A Taste of Chios: CITRUS and the Art of Greek Ethical Gastronomy

In a sea of fads and food noise, there’s something quietly, stubbornly special about CITRUS – a Greek brand rooted in the fragrant groves of Chios, where the scent of mandarins mingles with salt air and memory. This isn’t just a company crafting sweets – it’s a slow-food manifesto dressed in marmalade and loukoumi, a family-run venture where heritage meets honesty, and where tradition isn’t a buzzword, it’s the base note of every bite.

Chios – Where Taste Is Born of Place

Chios – the fifth largest Greek island – sits like a quiet muse in the northern Aegean Sea, just a whisper away from the Turkish coast. It’s the tenth largest island in the Mediterranean, but it’s never been about size. Chios is about essence – a place where citrus groves ripple across the Kambos plain, where mastic trees perfume the breeze, and where time, quite intentionally, moves a little slower.

Founded in 2008, CITRUS was born out of this fertile landscape, where history and horticulture are inseparable. Their approach? Keep it simple. Keep it real. And never, ever compromise. The result is a range of products that feel like they’ve been handcrafted in the back kitchen of a grandmother with good taste and serious standards – all-natural, preservative-free, and high on authenticity.

CITRUS doesn’t follow flavour trends – it preserves them. From spoon sweets and almond bites to dark chocolate–dipped loukoumia and plump fruit pies, every product echoes the old-world charm of the Aegean, made modern with ethical process and pared-back elegance.

Award-Winning Flavours, No Compromise

At the heart of CITRUS’ philosophy is the fruit itself – seasonal, fragrant, often hand-processed. That famed Chian mandarin? It’s everywhere, starring in everything from silky jams and syrup-soaked spoon sweets to their now-iconic Chian Mandarin Almond Delight – a piece that made it into the top 50 best products globally at the Great Taste Awards.

The 2024 Great Taste Awards saw CITRUS scoop up six gongs, including a rare two-star win for the Lemon & Fig Loukoumi. There’s a Plum Jam that hits all the right tart notes, a Sour Cherry Spoon Sweet that balances sweet and sharp like a well-composed sonata, and a Melomakarono-inspired almond bite that tastes like a Greek Christmas in a single chew. You don’t win seven stars by being pretty – you win by being precise.

But this is more than just great taste. CITRUS keeps its ingredients clean – no preservatives, no artificial colourings, no shortcuts. The raw materials are sourced with care: bitter almond aromas from the Chian hills, May roses from Agios Georgios Sykousis, and mastic oil that whispers of ancient trade routes. Where possible, the production is done by hand – not out of stubbornness, but reverence.

Tradition with a Twist – and a Global Reach

That ethos extends to their creative collaborations. One standout moment came when CITRUS partnered with Athens-based chocolatier ÉSOPHY to create a loukoumi dipped in 65% dark chocolate – chewy tradition meets cocoa-laced drama. It’s a midnight romance between grove and boutique.

And now, with their revamped online store, CITRUS has brought this sensory palette to global fingertips. Whether it’s a jar of mandarin mustard or a submarine sweet with unexpected zing, the new digital space at citrus-chios.gr feels more like an artisan gallery than an e-commerce platform.

In a world where food brands often trade substance for style, CITRUS delivers both – with a quiet confidence rooted in land, legacy, and a very real love for Greek gastronomy. It’s what happens when flavour is allowed to speak – in citrus, spice, and soft floral echoes.

This isn’t just good food – this is Chios, jarred.
This is CITRUS.