Why Thalassea Gaia
Thalassea Gaia® was named for the sea and the earth, the two forces that shaped our land and our family tradition for nearly a century. Thalassea comes from Thalassa, the Greek word for sea, while Gaia is the ancient Greek name for Earth. Together, they reflect the balance between sea and land that has shaped our grove, our family, and our olive oil.
Our Place
This map marks the heart of our story in the Peloponnese, a region shaped by time, sea, and stone. Our family’s grove lies just beyond Ancient Olympia, where history, land, and tradition have met for thousands of years. Once part of a shallow Mediterranean sea, this landscape rose over millions of years to form fertile hills rich in limestone and seashells. Today, these same soils nurture our olive trees, linking our oil to the land that gave rise to one of Greece’s most enduring legacies.
Where it began
The presence of seashells in our soil reflects the ancient history of the Peloponnese. Millions of years ago, this land was part of a shallow Mediterranean sea. Over time, geological uplift transformed marine seabeds into fertile hills, leaving behind calcareous, shell-rich soils. These soils are naturally well-drained and mineral-rich, creating ideal conditions for cultivating olive trees and shaping the character of our olive oil.
Olive Grove
Koroneiki is one of Greece’s most renowned olive cultivars, prized for producing small olives with a very high oil content and exceptional quality. The oil from Koroneiki olives is characterized by its vivid green color, low acidity, and complex sensory profile, typically showing fresh grassy notes, green almond, artichoke, and a balanced bitterness and pungency that reflect high phenolic content. This cultivar is well adapted to dry, rocky, and calcareous soils, making it particularly resilient under Mediterranean conditions. Our groves are located near Sopi, in the western Peloponnese (Elis region), at an elevation of approximately 250–300 meters above sea level, where mild winters, warm summers, and well-drained limestone-rich soils create ideal conditions for slow fruit development and the production of expressive, high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
Harvest
Harvest takes place in early autumn, when the olives reach optimal maturity to balance aroma, flavor, and phenolic content. The fruit is hand-harvested or gently collected to minimize bruising and oxidation, then handled in shallow, ventilated crates and transported to the mill within hours for cold extraction. Thanks to careful timing and handling, the resulting olive oil shows exceptionally low acidity, typically in the range of 0.08–0.20%. By international standards, any olive oil with acidity below 0.80% is classified as extra virgin, placing our oil well within the highest quality category.
Our Symbol
Our symbol was inspired by this Koroneiki olive tree, standing proudly at the edge of the cliff in our family’s grove. Rooted in rugged land yet reaching for the sky, it represents the strength, endurance, and timeless spirit behind every drop of Thalassea Gaia olive oil.
