What to Buy in Samothraki?

Buying local products means supporting the destination you are in, but it can also be a cultural experience - a way to get closer to places, people and their stories. Samothraki island has some traditional products, which you can find in small shops or directly from farmers. Among them are honey, cheese, olive oil, oregano, but also cosmetics, sweets, various liqueurs or tsipouro.

Papanikolau Cheeses

In the village of Makrylies near Xiropotamos is the small Papanikolaou farm, which produces different types of cheeses, exclusively from the milk of Samothraki sheep and goats.

You can take them to eat on the island, but you can also buy them for home (I recommend the matured graviera cheese) - most are vacuum-packed or in brine.

Olive Oil

From the "must-have-home" category, I would mention olive oil. Yes - I know you can find it in the supermarkets too, but it's definitely not the same.

Samothraki has a long tradition, and at the beginning of the 20th century there were several oil mills operating on the island. Olive groves cover vast areas in the southwest. The oil is pure and aromatic, with a greenish color. You can often buy it from the owner of the villa where you are staying or from neighbors, at prices of €50-€60/5-liter can.

In the shops of Chora and Kamariotissa you can find bottles of Astrae olive oil, a family business run by a biologist and an environmental scientist. Their olives and oils have won awards and are exported.

Olive oil is also produced by the Atzanos farm (tel. 00306972092588) in Xiropotamos, as well as the Papanikolaou farm (the one with the cheese factory). You can also find it at the Paradeisos Tavern in Profitis Ilias.

On the mainland, in Makri, near Alexandroupoli, is the Kyklopas Factory, a family business opened in 1982. It produces very high-quality olive oils, which have won numerous international awards. You can stop there on the way to Samothraki or on your way back, if time and ferry schedules allow.

At Kyklopas you can take a tour of the factory and taste the oils.

Honey

The island of Samothraki is renowned for its rich and varied wild flora, as well as its large number of endemic plants. Add to this the lack of pollution, and the result is pure, high-quality honey with a slightly spicy taste.

There are around 10,000 beehives on the island. You can buy honey directly from beekeepers, but also from shops and supermarkets in Therma, Chora and Kamariotissa. The Atzanos farm in Xiropotamos also produces honey, as does the Vavouras farm in Ano Kariotes.

Jams and Fruits "by the Spoon"

Traditional for Samothraki is praousti koutaliou, that is, that yellow-orange fruit (a kind of local wild plum), specific to the island, preserved in sugar syrup and then enjoyed with a spoon (koutali) or teaspoon (koutalaki), along with a Greek coffee.

You can try it at the cafes on the island or you can buy it in jars, to take home. You can also choose jars with other fruit jams tou koutaliou - cherries, walnuts, figs, pumpkin, etc. You can find them in large numbers at the traditional confectioneries Aggeliki in Kamariotissa and I Samothraki in Chora (where I recommend you try the homemade chocolate with sea salt or the one with almonds and oranges).

Sweets for all tastes at I Aggeliki Confectionery in Kamariotissa

Sweets and more at I Samothraki Confectionery in Chora

You can also buy sweets at two of the taverns in Samothraki. At O Vrachos Tavern in Profitis Ilias you will find excellent jams made from praousti, pumpkin, grapes, cherries, sour cherries, figs, lemons or oranges, and at I Krimniotissa tavern, located up high, next to the little church of Panagia Krimniotissa, you will find jams, as well as other products from the Samothraki Women's Association.

Pasta and Rusks

The Samothraki Women's Association also produces various types of traditional pasta (including trachanas and flomari).

At the traditional bakery in Chora you can find rusks made with chickpea sourdough (gourgi), which can last for a year, despite not containing preservatives. You can buy them to take home and put them in a salad with a Greek flavor - with tomatoes, feta, oregano and olive oil.

Spices and Teas

Samothraki boasts a very good quality oregano, which does not add a bitter taste to food. You will feel its fragrance in the air when you climb Mount Saos, on hikes to the vathres and waterfalls.

You can also buy various herbal teas: mountain tea (sideritis), mint, thyme, fragrant verbena (louiza), pennyroyal (fliskouni) or other herbs.

For teas and spices, visit the Samothraki store in Chora, which has a very varied range.

Teas, spices and sweets at the I Samothraki store in Chora

Fonias Beer

Samothraki has its own craft beer, made with water from the island and named after the Fonias River. The brewery is called Samothraki Microbrewery and is located at the exit from Kamariotissa towards Chora.

You can buy the beer directly from the brewery (it is open until around noon) or from supermarkets.

Fonias India Pale Ale at Camping Varades

Tsipouro

If you want to feel like a local for a few moments, sit down at a tavern and order a glass of tsipouro (Greek brandy) and a plate of mezedes (see also the article What to Eat in Samothraki).

To take it home, find a local producer. For example, Atzanos farm, which also makes wine, honey and olive oil. You can also ask around at taverns - often, the tsipouro is produced in-house, as is the case at Paradeisos Tavern in Profitis Ilias.

Glasses of tsipouro and mezedes at Karnagio cafe in Kamariotissa

Homemade Liqueurs

The Women's Association of Samothraki also produces various liqueurs - pomegranate, praousti, walnut or koumari (the fruit of the Arbutus unedo tree).

You can also buy homemade liqueurs at the Trapeza Café in Chora - among them are cherry liqueur, mandarin liqueur, but also the most special, lemon geranium (arbaroriza).

At the Trapeza Café you will find liqueurs, jams and other gift ideas.

Cosmetics

In the few shops in Chora you will find soaps with goat or donkey milk (in Chora, in the area called Baxedes, there is a donkey farm), but also tinctures, essential oils or creams made from local plants.

You can also find natural cosmetics at the Trapeza Cafe, but also at the Papanikolaou farm in Makrylies.

Souvenirs

Souvenirs may not be exactly locally produced, but some are characteristic and can help you remember your vacations and the places you have visited.

Right in the center of Chora there are several shops. Among them, To Gid' - Goat Shop stands out, where the products are personalized with texts and images of funny poses of the goats of Samothraki.