Markou Samos is a family owned and operated olive oil producer in Samos Greece, Established in 1969. Our completely modernized factory enables us to keep up with the current changes in the industry while producing the best quality product for our customers. The factory is surrounded by olive groves. We work with the growers who cultivate the olives and choose the best from the crops to produce the highest quality olive oil.
After harvesting the olives from the olive grove, the olives are transported to the mill where they pass through various stages to begin processing the oil. The production process begins with the passage of the fruit through special machines that remove the leaves. This step is essential because if large quantities of leaves grind with the olives the oil would have a bitter taste and cause a reduction in quality.
The next stages in the process are washing, which removes any foreign material (soil, dust) on the olives, and then weighing of the clean olives.
The clean olives are now cut into small pieces and ground into a paste. This important phase is called “Ekthlipsis” in Greek. In the past, the grinding process was accomplished by 3 or 4 large stones of different diameter. Nowadays, the grinding occurs in a large metal shredder with a perforated drum.
The oil and the paste are separated at this stage. The paste must be smooth and consistent to allow maximum extraction of olive oil. A large mixer homogenizes the olive paste. Inside the mixer there are a series of large agitators which continuously mix the paste. The double-walled mixer also has hot water circulating on the inside to regulate the temperature. The temperature of mixing does not exceed 30° C. The temperature is maintained though the entire process, this is why it is called “cold process”.
When the paste achieves the correct consistency, the paste is prepared for separation of the solids and the olive oil. Today, the separation of olive oil from the solids is completed in a large centrifuge machine (Dekanter) which separates the ingredients of the olive paste into solids, water and oil.
After this process, we classify the olive oil in different stainless steel tanks where it awaits bottling and shipping.