Michael Hepworth

THE CRYING TEARDROPS OF THE MASTIC TREE!

 FOS  Mastiha Liqueur Drink Of The Greek Gods…

By Michael Cohan

Laguna Woods,(Spiritsman)12/11/15/–On a tiny island in the Aegean Sea is the land of Chios, Greece. The beautiful lushness has given to the world a miracle tree resin of ancient times that flourishes throughout southern Chios as a shrub.

The resin of the Mastic Tree has been widely known for its beneficial and therapeutic properties that harvests every June and July.

The Mastic tree cries its velvet resin for 15-20 days this time of year in which these Grecians hand harvest the mastic resin after collecting these teardrops from heaven by slicing into the bark of this rare tree. It is then transported by the Villagers in wooden casks where the highest quality Mastiha is selected and cleaned.

After its distillation of genuine mastic pure alcohol, sugar, and mineral water are added that identifies this liqueur as agricultural of origin solely produced as Masticha of Chios unlike a plain mastic. This process has earned Greece its EU legislation and only they can give it to the world!

What results is a distinctive, balanced spirit which emphasizes flavors such as cucumber, pine, anise, and fresh herbs. Local tradition has it served as an accompaniment with a dessert after a meal or alongside a cup of coffee. These days it can be enjoyed as a cold shot or served as an aperitif in a goblet with plenty of ice.

My friend and I came up with our own recipe we aptly named “Greek Mastiha Sunshine Special.” We took a big glass tumbler filled with ice and added a couple of jiggers of the liqueur. Then we sliced the fruits of orange, lemon, and lime with a big sprig of rosemary and cuts of mint leaves. The result is a flavorful and refreshing cocktail from one of the rarest trees of the world!

http://www.ambrosiagrp.com/about-mastiha.html

Production Process

The production of Mastiha consists of 3 distinct phases

Phase 1: The harvesting period, the Crying Tree harvesting takes place once a year, usually at the beginning of the summer period. Experienced workers deeply rooted in tradition undertake this tenuous and delicate process. The Mastiha trees get pricked and delicately sliced at the surface. It takes several weeks to collect the crying Mastiha resin that falls from those openings in the tree.

Phase 2: the cleaning.  Once collected, Mastiha is carefully collected in wooden coffins, covered with cloth, and then sent to a cool warehouse, where women of the villages pick the best quality Mastiha by hand and clean them meticulously.

Phase 3: Distillation, blending, and bottling. Mastiha is mixed with fine quality alcohol and is put in large bronze tanks. The mix is heated carefully by wood fire. The aroma of the extract is unforgettable to any visitor of a Mastiha Distillery. It is then blended with other ingredients, masterfully crafted by family tradition, and flair of the producer of FOS, that is a third generation Mastiha producer. It will be inspected, tested, and bottled in a beautiful bottle, with a distinctive logo that symbolized Greek culture at its best.

A historically rich product is now yours!
Its taste and aroma will captivate you!
We are thrilled to bring you “FOS Mastiha”. It has been prepared with “Frontida ke Agapi”, the Greek words for Love and Care.