Hermus
A label grown out of a nursery. Arbekina Fidancılık, run by mechanical engineer Ali Zihnioğlu at Köprübaşı on the Gediz plain, states it brought Arbequina to Türkiye in 2008; Hermus — the river’s ancient name — followed in 2017 as the oil brand. Everything is picked in early to mid-September, which is extremely early even for the Aegean.
Their oils
| Oil | Cultivar | Intensity | Expert | Readers | Availability | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hermus Arbequina | Arbequina | Medium | Not yet rated | — | In our shop | Where to buy Hermus Arbequina at olijfoliemarkt.nl |
| Hermus Memecik | Memecik | Robust | Not yet rated | — | In our shop | Where to buy Hermus Memecik at olijfoliemarkt.nl |
| Hermus Emerald | Arbequina | Robust | Not yet rated | — | Not stocked | Read review |
| Hermus Ayvalık | Ayvalık | Medium | Not yet rated | — | In our shop | Where to buy Hermus Ayvalık at olijfoliemarkt.nl |
Award record
25 dated awards across 6 years, from the oils in the library- 2024
- Gold · London IOOCHermus Arbequina
- Gold · London IOOCHermus Ayvalık
- Gold · Monte CarloHermus Ayvalık
- Gold · NYIOOCHermus Arbequina
- Gold · NYIOOCHermus Ayvalık
- Gold · Olive JapanHermus Ayvalık
- 2023
- Gold · Berlin GOOAHermus Memecik
- Gold · Berlin GOOAHermus Ayvalık
- Gold · London IOOCHermus Memecik
- Gold · NYIOOCHermus Arbequina
- Gold · NYIOOCHermus Memecik
- Gold · NYIOOCHermus Ayvalık
- Gold · Olive JapanHermus Memecik
- Gold + Platinum · Berlin GOOAHermus Arbequina
- 2022
- Best in Class · JOOPHermus Ayvalık
- Best of Türkiye · Athena IOOCHermus Arbequina
- Best of Türkiye · JOOPHermus Memecik
- Gold · NYIOOCHermus Arbequina
- Gold · NYIOOCHermus Memecik
- Gold · Olive JapanHermus Ayvalık
- Silver · JOOPHermus Emerald
- Silver · NYIOOCHermus Ayvalık
- 2021
- Gold · NYIOOCHermus Memecik
- 2020
- Gold · OLIVINUSHermus Emerald
- 2019
- Gold · NYIOOCHermus Ayvalık
The estate
The producer states it started with 30 dönüm (3 ha) and now draws on more than 3,000 dönüm (300 ha) through contract growing; its US site says 3,000 acres and a 2023 newspaper profile says over 5,000 dönüm, so the figure is uncertain. Tree count is not published. The 2026 range is Memecik, Koroneiki, Picual, Emerald and Arbequina; Ayvalık, Trilye and Domat were bottled in earlier years.
Cold extraction below 27 °C on the Turkish site, 20–25 °C on the US one. A 2020 newspaper profile stated the company had no mill of its own and also bought olives in; the producer’s current pages describe its own automated line. Certified under Türkiye’s Good Agricultural Practice scheme; organic and kosher claims appear only on the US and wholesale listings. Competition results are as the producer lists them; London IOOC 2023 for Memecik is confirmed on the competition’s site.
