The Olive Oil That Stings: Arkas High Polyphenol EVOO
Arkas High Polyphenol Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Arkadia, Greece
Most people assume the throat sting means the olive oil is harsh or somehow wrong. The opposite is true.
That peppery sensation at the back of the throat is oleocanthal — a naturally occurring polyphenol compound found only in high-quality extra virgin olive oil — and it is one of the most reliable signs that you have chosen something genuinely extraordinary.
Arkas is a premium Greek olive oil cold-pressed from trees that have stood in Arkadia, Peloponnese for over 400 years.
We are proud to bring this exceptional Greek extra virgin olive oil to Singapore as part of our commitment to sourcing the most authentic products the Mediterranean has to offer.
From Ancient Trees in Arkadia
Arkadia sits in the heart of the Peloponnese, a mountainous region of southern Greece where olive cultivation stretches back millennia.
The Arkas family has been producing olive oil here since 1972, drawing from groves of ancient Olympia variety trees — some of them more than four centuries old. Every bottle is a cold pressed olive oil from an early harvest, picked while the olives are still green and far richer in bioactive compounds than fully ripened fruit.
It is a deliberate sacrifice of yield for quality, and the reason this high phenolic olive oil consistently tests well above the EU polyphenol benchmark.
Olive groves in Arkadia, Peloponnese, Greece
What makes it more than olive oil
Arkas EVOO is naturally rich in polyphenols — plant compounds including oleocanthal, oleacein, hydroxytyrosol, ligustroside aglycone, and oleuropein aglycone.
These are the compounds the European Union has recognised in Commission Regulation No 432/2012, which authorises the health claim that olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress.
That claim is only permitted where an oil meets a defined polyphenol concentration threshold — Arkas EVOO meets and exceeds it.
Polyphenols have been valued for centuries across Mediterranean food traditions. Oleocanthal in particular has attracted serious scientific attention — a landmark 2005 study in the journal Nature observed that its distinctive throat sensation closely correlates with oleocanthal concentration, making it a useful sensory characteristic of certain high-quality extra virgin olive oils.
Every batch of Arkas High Polyphenol EVOO undergoes laboratory analysis to verify its phenolic content, ensuring it consistently meets the recognised threshold for the authorised EU health claim relating to olive oil polyphenols.
This commitment to independent testing provides the transparency and confidence that what is on the label reflects what is in the bottle.
What Arkas EVOO actually tastes like
Pour a small amount and you will notice the colour first — a deep, golden green that comes from olives pressed before they have fully ripened. The aroma is fresh and grassy.
On the palate, Arkas EVOO opens with a mellow, rounded olive flavour — then comes the finish: a distinct pepper note that settles at the back of the throat. It is not harsh. It is expressive, and it tells you exactly what you are tasting.
How to make it part of your day
Arkas High Polyphenol EVOO is not a cooking oil — polyphenols degrade at high heat, so the benefit lies in consuming it unheated and on its own.
Many people enjoy one teaspoon daily as part of their morning routine, a simple and consistent habit at the heart of the Mediterranean diet. The 150ml bottle is sized for exactly this: a daily wellness ritual, not a kitchen staple.
If you are looking for an olive oil for everyday cooking, that is a separate product entirely — this one is reserved for something more intentional.
Ready to start your daily polyphenol ritual?
Explore Arkas High Polyphenol Extra Virgin Olive Oil — one teaspoon, every morning, from one of Greece's most exceptional olive groves.
References
Beauchamp et al. (2005). Ibuprofen-like activity in extra-virgin olive oil. Nature, 437, 45–46.
EU Commission Regulation No 432/2012 — Authorised health claims relating to olive oil polyphenols.