Gaia Iluka
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Single-estate · Samos, Greece
Fresh green olives · Mild peppery finish · Soft herbal aroma
Gaia Iluka Original comes from Koumeika on the island of Samos, Greece, where olive trees grow between the mountains and the Aegean Sea.
Unopened products can be returned within 7 days of delivery. Damaged or wrong items are replaced or refunded at our cost.
Gaia Iluka Original is our extra virgin olive oil from a single estate in Koumeika, on the Greek island of Samos, picked as the olives turn from green to purple and pressed within hours.
Balanced and smooth, it is made for everyday cooking, from fresh salads to warm dishes.
A traditional blend of olives grown exclusively on the island of Samos. • 90% Koroneiki – known for its rich aroma and vibrant flavor. • 10% Troumbouli – a rare local Greek variety that adds softness and balance. Together they create a harmonious olive oil with both character and elegance.
Gaia Iluka Original comes from Koumeika on the island of Samos, Greece, where olive trees grow between the mountains and the Aegean Sea. The unique Mediterranean climate, mineral-rich soil, and sea breezes give the olives their distinctive character. Grown and pressed on a single estate, every bottle reflects the terroir and tradition of this small island.
Olives are harvested at optimal maturity and processed within hours using mechanical cold extraction below 27°C to preserve flavor and aroma.
The olives are carefully harvested and cold extracted within hours to preserve freshness and aroma. Extraction takes place below 27°C, maintaining the oil's full flavor and extra virgin quality.
The taste
01 · Up front
Green and grassy. Fresh green olives, and a soft herbal aroma that reaches you before the taste does.
02 · Through the middle
A gentle bitterness through the centre. Balanced and smooth.
03 · The finish
A warm, mild pepper at the back of the throat, and it stays with you. That is the mark of a fresh extra virgin olive oil.
Finishing means adding oil at the end: a thread over soup, beans or grilled vegetables just before serving, so you taste the oil as well as the dish.
In most Mediterranean kitchens it is simply the cooking fat: it goes into the pan, the oven and the salad bowl. Fry shallow or deep, kept below smoking.
Olive oil works well in the oven. Vegetables, potatoes and fish roast evenly in it and take on its fruitiness, and it can replace other fats in many breads, biscuits and cakes.
Match the strength. A robust, bitter and peppery oil stands up to grilled meat and bitter greens; a delicate one suits fish and fresh cheese.
The Original blend
Two olive varieties from one estate in Koumeika, on Samos: 90% Koroneiki and 10% Troumbouli. Nothing from anywhere else goes in.
Chef Max chose it by taste, for his own kitchen at Iluka in Jeonju, before it ever carried our name. The two varieties are the ones grown on that estate.
At Iluka it goes on the bread, into aglio e olio, and into a chocolate mousse. At home it does the same work: finish a dish with it, cook with it, bake with it.
My father came to know a family of olive growers on Samos and sent me a bottle of their oil. I tasted it as a chef, not as a buyer, and we started cooking with it at Iluka. Gaia Iluka is that same oil, bottled for your kitchen.
The Making of Gaia Iluka
From One Island. One Estate.
Gaia Iluka Original comes from a single estate in Koumeika, on the Greek island of Samos.
It is grown and pressed by our first producer partner, the Markou family, using traditional cultivation and modern cold extraction.
Samos, Greece
Complete the experience
