The Herb Man of Kouses
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Cretan Botano herbs and
spices shop near Matala in southern Crete in search of the herb man of Kouses.
Creto Botano Herb Shop
Iannis Yanoutsos was from Thessaloniki and was visiting
Crete when he heard that he had lost his job. He was an engineer whose
speciality was repairing old printing machines, but with changes in technology
there were fewer demands for his skills, and his company gave him early
retirement. It was an opportunity to find a new skill, and so he became the
herb man of Kouses.
Creto Botano Herb Shop
Iannis is away when we call at his shop, Cretan Botano, also
known as the House of the Swallows, in the tiny village of Kouses. It gets its
name because there are two swallows’ nests inside the shop, with the doors and
windows adapted so the birds can fly in and out.
Iannis’s wife Hrysa is busy behind the counter with a steady stream of customers, but still takes time
out to tell us their story. She also explains why they have so many chilis all
over the shop. ‘Iannis likes his food hot,’ she says. ‘Our chilis are all from
around the village here, although chilis grow all over Crete.’
After Iannis was made redundant, he and Hrysa opened their
shop about ten years ago in the centre of this village, about 6 miles (10 kms) north-east
of Matala.
‘Back then this was an old kafenion,’ Hrysa says, and with typical Cretan hospitality she offers us tea, wine or raki, and suggests we sit out on the balcony behind the shop.
‘It had been like that for 100 years. Iannis renovated the place and started drying and selling herbs. His shop helped to regenerate the village because of the visitors who came. The village coffee-shop re-opened, for example. Only about 100 people live here, and there are no rooms to rent in the village, but still people come because of the shop.’
Hrysa tells us how their shop slowly became successful.
‘About seven years ago one journalist who had a TV programme in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France came and made a film about us. Since
then the visitors have increased every year because it was a very good film.
Iannis also grows olives and in the programme I cooked Greek dishes. He was
making programmes about food and local cuisine.
‘That film was very good for the whole village. It was a
half-hour film, all about us. This was the beginning. The next year a German TV
programme came, then magazine journalists started to come and to write about us.
We feel lucky and grateful. We believe we make things with love and people
appreciate it and it's a success eventually.’
The shop is certainly a remarkable place. Although it
started off by selling the Cretan herbs that Iannis grew, collected and bought
from people to sell, it’s now crammed with herbs and spices from all over the
world. A jar of harissa spice from Tunisia sits on top of a jar of Baharat spice
from the Middle East. Next to that is a Berber spice, and nearby a jar of
piri-piri.
There’s coriander next to cardamom, and close by a jar of
cinnamon from Sri Lanka. It has all the smells of an exotic souk here in this tiny little Cretan village.
A large red metal can contains ‘Indigestion tea’ or ‘Dyspepsia’.
There’s a herb to help anyone suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, another for
high blood pressure and another for stress relief. Mastic from Chios stands
alongside vanilla pods from Madagascar.
‘Iannis found very nice people here to provide him with wild
herbs from all over the island,’ says Hrysa. ‘They were nice quality herbs, like
oregano. He also has a garden of almost one hectare [2.47 acres] where he grows
things for the last two years. Another important experiment he was doing was
planting herbs under his olive trees which helps the olive oil to get flavour
and also the benefits of the herbs.’
On the shelves are jars of cranberries and bilberries, of dried
wild sweet cherries. There are sesame seeds, mustard seeds, bottles of olive
oil infused with basil and jars of Cretan honey and Cretan salt.
Hrysa tells us that Iannis started by growing simple herbs
like mint and basil, for himself and to sell in his shop. She says it’s very
hard to find Cretan mint and basil on sale anywhere because everyone grows
their own. The herbs you find in the markets sell mainly to visitors and are
all imported from overseas.
Hrysa Yanoutsos
‘What he also did later,’ Hrysa says, ‘was to start growing
tulsi, which is popular in India. It's like basil and he made this experiment
to see if it would grow here and it was very successful. He keeps experimenting,
all the time. People send him seeds from Africa. Another herb that grows well
here is artemisia or absinthium. It's an anti-oxidant so you have it in tea.
It's very bitter. He was the first to grow this on Crete.
‘We've heard French, German and English people in here, also
Greek. Because it's a nice product the people come again and again every year
when they return to Crete.’
We weren’t surprised. We left laden with two bags full of
assorted herbs and spices, and a vow to return and hopefully next time meet
Iannis himself. He sounds a remarkable man.
More Information
For more information and opening hours visit the excellent
website www.botano.gr.
Greece Travel Secrets discovered
this wonderful place on a food and wine tour of Crete with Go Crete.
Our Pick of the Crete Guides
Other Crete pages
Greece Travel Secrets tells the history of the classic Greek dish tzatziki, with a recipe for making your own yogurt and cucumber dip.
The Greece Travel Secrets guide to Zaros in Central Crete, including what to do, where to stay, and where to eat.
Corfu’s special cuisine includes dishes like sofrito and pastitsade and the chance to try ginger beer and kumquats.
This Airbnb in the quiet village of Malaxa, a 30-minute drive into the hills above Chania, is a peaceful retreat with a delightful and thoughtful artist owner, with wonderful views and amenities.
This drive along the west coast of Crete and inland from there will take a whole day and starts and ends in Kastélli Kissámou, west of Chania.
Greece Travel Secrets tours the Lyrarakis Winery on Crete and learns about Crete grape varieties such as plyto, dafni, vidiano, vilana, mandilari and kotsifali.
This tour around central Crete lists some of the area’s highlights such as the traditional village of Arolithos, Minoan remains at Tilisos, and Agioi Deka.
Elounda on Crete's north coast is a popular holiday town with a pretty harbour, from where you can take day trips by boat to see the island of Spinalonga.
Two of the best cocktail bars in Athens, MoMix Kerameikos and The Clumsies, are making creative cocktails using that most Greek of Greek spirits, Metaxa.
This Amari Valley drive in southern Crete starts and ends in Ayia Galini, takes four to five hours and cover 100 kilometres or 62 miles.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to eat in Eastern Crete including restaurants and tavernas in Elounda, Agios Nikolaos, Sitia, and Kato Zakros.
This olive grove walk from Limnes to Vrises on Crete also takes you through orchards and gives close-up views of some of the island’s windmills.
Rethymnon is the third-largest city in Crete and has a Venetian fortress, Archaeological Museum, Old Town area and Venetian harbour,
The travel tale Our Hire Car in Crete describes what it’s like when you go driving in Greece and get off the beaten track, resulting in kindnesses.
Corfu olives are an important part of this Greek island's economy, with an estimated 3-4 million trees producing olive oil of exceptional quality.
We visit and tour the Manousakis Winery on Crete with a wine-tasting and a chance to buy their tsikoudia, sea salt, olive oil and other goodies.
For a Crete olive oil tour Greece Travel Secrets visits Biolea, one of the few olive oil factories on Crete that you can visit.
The Dalabelos Estate offers luxury eco-tourism accommodation on Crete in the hills near Rethymnon with its own farm, vineyard and olive groves.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in Irakleio, the capital of Crete, including nearby beach resort hotels and accommodation in the city centre.
What is a Greek Salad – a Greek Salad is made up of tomatoes, cucumber, onions, green pepper, olives, and feta cheese.
The best Crete hotels include 5-star luxury hotels, historic and romantic Venetian palaces, and several hotels in Hania and Iraklion.
Greece Travel Secrets goes hiking in southwest Crete with Ramblers Walking Holidays based in Paleohora and hiking the E4 footpath and to Anidri and Azogires.
The largest of the Greek islands, Crete has four ENUESCO sites, which are Sitia, Psiloritis, Asterousia, and the Gorge of Samaria.
Athens culinary tours are among the food walking tours offered by an unusual company, Culinary Backstreets.
What was daily life as a Minoan like on Crete, living in palaces like the ones at Knossos, Malia, Phaistos, and Zakros, and what were their religious beliefs?
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
- Click on the HTML link code below.
- Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
-
One of the best-preserved monuments from Classical antiquity, the Temple of Apollo at Bassae is a hidden gem in the mountains of Arcadia.
Read More
-
Britain’s Express newspaper encourages its readers to experience the beauty and warmth of the Greek island of Kos, the sunniest place in Europe in May.
Read More
-
Wildflowers, ancient olive trees, nature, and delicious pistachio treats. In the spring, Aegina provides everything you need for the perfect day trip.
Read More
-
Greece wins top honors at this year's American Leisure Lifestyle Awards, with Santorini ranked the "Best Island in Europe" for the 11th consecutive year.
Read More
-
Stretching 656 miles and connecting the coastal redwoods of Northern California to the sandy beaches of Southern California, is SR 1, otherwise known as the California Pacific Coast Highway, the PCH…
Read More
-
If you’ve been eagerly awaiting this Highway 1 reopening and want to plan a long-delayed trip to Big Sur this summer, there are several things that prospective visitors to the region should know. Keep…
Read More
-
The international Matala Beach Festival on Crete will transport attendees back to the famous hippie era with live music events, sports, and art activities for children. From July 5 to 7, people of all…
Read More
-
For keen birdwatchers, birdwatching on Lesbos offers a chance to see over 300 species in diverse habitats on a key migratory route between Europe and Africa.
Read More
-
British travelers seeking value for money in Europe this year will find it in Athens, according to the annual Post Office Travel Money City Costs Barometer. The Greek capital is once again among the T…
Read More
-
The Greek capital continues to celebrate spring with the 3rd This is Athens – City Festival, presenting a diverse program of events and activities, all with free admission. Throughout the weekend, the…
Read More