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KOTINOS means wild
olive tree. Branches from kotinos were used in crowning the Olympic winners
and so KOTINOS has also become synonymous with olive wreath.
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KOTINOS olive
oil is produced on the island of Crete in family farms by people who respect
tradition and strive to cultivate and produce olive oil with care.
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The people of Crete have
a strong tradition in olive cultivation going back to the Minoan era, 5000
years ago.
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The climate of Crete is
ideal for the cultivation of the olive tree: Hot dry summers, cool autumn,
rainy winters and ideal spring conducive to optimal tree flowering.
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Crete produces about 130,000
tons of olive oil annually. This corresponds to about 30% of Greek olive
oil and about 8% of total world production of olive oil.
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85% of the olive oil produced
in Crete is Extra Virgin.
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Cretan olive oil is highly
prized and it is used to enhance the characteristics of lesser quality Italian
and Spanish oils by mixing.
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Cretans have the highest
consumption of olive oil in the world (more than 25 kg/year/person) which
is about 2.3 oz per day.
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Various medical studies
have shown that the excellent health characteristics of the Cretan people:
the lowest rate of heart disease, low cancer rates, and long life expectancy,
are attributed to the consumption of high quality olive oil.
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Crete has an area of 3,190
square miles (8,261 square km) and a population of 550,000.
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Crete has about 40 million
olive trees (70 trees per person in Crete).
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20% of the land area of
Crete is covered by olive trees. This is a large fraction considering that
50% of the land is high mountains and 27% is low mountains.
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Average tree density on
Crete is 41 square meters, or 441 square feet, per tree.
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There are about 100 trees
per acre or about 240 trees per hectare.
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73% of the cultivated land
of Crete is growing olive trees.
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Each tree in our groves
produces on the average 22 kg (48 lb) of olives which yield about 4.8 kg
(10.5 lb of oil)
- Each olive fruit contains about 20-25%
oil, 50% water, 19% carbohydrates, 6% cellulose with the rest being minerals
and proteins. So it takes about 5 LB of olives to produce 17 oz. (500 ml)
of extra virgin olive oil .
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Total world production
of olive oil is about 4% of world seed oil production.
- Kotinos Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
is certified by DIO, an organization licensed by, and reporting to the European
Union, for the monitoring and certification of organic products.
- Kotinos organic olive oil is grown without
the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. A 100% organic product.