Olive oil and the Olive Grove of Lesvos There are more than 11,000,000 olive trees on the island! Colovi olives are cultivated in the south and the east, the adramytini variety in the north and the northeast, and there are also a few ladolies. Whatever the olives’ variety, Lesvos offers the most unique experience in autumn and winter, during the olive harvest season. Visit the local cooperatives and watch how the raw material of olives is converted into the most golden olive oil, which is light, tasty and sophisticated. Olive oil from Lesvos, and the whole process that revolves around the use of this blessed product have left unique buildings on the island, such as olive presses, olive oil storage and packaging factories, soap-manufacturing plants, etc. The mansions that you see today around the city of Mytilene,Plomari and even in Molyvos were built by industrialists and merchants of olive oil and soap, who also contributed to the way of life on the island, to the fields of education and the arts and also to the organisation of society. The old communal oil press located in Agia Paraskevi was excellently transformed into an Industrial Oil-making Museum, presenting the complete process of oil-production, from the old storing areas for olives, the so-called bates, house exhibitions related to those who have been working with this blessed fruit for centuries, to their tools and the changes that occurred to Lesvos community following industrialization. Today, the olive oil of Lesvos is famous and is considered of the best in Greece. So it goes without saying that the oil of Lesvos has repeatedly won awards in international competitions while the facilities for bottling extra virgin olive oil in very attractive packaging with a view to exports have multiplied. Tip: Buy a loaf of freshly baked bread and local oregano to dip into the warm olive oil as it flows out of the press! The purest of tastes, straight from the earth. A true gift of nature to Lesvos. It’s the “real” gold!