Freshly pressed: Why only hours lie between harvest and mill for us

Anyone who has seen freshly pressed olive oil flowing from the mill immediately understands why time is everything. At Sarmakinas, never more than half a day passes between harvest and pressing. This is not a marketing statement—it is the decision that determines taste, freshness, and polyphenol content.

What happens when an olive is picked

From the moment of harvest, an invisible process begins: oxidation. Heat, pressure, and oxygen break down aromas—bitterness and pungency decrease, and the profile becomes flatter. In industrial processing, several days often pass between harvest and pressing. The result is an oil that can still be called "extra virgin" but has little character left.

How we work at Sarmakinas

Our olives are harvested in the morning and pressed in the afternoon—directly in Messenia, without detours. Cold-extracted at a maximum of 27°C, without additives, only from single-variety Koroneiki olives. Before each pressing, we check ripeness, temperature, and purity. Only flawless fruits go into the mill.

Studies prove that polyphenols decrease just a few hours after harvest. Our goal is therefore clear—every olive is turned into oil on the very day it is harvested.

What this means—for taste and quality

Freshness, fruitiness, natural pungency, and bitterness are no accidents. They are the direct result of this rapid processing. Anyone who tastes this in an oil understands why we don't rush because we have to—but because the product demands it.

For end consumers, this means an oil that is alive. For trade and gastronomy: a producer who controls and can prove the process from beginning to end.

The shorter the journey, the longer the taste.

Real olive oil is a fresh natural product. Every hour counts between the tree and the bottle—and that's why we press daily, immediately after harvest.