The Greek word, or name rather, “Tassos” is short for “Anastassios,” which has been translated into English as “resurrection.”

However, if I may take some poetic liberty here, I think the above answer misses the deeper beauty of the name, Tassos. Perhaps the meaning is closer to “the opposite of stasis,” where “Ana” means “the opposite of” or “the reverse of” and “stasis” means “motionless,” in the sense of two opposing forces coming into balance with each other.  Still another possible way of reading the word stasis might be “stationary or stabile.”

Putting Ana and Stasis together, this new word, anastasis, could mean “to set into motion the motionless,” “to overcome the balance,” or perhaps (al beit stretching a bit) “to conquer.”

So, where you were once motionless in the balance of the forces, now you are moving, driving the opposing force. If the opposing forces are life & death, then, from the perspective of life, this could correctly be translated into “Resurrection.”

But I find that looking at the original Greek, with all the various meanings, reveals a much larger picture. Which is why you’ll see the question, “How do you Tassos?” on “Your Wisdom” page. What is being asked of you is, “How do you re-new, rejuvenate, re-experience and bring movement to your world?”

Finally, I thought it might also interest you that the name “Tessa,” short for name “Theresa,” also comes from Greek and means Thresher, or one who separates the seed and grain from the husk and straw.  One might substitute the word “reaper” for thresher.  But a reaper, is more of a harvester or farm worker and doesn’t have the connotation of that of a thresher, or being able to separate the good stuff from the not-so-good stuff, a connoisseur of sorts. The Reaper gets everything ready for sorting. The Thresher is the one that does the sorting.

Hope this answers your question and thanks for your post!

We are very happy you like our Honey. The problem with “American” Honey is that much of it isn’t truly American. As it turns out, America imports a lot of Honey from China.

American bees can make excellent honey, too. But Honey is one of those items that is easily adulterated. Sometimes, to sweeten the honey, keepers powder the flora with sugar so the bees track the sugar back to the hive. Other times, the honey is a very low quality because of high water content, making it very thin and even skinnier on the flavor. So, one must be careful. 

I found this link to another site that spells out what you can look for in deciding which honey is for you. What I can tell you, is that Tassos Honey is mono-floral (single source) Thyme Honey, very thick (low water content), because of where the honey is produced. That is, at the top of the mountains, where it is cooler and windy. Tassos honey is also a very dark amber color due to its high mineral content and the clarity is perfect. 

The bottom line is that it’s really not the country of origin that makes one honey better than another. It’s the care bee keepers take in romancing their bee population, protecting their horticulture and harvesting the honey. The mountains on the island of Crete are naturally protected and the bee-keepers are naturally romantic.

And that’s just one of the many reasons we hope you come to trust the Tassos Brand as being one of quality.

The possible uses for Tassos® Tapenades (or bruschetta) are only limited by your imagination, but here are few ideas:

Breakfast: Add it to your favorite salsa and kick up the flavor of huevos rancheros.
Lunch: Add it to an ordinary sandwich to create a Muffaletta.
Dinner: Add it to a basic red sauce to kick up the flavor of your pasta.

You could also very simply dress up a cracker or chip as an appetizer. Who doesn’t like to Scoop and Dip?

But here are a few more creative ideas: use it as a stuffing or add it to your own stuffing recipe for your main dish of beef, pork or poultry. Mixing into your rice side dish pairs nicely with a main dish of fish. There are several flavors of Tassos® Bruschettas from which to choose. But if you have a recipe, send it to us. If I post your recipe, then I’ll send you a Tassos® T-shirt as my way of saying “thank you!”

Tassos® Olive Oil is green because we press the unripe koroneiki olive to create our estate bottled olive oils. The unripe (green) olive is full of chlorophyll and phytonutrients. Chlorophyll is found in all green flora, and is what is used by flora to harvest the energy from the sunlight. 5 kilos of koroneiki olives go into producing 1 Liter of  Tassos® Olive Oil, and that’s a lot of phytonutrients! Additionally, since the chlorophyll reacts to light, this is the primary reason why we bottle in green tinted glass, that is to protect the chlorophyll and other phyto-nutrients in our olive oil from the reaction to light. Additionally, you might also be interested in reading our tips to selecting an olive oil  and reading how to properly store your olive oil.

This is the list. If the answer to your question is not found below, then please e-mail me and I’ll post the answer here for every one to see and to share. Sharing is a good thing.

“Are your olive oils made from Kalamata Olives?”

No. The best Kalamata Olives are for eating and we put those olives in our jars (you should try them). Our olive oils are made from the unripe koreneki olive. When harvested, the olive is about the size of your pinky finger and packed full of the good stuff.  We press 5 kilos of koroneki olives to make oneLiter of our Olive Oil. Skip the Kalamata Olive Oil, and save the olives for your plate where they belong. I’ll try and snap a picture of a koroneki olive next time I am in Greece.

“Do your olives with Wine Vinegar in the Brine contain alcohol?”

If you are you looking for a cocktail, then I suggest you buy a bottle of your favorite spirits. And when you do, please  think about our stuffed olives as a very tasty garnish (pimento stuffed are classic, but I prefer the garlic stuffed myself. Crunch!) That being said, the brine has wine vinegar, not wine. Vinegar is not considered to be alcholic, as the alcohol in wine” is consumed during the fermentation process, which is how you end up with vinegar.

“I’ve had this bottle of [fill in your product here] in my pantry for [fill in length of time here]. Is it any good?”

All our products have a best before date printed on the bottle or jar. If its past the best before date, then its past its prime flavor season. If the product doesn’t have a best before date, (and look closely, because some of the products we carry are dark in color and ink is black), then the best before date either washed off or smeared off. My advice is to throw your [fill in your product] away.

“Should I refrigerate [fill in your product here]?”

Refrigeration never hurt anyone.  Even if it has olive oil as an ingredient (a “no go” zone for our premium bottles of E.V.O.O.), you can refrigerate if you’d like,  depending on how long you plan to keep the product. That being said, the label of each product should indicate if you need to refrigerate that product. If the label doesn’t say “please refrigerate after opening” , then you don’t need to refrigerate the product. If it says you need to refrigerate,…well, you get the idea.

“I used to buy your products at [fill in your store here], but I can’t find it there anymore. Where can I buy your products?”

Right here. On this site. If the exact product you want isn’t here, then we don’t carry it in stock anywhere. However, we may have an item very similar to what you purchased in the past. Take a look around the product pages to see what we have. (But please feel free to talk to your local grocer, price club, market, etc. about re-stocking your favorite product back into the store nearest you. Generally, a little note to the Manager goes a long way.)

When storing your olive oil remember this: Air tight, out of sight and cool, not cold.

Air-tight: Minimize your olive oil’s exposure to air. That is why every bottle of Tassos® olive oil comes with its own cap. Imagine that. Even our 3 Liter Tin has a pour spout that closes up with a cap and is perfect for portioning into fancy decanters for the kitchen or table.

Out of Sight: Keep your olive oil in a dark place as sunlight does terrible things to olive oil. That’s why we shield our Tassos® olive oil with tinted green glass, but our 3 Liter Tin doesn’t let any light in at all.

Cool, not cold: Not too hot (above 72 degrees F) and not too cold (below 47 degrees F). That’s why we ship in heated containers over the colder months of the year. It should go without saying that the refrigerator is a “no go” zone. Below the kitchen sink should be just right (and easy to get to)!

In my travels around the world, it seems everybody has been interested in Tassos® Olive Oil and in olive oil in general. What makes one olive oil better than the other? How do I know which Olive Oil is right for me? I will tell you what I’ve told them….

Olive Oil is a very complex juice. That’s right, it’s a juice. In fact, it’s a fruit juice. And while it would take a talented chemist, with a fairly sophisticated lab, to reveal all the important characteristics of any one olive oil, here are some things you can look for when selecting your olive oil, without having a Ph.D. in science, just by looking at the bottle.

First: Acidity 

The Oleic Acidity of any Extra Virgin Olive Oil should be printed on the label. The lower the acidity the better the olive oil is for you (the more antioxidants). The Oleic Acidity of Extra Virgin Olive Oil ranges from 0% to 1%. Tassos® Extra Virgin Olive Oil is bottled at no more than .05%.

 Second: Age

As the oil ages, oleic acidity tends to creep up. How fast it creeps depends on how the oil is stored. So, try and get the freshest bottle you can find. Our best before date should give you an indication. Properly stored (see post on Storing Your Olive Oil) olive oil can last a very, very long time, but should be consumed within about 2 years from pressing for maximum flavor. That being said, if it takes you 2 years to use 17 oz of olive oil, you probably don’t like olive oil very much. Please don’t call us and ask, “We’ve had this bottle of olive oil for 6 years, is it any good?” Throw it away and spend the money you save from not calling us on something you really want.

Third: Clarity 

Olive Oil should be free from any clouds or sediment (unless you’re looking for an unfiltered olive oil). As an olive oil sits, any sediment will settle to the bottom. Simply, tip the bottle upside down and see what happens.

• If you see a black cloud (or plume), then that means the oil is poorly filtered. That black cloud you see is dirt. It’s not going to hurt you, but it’s not the bottle you want.
• If you see a white cloud (or plume), then that means the oil has been frozen. The white cloud you see is Stearin, a wax sometimes used to make candles. It’s not going to hurt you, and if your going to add a lot of heat to the oil it will dissolve, but it’s not the bottle you want.
• If you see nothing (e.g., no plumes or clouds) and the oil maintains it clarity, this is the bottle you want.

 Fourth: Origin

By law, the origin of any olive oil is to be published on the bottle. Some olive oils are blended from oils of various different qualities and from various different countries. Tassos® Olive Oil is 100% estate bottled in Crete, Greece, and never blended. What goes into our bottles is the very best of our press and so is very consistent from one bottle to the next bottle in any given year.

 Fifth: Color

Color doesn’t really matter. Our olive oil is green, but being green doesn’t make it necessarily better than a yellow olive oil. What I can tell you is that our olive oil is green because we use very immature olives (the concentration of chlorophyll is what gives it it’s green color). That being said, the darker green the Olive Oil is the more likely to be of higher quality than yellow olive oils. This is because most lighter color olive oils (from yellow to white) generally include refined oils (olives that have been heated to extract the maximum quantity of juice). In some countries outside of the USA, it is against the law to sell these refined olive oils as food. Personally, I would skip the “Pure, Light, or Extra-light” Olive oils. Incidentally, this also relates to the importance of “First Cold Pressed” or “Cold Extraction.” When heat is added to the pressing of olives, the heat burns off the flavor and aroma of the olive oil. The bottle you want should say “First Cold Pressed” or more correctly, “Cold Extracted,” since these days, no one has “presses” in the traditional sense.

But the Most Important thing is:

Taste. The olive oil that has the best taste for you is the olive oil that has the best taste.   Just because one bottle is more expensive than another doesn’t mean you should “prefer” that oil. Don’t let anyone get snooty about his or her olive oil with you. Olive Oil is a lot like any other food or wine, and is a matter of personal preference. Tassos® offers four qualities of Olive Oil. Tassos® Extra Virgin (like being hit in the head with an olive tree), Tassos® Fine Virgin (like being hit in the head with just an olive branch and much more creamy), Tassos® Organic Olive Oil (generally the most mild olive oil we sell and, of course, its organic), and Tassos® PEZA Extra Virgin (Product of Protected Designated Origin, or P.D.O.) which has the fewest imperfections in its flavor but is also less fruity than Tassos® Extra Virgin.