Citizens Of Soil: Delicious, Extra Virgin Oil From Sunny Crete.

Citizens of Soil launched this year in 2021, with a single estate of extra virgin oil, – harvested in the small village of Dafnes (Crete), from the Armagiotakis family.

The brand works directly with their extended farm-family (the Amargiotakis), in their small village in Crete, – allowing them to get an early-harvest EVOO that is low-acidity, high in polyphenols, and… utterly delicious.

With each bottle (and refill pouch) sold, Citizens of Soil donates to “Kiss the Ground,” – a charity that invests in soil regeneration projects. They’re also a member of 1% for the Planet, and they use Provenance.org to make their supply chain and impact transparent.

Their single-estate extra virgin olive oil comes from the hills of Crete, which is high in polyphenols, and has green grass, artichoke, avocado flavours (with a bit of bitterness), and a slight peppery finish.

Citizens of Soil’s Founder, Sarah Vachon wanted to help the Amargiotakis family, – who were making this outstanding oil in an artisan way to a very high standard (as it was made for their own family). She became obsessed with olive oil, and the whole culture around it.

The fact that there were so many small-batch products that never get to be experienced outside of their own families or local areas (and were getting sold into bulk blends and stripped of their identity), became the motivation for Sarah to break the chain and to provide something different, – representing the product’s initial origins.

Sarah worked previously in hospitality and food and drink. She also worked at a marketing consultancy in sustainability communications with Provenance.org, – the transparency platform that helps brands to open up about the impact of their supply chains.

Although Citizens of Soil only launched this year, they’re growing rapidly, – with more than fifty subscribers who receive a monthly refill pouch of their olive oil. Since Sarah started to work with independent shops this May, they’re now working with more than 10 retailers, with more shops, wine bars, and restaurants rolling out each week.

“A more sustainable, fair and flavourful place. That’s our mission. And for us, it all starts with soil. We came from the drinks world, so we were familiar with the idea of ‘terroir,’ which is common in wine. But digging into it from the farming level opened up so much more,” said Sarah Vachon.

Find out more: https://www.citizensofsoil.com