A Thousand Years in the Making.
Rokka, Kissamou, Crete
Where It All Began
Rokka is a small village in northwestern Crete that most people have never heard of. No tourist buses. No famous landmarks. Just ancient olive trees, stone walls, and families who have worked the same land
for generations.
The Yiannarakis family has been one of those families
for six generations. Olive oil was never just a product for us — it was currency, medicine, food, and identity. It was what we gave to neighbors, what we brought to church, what we argued about
at the dinner table.
When Raphael left for university to study Economics, everyone assumed the groves would stay behind.
They almost did.
"The lockdown gave me back what I almost let go."
— Raphael Yiannarakis
Faith, Land & Family
At the heart of our estate stands an ancient stone church — a landmark that has watched over these groves for centuries, as long as the oldest trees
themselves.
It is a reminder that what we do here did not begin with us, and will not end with us. We are caretakers of something much older than any single generation.
Our sustainable farming practices grow from this same belief — that the land must be respected, not exploited. We work with the natural rhythm of the grove, not against it. We take only what
the trees give willingly, and we give back everything we can.
This is not a philosophy we adopted.
It is one we inherited.
The Land
80 acres of northwestern Cretan earth.
Mild Mediterranean climate. Rich mineral soil shaped by millennia. 3,000 privately-owned olive trees. Some planted before Columbus sailed.
The Trees
Our oldest trees have trunks wider than
a man's arm span. Their root systems
reach depths that younger trees will
never achieve.
This is not romantic exaggeration —
it is chemistry. Ancient roots access
mineral layers that directly affect
polyphenol content. Our 1,250 mg/kg
lab result is not an accident.
It is the trees.
"You cannot rush a thousand years.
You can only honor it."
October. Every Year. No Exceptions.
There is a window — usually two to three weeks in October — when the Koroneiki olive is at peak green ripeness. The polyphenols are highest.
The flavor is most complex. The oil is most alive.
Miss that window and you have good olive oil. Hit it and you have something extraordinary.
We have never missed it.
Our team harvests entirely by hand — no mechanical shakers, no shortcuts. Within hours of picking, the olives enter our cold extraction process at
temperatures so low that most producers would consider it impractical.
We consider it non-negotiable.
"Within hours of leaving the tree,
our olives become oil."
Nothing Leaves Without Raphael's Approval
There are no investors telling us to cut costs. No co-packers handling our oil. No middlemen between the grove and the bottle.
Raphael personally oversees every stage of production — walking the groves at harvest, approving extraction temperatures, checking every batch before bottling.
This level of control is unusual in the olive oil industry. Most producers outsource at least one stage. We outsource none.
The result is an oil with 0.22% acidity —
more than three times below the maximum allowed for extra virgin classification. Not because we have to. Because we can.
Proven Excellence — Awarded for Quality, Consistency, and Origin
Recognized across the world’s most respected competitions, from blind tastings at Athena International Olive Oil Competition to consistent honors at London International Olive Oil Competition and recognition in Crete, the birthplace of olive oil, this extra virgin olive oil stands out for its integrity, reliability, and authentic heritage year after year.
"Judges taste blind. The oil speaks for itself."
Crete to Your Kitchen
For years Elea Rokka was available only in Crete, then Greece, then select European delicatessens and fine dining restaurants.
P&P Trading changed that.
As the exclusive US distributor for Yiannarakis Olive Estate, we made it our
mission to bring this oil to American kitchens and restaurants that understand the difference between ordinary and extraordinary.
You are not buying olive oil. You are buying the result of six generations,
1,000-year-old trees, and an October morning in Crete when everything came together perfectly.