When you visit a new place, it is important to try domestic and traditional products, as in this way you get to better understand many things about the people’s mentality, as well as appreciate the place’s tradition and history.

In Greece, a country that has a great tradition in agriculture, gastronomy and Mediterranean diet, whose celebrations and feasts are greatly influenced by ancient customs, many characteristics have been mixed creating through the passage of years, favorite tastes and customs. The latter have been transformed into products that are greatly appreciated by the Greeks.
These products have developed through the years and today form an inextricable part of the Greeks’ consumption and dietary customs.

Products as the above are linked to the country’s image, this is why we also need to pay attention to the companies that have established them on the Greek market and have managed to make them highly acclaimed at an international level. Some of these products are very good suggestions for gifts to friends and loved ones.

Mythos beer

The first original Greek beer is not only considered the necessary accompaniment to various Greek dishes, but also a refreshing delight and a perfect complement to a relaxing moment. Soon after its launch, Mythos Beer impressed consumers by gaining their acceptance and a wider popularity.

The combination of Mythos’ exceptional quality with its authentic, impressive personality has led to it becoming one of the three most preferred brands in the Greek market, while it continues to gain wider acceptance and an increased market share. In addition to the Greeks, Mythos’ reputation draws tourists visiting the country.

It has successfully crossed Greek borders, since it is available in 30 countries, not only in Europe but also in the U.S.A., Canada, Australia and Japan.
Recently, Mythos Red appeared on the Greek market. It comes in a modern bottle and combines Mythos’ guaranteed quality, full taste, red colour and rich head that are sure to attract beer fans.

Loumidis Papagalos Greek Coffee

No matter the time of the day, traditional Greek coffee is more than a “trademark” for every Greek person for whom the whole procedure has become a ritual. Loumidis coffee has been for years now linked to this particular coffee type and the slogan “Each has a specialty, that of Loumidis is coffee” speaks for itself. Its trademark, the parrot, has not been an accidental choice, since parrot is the only bird which feeds on coffee seeds.

All started around 1910, when Loumidis brothers became familiar with the coffee’s aroma, manually-operated mills and hand-operated coffee-roasters: this led to the opening of the first Loumidis Shop in Piraeus in 1919. Soon after that Loumidis opened another shop in Stadiou, in the center of Athens. It had already gained reputation all over Greece, and this was only the beginning, as in 1969 Loumidis Coffee goes beyond Greek frontiers and starts receiving many awards in international exhibitions.

The various types that exist today aim to satisfy various tastes and there is a variety of coffees to choose. Let’s start with the traditional coffee, which has a unique flavor and an authentic, rich flavor.

For those who know how to drink, there is the dark brew with a stronger taste and flavor, while for those who are sensitive to caffeine, Loumidis coffee comes in a decaf version. The most recent versions are Koupatos for those who want to drink a lot and Arhontikos for those who wish to drink quality coffee.

Whatever you choose, do not forget that coffee should be drunk slowly and it is a tradition at the end to “read” the coffee grounds to foresee one’s future!

Ouzo Plomari

It is summer, you have just had a nice time in the sea and you are sitting in the picturesque tavernas of the island of your choice with an ouzo and mezedes (appetizers): is there a better image than that? Ouzo is one of the Greeks traditional drinks, which they appreciate a lot, while one of the more well-known brands is Ouzo Plomari by Isidoros Arvanitis, which he created in 1894.

In Plomari, Lesvos, considered the ouzo’s birthplace, Isidoros Arvanitis has managed to produce the right balance, using soft water from springs from the river Sedountas, aniseed from Lisvori, considered the best in the world, fennel from North Greece, asteroid anis), cinnamon, nutmeg, extracts from the unique gum (masticha) of Chios and flavouring herbs not only from Lesvos but from the whole world.

This recipe still remains secret, but fortunately we all can taste the exquisite result whenever we wish!

Feta Cheese Dodoni

An absolute Greek product, which is extremely loved not only by Greeks but also by foreign consumers, is feta, with which one can create amazing tastes and palate delights. The most known feta, Dodoni, is worldwide known for its quality, while it is exclusively produced by pasteurized goat’s and sheep’s milk from the region of Epirus.

Feta DODONI has won many awards from Greek and international institutions, and has gained a place on the table of the Greek and foreign consumer, not only thanks to its unique taste but also thanks to its nutritional value and very high quality.

With FETA, you can accompany every meal. Try to serve it with oil and oregano which is the traditional way to serve it, mix it in salads, make a delicious saganaki or use it in pies and omelettes, and make it the basic ingredient of many Greek traditional recipes and you will not regret it …

Attiki Honey

Honey is also one of the traditional Greek products one should try, and it is surely a very nice gift to treat your friends and yourselves. The biggest company in its field to establish the honey packaging in Greece is Attiki Bee Culturing Co – Alexandros Pittas S.A, established in 1928 by the brothers Alexandros and Panagiotis Pittas. Attiki honey is their most popular product.

Thanks to the particularity of Greek landscape, with its unique flora, Greek honey is of incomparable quality with a unique flavor and taste. It is different since it has a combination of various aromatic, pharmaceutical plants and herbs, some of which are rare in Europe and unique in the world. It is perfect not only for a balanced diet, but also for beauty products (cosmetics, spa etc)

Minerva Olive Oil

The importance that ancient Greeks attributed to olive and olive oil, the “liquid gold” as Homer had called it, is not at all accidental. Greek olive oil owes this unique and strong taste to Greece’s geographical location that favors to a great extent its cultivation.

Minerva oil, named after the Goddess Minerva, is the oldest oil business in Greece and since 1904 it has been selecting choice oil fruit from the best existing varieties to offer the consumer the best olive oil.

Olive oil is the basic ingredient of every day diet and its internationally acclaimed beneficial influence to health and longevity is a result of its natural antioxidants and vitamin E.

Korres Natural Beauty products

Korres Natural products have gained the consumers’ appreciation and their quality has reserved them a presence in our everyday lives. All products are made of naturally derived ingredients and the company today offers complete range for body and hair care, make up, sun protection and diet products and drinks.
Two very interesting collaborations with the Chios Mastic Producing Union and the Cooperative of Kozani Crocus Producers, aim to worldwide promote the unique Greek herbs like mastiha and crocus. You can find these products in most pharmacies in Greece, at Korres Store of Athens International Airport, and they are also sold in many places abroad. The special gift packs you can find are an ideal choice to treat your friends and also yourself!

The company was established by Giorgos Korres in 1996, who had been working for a long time in the oldest homoeopath pharmacy in Athens. Combining the unique naturally derived ingredients, the quality and fine package and relatively low prices, Korres natural products, have managed within a short time to become an established brand name with good prospective for an “international career”.

Mastiha shop

Another unique product of Greece is on the island of Chios and is the well-know mastiha. Its therapeutical and cosmetic properties make it an excellent product, that just needed the right promotion to get the place it deserved on the market. Since 2002 Chios Mastiha growers association has put a huge effort to bring out and promote mastiha via a well organized branch network, mastiha shops.

In mastiha shops one can find innumerable products which have mastiha as their basic ingredient. If you happen to be in one of these places, you can find a whole range of candies, cakes, chalva, pasteli, toffies, traditional spoon sweets, various pastry, gourmet products, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and parapharmaceutical products, drinks and many clever gift ideas. You can find these shops in Chios, Athens, Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Heraklion Crete, Volos, Mykonos, Lefkas and at Athens’s airport.