Dagelia is more than olives — it’s a family tradition.
From our own grove in northwestern Turkey to your table, we grow, cure, and share olives with care, honesty, and purpose. We invite you to trust the process, explore the taste, and feel the joy of a truly authentic olive.
Where It All Started — Gürle
Our story begins in Gürle — a small village in northwestern Turkey, nestled between Lake İznik and the Sea of Marmara. With its mild climate and long farming tradition, Gürle has been home to olive cultivation for centuries — and for nearly 200 years, it’s been home to ours.
It’s a place where old methods like natural fermentation and stone pressing (taş baskı) are still part of everyday life — and where our olives grow, season after season.
A Grove Shaped by a Woman
It was our grandmother who shaped the grove we harvest today. With her vision and dedication — and the support of our grandfather, parents, and aunt — she helped grow our family’s connection to olives into something lasting and meaningful.
Just as olive trees thrive with patience, care, and love, so has our family. Today, as the second and third generations, we continue that journey through Dagelia — not just by sharing our olives, but by carrying forward the care, tradition, and spirit our grandmother planted in every tree.
From Gürle to Sweden
I’m Özge, third-generation olive grower and founder of Dagelia.
Six years ago, I moved to Sweden after finishing university and starting my career in Turkey. Since then, I’ve built a life here in Stockholm — but one thing always came with me: olives from home. The real kind. The kind I grew up with.
In recent years, I’ve become more involved in the harvest and fermentation process during my visits home. The deeper I got into it, the more I asked myself:
Why can’t I find genuine, naturally fermented Gemlik olives in Sweden?
That question stayed with me. Combined with my growing love for olives — their beauty, resilience, and meaning — it inspired me to start Dagelia. It’s my way of continuing what my grandmother began, and sharing something honest and real, from our family grove to your table.
What Makes Dagelia Olives Unique
Gemlik Olives – A Protected Delicacy
Our olives come exclusively from the Gemlik variety — a small, oval-shaped black olive native to the Gemlik region of northwestern Turkey. Known for their naturally high oil content (around 30%), thin skin, and meaty texture, Gemlik olives are prized for their deep, balanced flavour — with mild saltiness, a rich savory depth, and a hint of natural bitterness from the olive’s own polyphenols.
What makes them even more special is their natural black colour, which develops fully on the tree during ripening — unlike many commercial olives that are chemically darkened. Gemlik olives are PDO-certified (Protected Designation of Origin) by the EU, meaning they can only be grown in their native region using traditional methods.
100% Naturally fermented
Every olive must be cured before it can be enjoyed due to its natural bitterness.
Every November, during harvest season, our farm bursts into life. The olives, ripening from green to pink and eventually to black, are carefully picked. This is a family effort, a tradition we cherish, because we believe the journey from tree to table is a labor of love.
Our olives are processed using natural, additive-free methods.
Using the traditional stone pressing technique ("taş baskı"), the olives are layered with rock salt, sealed with stones, and left to ferment for eight months.
The slow, natural fermentation preserves the nutrients and antioxidants in Gemlik olives while enhancing their uniquely rich flavor. This healthy process gives them their naturally deep brown to black color and a distinct, savory depth of taste.
