Our Almonds’ Story!
Two of the main reasons why we chose Kea island, as Anthea’s “home” was the island’s virgin soils and flora treasures. Kea’s almond trees are amongst these treasures, producing the sweetest and most tasteful almonds you have ever eaten!
What makes this variety of trees special is the fact that they are never irrigated but nevertheless have adapted perfectly to the dry climate that characterizes the Greek islands. They give almonds every year but usually produce fewer quantities compared to other varieties around the world that consume much water. Access to the trees is very difficult as they tend to grow on steep hills and slopes all over the island and harvesting them is a very labor-intensive work that lasts days under the Greek hot summer sun and is then continued indoors for peeling, cracking and packaging!
This summer our almond trees generously gave us their delicious sweet almonds and we can’t wait for you to taste them!
Operation “Anthea’s Almonds”
Step 1: We collect our certified organic almonds without the use of any machinery, in the traditional way that many generations have done in the past! We use canes to bash and shake the branches of the trees so that the almonds fall to the ground on wide pieces of cloth, which we have placed around the trees. Once the almonds have fallen on the clothes we collect them and place them into large bags to be transferred back to our packaging facilities. The next steps are also hard work and very time consuming, but totally worth it!
Step 2: Removing their outer green covering, which is not edible. This is something that must happen relatively quickly after harvest; since seed quality tends to deteriorate the longer the hull remains on them.
Step 3: Placing the almonds on trays under the sun for 10 days to reduce their moisture and dry them. This is very important as if they don’t dry properly they tend to produce mold and not store well! After a few days, when the almonds rattle well when shaking, they are ready to crack open!
Step 4: Cracking the hard shell which contains the delicious raw almond seed inside!
Step 5: Packaging our organic raw almonds and delivering them to you!
Almonds are a fantastic source of antioxidants and essential fibers and ideal for a protein diet that is low in saturated fat. Their vitamins and nutrients make them an essential part of Anthea's healthy choices!
