the olive groves, the use of fertilizers on the olive trees in Lesbos, we can say is limited. Moreover, the fight against the borer is carried out by spraying from the ground organized by the Prefecture, during which only the trunk and not the foliage of the tree is sprayed. So the burden is the least possible.
The special characteristics of Lesvos olive oil have been officially recognized by the European Union, which has registered it as a “PRODUCT WITH GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION”. Also for the “extra virgin olive oils” of Lesvos, the toponym designations Mytilini, Kalloni Lesvos and Plomari Lesvos have been approved as PDO “PRODUCT OF NAME OF ORIGIN”.
Thus, the Lesbian olive oil, protected in terms of purity and quality, is offered for consumption with the following macroscopic and organoleptic characteristics:
Its characteristic fluid texture (low viscosity-mild taste) is due to the relatively increased degree of unsaturation of its fatty acids, compared to other thick olive oils, which gives it additional biological value, since this is directly consistent with modern medical concepts
Its light golden yellow color, due to its low chlorophyll content, which is perhaps the best defense against time for the bottled product.
The aroma and taste of the juice of the Aegean olive, which established it as the renowned product of the countryside of Lesbos.
As for the specific varieties, Kolobi, also known as Mytilinia, has an oil content of excellent quality, with an intense aroma, a soft, sweet taste and is one of the best oil-making varieties, both in terms of oil content and in terms of quality, while Adramytini gives a fine-flowing oil, with an excellent aroma.