A Mykonos olive oil tasting is a guided session at a family farm near Ano Mera, where guests learn to taste Greek extra virgin olive oils like a professional. Tasters sip from blue glasses and learn to spot fruit, bitterness and defects. Tours across the rest of the country are listed on Greece Tours.
The sections below cover the tastings, the farm, the host, the tasting steps, what tasters look for and the oils. They also cover extra virgin rules, food pairings, who it suits, inclusions, getting there, the season and booking, with links into the Mykonos pages. The tasting shown is checked on GetYourGuide.
What is a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
A Mykonos olive oil tasting is a short, guided class in judging olive oil. An expert taster shows you how to smell and taste Greek extra virgin oils. You learn to tell a good oil from a faulty one.
The class follows sensory analysis, the method professionals use to grade olive oil. You judge each oil by smell and taste alone. Then you describe it with three words: fruity, bitter and spicy.
The farm class also covers a short history of the Greek olive tree. Hosts explain the health benefits of extra virgin oil in the Mediterranean diet. Homer called olive oil “liquid gold”, and Hippocrates called it the “great healer”.
Olive trees grow on Mykonos as well. Islanders have worked hard to bring olive farming back to their land. For local dishes made with olive oil, read about food on Mykonos.
Which Mykonos olive oil tasting options can you book?
You can book a Mykonos olive oil tasting on a farm or beside the sea. The GetYourGuide tour runs at Mykonian Spiti Traditional Farm A in Ano Mera. Separate workshops run at Agios Ioannis Diakoftis beach.
The farm tour is listed as “Mykonos: Olive Oil Tasting with 2 Award-Winning Greek Oils”. Pickup is included in the booking.
The beach workshops belong to Mykonos Olive Oil Tasting, a company founded by taster Anita Zachou. They meet at Pili Restaurant on Agios Ioannis Diakoftis beach.
- Farm tasting at Ano Mera: 2 to 2.5 hours, pickup included
- Farm tasting plus dinner at the same farm: 4 hours, pickup included
- Group beach workshop at Agios Ioannis: 2 hours, 2 to 10 people
- Shorter beach workshop at Agios Ioannis: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Private session at your hotel, villa or yacht: 4 to 15 people
Where does a Mykonos olive oil tasting take place?
On the farm, a Mykonos olive oil tasting runs at Mykonian Spiti Traditional Farm A. The farm lies near Ano Mera, a village about 8 km from Mykonos Town. Beach workshops meet at Pili Restaurant, about 5 km from town.
The farm sits in the Messaria area, in the heart of the island. The tasting uses a specially designed space on the farm. Guests also walk to the nearby olive grove to see the trees up close.
Ano Mera, an inland village, is also home to the Panagia Tourliani monastery. Visitors who want animals and daily farm work can join the separate Mykonos farm tour.
Pili Restaurant looks across the channel to the island of Delos. The beach tasting is held outdoors under the restaurant’s pergola. Guests can stay afterwards for a swim and lunch.
Who leads a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
A trained olive oil taster leads each Mykonos olive oil tasting. Listings for the Ano Mera farm name Anita Zachou as the host. She trained as an expert olive oil taster at the University of Jaén in Spain.
Anita Zachou is also an agricultural engineer, meaning she studied farming science. She judges at international olive oil competitions. Her company says she ran the island’s first olive oil workshops.
The GetYourGuide listing calls its host an expert olive oil taster and gives no name. That Mykonos olive oil tasting runs in English. Beach workshops run in English, Spanish and Greek.
- Trade: agricultural engineer and olive oil educator
- Taster training: University of Jaén, Spain
- Competition role: judge at international olive oil contests
- Business: founder of Mykonos Olive Oil Tasting
- Consulting: advice for olive oil producers and mills
How does a Mykonos olive oil tasting work, step by step?
A Mykonos olive oil tasting follows the same steps that professional panels use. You warm the oil in a small glass, smell it, then sip it with air. You compare good oils with faulty ones side by side.
The official tasting glass is dark blue. The colour hides the oil, because colour says nothing about quality. A green oil is not better than a golden one.
The glass has a round base and a narrow top. Your palm warms the oil to about 28°C, close to body heat. The narrow top traps the smell. The farm tour hands out biodegradable glasses.
- Cover the glass with one hand and cup the base with the other.
- Swirl the oil gently for about 30 seconds.
- Lift the cover and take one short, deep sniff.
- Take a small sip and suck in air through your teeth.
- Swallow and notice any peppery tickle at the back of your throat.
- Rinse with water, then repeat with the next oil.
Sucking in air spreads the oil across your whole tongue and mouth. The beach Mykonos olive oil tasting serves water and green apple to clear your palate. The same steps are taught at an olive oil tasting on Crete.
What do tasters look for in a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
A Mykonos olive oil tasting trains you to spot three good traits and a short list of faults. The good traits are fruitiness, bitterness and pungency. The faults come from bad olives, poor storage or old oil, and they rule out the top grade.
The International Olive Council sets these terms. Fruitiness is the fresh smell of sound, healthy olives, ripe or unripe. Bitterness is a taste from green olives, felt at the back of the tongue. Pungency is a peppery sting in the throat.
Hosts on the island use simpler words: fruity, bitter and spicy. A sharp, peppery oil is a good sign in a Mykonos olive oil tasting. That bite comes from polyphenols, which are natural plant antioxidants.
The flawed samples carry the classic faults from the official tasting sheet. Each fault points to a clear cause, from the grove to the storage tank.
- Fusty: a fermented taste from olives left too long in piles.
- Musty: a damp, mouldy smell from olives kept in humid places.
- Winey: a sour note that recalls wine or vinegar.
- Metallic: a taste from long contact with metal machines or tanks.
- Rancid: a stale taste from oil spoiled by air over time.
Which Greek olive oils feature in a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
A Mykonos olive oil tasting sets award-winning Greek extra virgin oils beside flawed ones. The farm tasting at Ano Mera pours two prize oils and two with faults. Group workshops pour five prize oils and three flawed ones.
The prize oils in Mykonos olive oil tasting workshops come from different parts of Greece. Each session also covers the main Greek olive varieties. Glasses side by side make the gap between good and poor oil easy to taste.
Koroneiki is the main oil olive of Greece. It takes its name from Koroni, a town in Messenia in the Peloponnese. Growers also plant it in Laconia and on Crete.
Koroneiki olives are small but rich in polyphenols. Their oil tastes grassy, with artichoke notes and a peppery finish. On Mykonos itself, islanders are reviving olive growing to honour the farming traditions of their land.
What makes an oil extra virgin, as a Mykonos olive oil tasting explains?
A Mykonos olive oil tasting explains that extra virgin is the top grade of olive oil. The oil comes from olives by mechanical means alone. It passes a lab test for acidity and a taste test by trained panels.
Free acidity is a lab figure for broken-down fat in the oil. Extra virgin oil stays below 0.8 per cent. Lower figures point to healthier olives and careful handling.
Taste panels sort virgin oils into three grades: extra virgin, virgin and lampante. Extra virgin shows zero faults and a trace of fruitiness. Lampante, named after lamp oil, has strong faults and needs refining before use.
Cold extraction means the olive paste stays cool during pressing. No heat or chemicals touch the oil. This protects the aromas and antioxidants that tasters look for.
Which foods pair with a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
The standard Mykonos olive oil tasting at Ano Mera centres on the oils themselves. Food comes with the dinner option. The farm’s snack plate holds bread, tomatoes, kopanisti cheese, cucumbers and black olives, served with raki.
The Olive Oil Tasting and Dinner option lasts four hours, with pick-up. Dinner at the Mykonian Farm runs from 19:30 to 21:30. Read more about kopanisti in the guide to Mykonos cheese.
Group workshops run by Mykonos Olive Oil Tasting add a hands-on food-pairing session. The host matches each style of oil to dishes like these:
- Mild, grassy oils with fish, pesto and fried eggs.
- Mild oils with tender salad greens and in baking.
- Bitter, peppery oils with vegetables and fresh pasta.
- Bitter, peppery oils with grilled chicken and slow-roasted lamb.
- Fruity oils for dipping bread and drizzling over young cheeses.
Wine fans can follow the oils with a Mykonos wine tasting at the same Ano Mera farm. Cooks can learn island dishes in a Mykonos cooking class.
Who suits a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
A Mykonos olive oil tasting suits food lovers, couples, health-minded travellers, families and cruise visitors. The farm tasting at Ano Mera welcomes children from 4 years. Group workshops with Anita Zachou accept children from 10 years.
Mykonian Spiti sets a child rate for ages 4 to 11 at its farm tasting. Families find more island ideas in the guide to Mykonos with kids.
Cruise visitors get a short, fixed outing. The GetYourGuide Mykonos olive oil tasting lasts 2 to 2.5 hours, with pick-up included. The bus ride takes 20 minutes each way.
Guests with allergies or dietary needs tell the hosts before the day. Mykonian Spiti adjusts its menus for allergies on request. Group workshops take 2 to 10 people.
How long does a Mykonos olive oil tasting last, and what is included?
A Mykonos olive oil tasting at the Mykonian Spiti farm runs from 17:00 to 19:30, transfers included. The GetYourGuide version lists 2 to 2.5 hours in total. About 1.5 hours of that time is spent at the farm itself.
The coach ride takes about 20 minutes each way. A Mykonos olive oil tasting group at the farm holds up to 15 guests. Adding the farm dinner stretches the outing to about 4 hours.
- Olive tree history and health notes
- The basic rules of sensory analysis, meaning judging oil by smell and taste
- Two award-winning Greek extra virgin oils and two oils with faults
- Biodegradable tasting glasses that break down naturally after use
- A small dish of tasting products
- Return coach transfers from hotels and ports
The workshop by Anita Zachou at Agios Ioannis lasts 2 hours. It includes five extra virgin oils from across Greece, water and the pairing foods. Lunch and alcoholic drinks are not included.
How do you get to a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
The farm-based Mykonos olive oil tasting includes pick-up from hotels across the island, the old port and the new port. The coach then crosses the island’s centre to Ano Mera, about 7 kilometres from Mykonos Town.
Send your hotel name or cruise ship name by 15:00 the day before. Guests in villas send a map pin or a nearby hotel. Guests in Elia, Kalafatis, Agrari, Panormos, Paradise, Super Paradise and Kanalia pay an extra cash fee to the driver.
To travel alone, take the KTEL public bus to Ano Mera. KTEL says Ano Mera buses leave from the New Peripheral station, not Fabrika. The ride takes 20 to 25 minutes. The Mykonos bus guide lists the stops and times.
The beach-side Mykonos olive oil tasting at Agios Ioannis meets at Pili restaurant. Buses from Fabrika reach Agios Ioannis in about 10 minutes. Hotel areas and their bus links appear in the guide to where to stay in Mykonos.
When does a Mykonos olive oil tasting run?
The farm’s Mykonos olive oil tasting operates daily from 1 March to 30 November. Hotel pick-up starts at 17:00, and the session ends at 19:30. Booking listings show this single evening start for both the tasting and the dinner option.
One booking site lists a shorter season, from April to November. Adding the farm dinner keeps guests there until about 21:30, then the coach returns to town.
Anita Zachou also runs online tastings in winter by posting oil samples to guests. That lets guests join a Mykonos olive oil tasting from home after the farm season ends. Match the season to your trip with the guide on when to visit Mykonos.
How do you book and cancel a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
Bookings for a Mykonos olive oil tasting go through GetYourGuide, which lists tour 876715 at Ano Mera. That listing offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start. It also lets guests reserve now and pay later.
Cancellation rules change with the booking channel. Bookings through Mykonos Excursions get a 50% refund when cancelled 48 hours or more ahead. Later cancellations get no refund. Private bookings with this agency are non-refundable.
- The date and the number of adults and children
- Tasting only, or tasting with the farm dinner
- A private session, offered by the farm as an extra per booking
- The language: English at the farm; English, Spanish or Greek with Anita Zachou
If the provider cancels for bad weather or a low guest count, guests get a full refund. Anita Zachou’s own Mykonos olive oil tasting refunds in full up to 24 hours before.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Mykonos olive oil tasting wheelchair accessible?
The farm tasting near Ano Mera is not wheelchair accessible, according to its booking details. The beach workshop at Agios Ioannis lists wheelchair and stroller access for all areas and surfaces. Service animals are welcome there, and its transport options are wheelchair accessible too.
Can you wear perfume to a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
No. Anita Zachou asks guests not to wear perfume to her workshop. The class trains your nose to judge oil by smell, so strong scents get in the way. Booking listings also say the tasting is not recommended for anyone allergic to olive oil.
Can you combine a Mykonos olive oil tasting with beer or wine?
Yes. A private countryside tour visits Ano Mera village and Kalafatis beach. Guests then pick one tasting when booking: craft beer, Greek wine or olive oil. The olive oil option is led by a certified olive oil sommelier. For a beer-only outing, see the Mykonos beer tasting page.
Can you swim after a Mykonos olive oil tasting?
Yes, at the beach workshop. After the tasting, guests can stay to swim at Agios Ioannis beach, so pack a swimsuit. The restaurant serves lunch for those who stay. The tasting table looks across the sea towards the sacred island of Delos.
Can a Mykonos olive oil tasting come to a villa or yacht?
Yes. Anita Zachou’s business runs private sessions at villas, on private yachts, at weddings and on beaches. It won a silver award for olive oil tourism at Greece’s tourism awards. The group and private formats include five award-winning Greek oils and three oils with faults.