Moisture: 31.19 g / 100 g (ISO 5534:2004) - Hard cheese category

Pasteurized Sheeps milk (50%), Pasteurized goats milk (50%), rennet, starter culture, salt.

*** differentiations may occur due to maturing process. The Nutrition Declaration and the final weight range will be updated in December.

Hard Cheese from Sheep & Goat’s Milk (50/50)

Bold, salty, and pleasantly spicy – a true expression of Crete’s mountain character.

• Delivery: December 17 – December 24, 2025
• Production Date: March 2025
• Limited Quantity: 150 wheels, each weighing 1,800g – 2,200g
• Producer: Samonakis Family, Geraki – Heraklion, Crete

Xmas25 Edition - Tyrokeli cheese»

"The soul of a family, the flavor of a place."

Limited Edition Artisan Cheese from Crete

Heritage – A Village Shaped by Time

At the eastern foothills of Mount Dikti lies Geraki, a pastoral Cretan village where cheesemaking is more than a craft – it is heritage. For centuries, families here have lived by the rhythm of the flocks, the milking, and the timeless ritual of transforming milk into cheese.

The Land – Wild and Untamed

The untouched mountain slopes above the village are natural pastures. Sheep and goats graze freely on wild oregano, sage, thyme, savory, mountain herbs, and greens, shaping the distinct flavor of their milk. Ancient holm oaks and hidden caves protect the herds from the Cretan winter rains and the summer heat, weaving nature’s strength into every drop of milk.

The Tyrokelia – Stones that Hold Memory

Scattered across the hills stand the old tyrokelia – small stone chambers where cheese once matured slowly with the seasons. Today many lie silent, yet they still carry the scent of milk, the echo of family hands, and the memory of generations. Each family had its own: built by the grandfather, worked by the father, inherited by the son. For the people of Geraki, cheesemaking was not working. It was life itself.

The Family – Five people

This tradition lives on in the Samonakis family. From caring for the animals to the final detail of maturation, five pairs of hands shape each cheese with love, patience, and knowledge passed down like heirlooms. Today, the cheese is crafted in the family’s creamery, beneath their home – but the ritual remains unchanged. What began generations ago continues, unbroken.

The Taste – Rugged Like the Mountains

Wild. Bold. Rare.

The “Tyrokeli Cheese” mirrors the rugged spirit of Crete itself.

Body: Firm, golden, and dense.

Flavor: Spicy and salty, with intense herbal notes from free-grazing sheep and goats.

Milk: 50% sheep, 50% goat, collected from the Samonakis family and their fellow villagers.

Maturation: 9 months at 18°C and 85% humidity, until its character fully awakens.

More Than Cheese

For us, it is the cheese of family, roots, stone, and the old ways. A cheese that brings you back to a time when the table held only cheese, wine, and laughter.

A cheese that reminds you that in Crete, cheese is never just food. It is a way to give. A way to care. A way to love.

It is an art that doesn’t need to shout.

It speaks with its taste.

*A tyrokelia (τυροκέλι) is a small stone chamber or natural hollow, often carved into rock, traditionally used in Crete and Naxos for the maturation of cheese. Found near shepherds’ huts (mitata), these unique structures maintain the cool, stable conditions needed for slow aging. They are part of the traditional rural architecture of Greece, a silent witness to generations of cheesemakers who entrusted them with their most precious work.