North Aegean

The large eastern islands, including Lesvos, Samos and Chios. PINAX comes for the mastic villages, the Mastichochoria, in the south of Chios.

Mastiha is the resin of Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia. It has been an EU Protected Designation of Origin, Masticha Chiou, since 1997, and the know-how of cultivating mastic on Chios was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List in 2014. Growers scrape the bark and let the resin tears dry before collection.

Only resin from southern Chios may carry the name. Mastic from other lentisk sources, or blends, cannot legally use it in the EU, so the check is the registered name Masticha Chiou on a PDO pack. Chew a tear or two as they are, or grind a little with sugar before adding it to baking. The pack is light, dry and shelf-stable.

The Chios Mastiha Growers Association holds exclusive handling rights, and its subsidiary runs a rival retail chain that sells 50 g of medium tears for EUR 12. PINAX therefore waits for a licensed PDO packer, and keeps the original pack inside a PINAX sleeve. The same pack goes into our Name day tin.