Turkish producer wins international award with olive oil from ancestral groves

A fourth-generation olive grower in northwestern Türkiye has received an international taste award for olive oil produced from olive trees his family has cultivated for generations.

Caglar Beceren, 43, grows olives and produces olive oil in Bayramic, a district of Canakkale province situated at the foot of the Kaz Mountains.

His family's olive-growing tradition began with his great-grandfather Hasan Adem Bey. The groves later passed to his grandfather Hasan Beceren and then to his father, Akif Beceren.

Beceren, now the fourth generation to continue the family business, cultivates olives across about 40 hectares (99 acres) of inherited land.

He established a boutique production workshop in 2019 before expanding to factory-scale production in 2021. His factory also provides olive-pressing services to other growers in the area.

Beceren's olive oil recently received the Superior Taste Award 2026, an international taste rating and award from the Brussels-based International Taste Institute, following an assessment by renowned chefs and food experts.

Speaking to Anadolu, Beceren said the recognition marked the first time Bayramic olive oil with a geographical indication had been represented on an international platform.

He said the product was evaluated through a blind-tasting process in which its brand and origin were concealed from a 250-member panel representing 20 countries.

"We managed to receive full marks from the Brussels-based International Taste Institute," Beceren said.

"Canakkale has a number of geographically indicated products. We oversee the entire journey, beginning in the fields and continuing through every stage at our factory, before delivering the products directly to consumers at their source," he added.

The award-winning oil was produced from olives grown in Zeytinli village in Bayramic, an area influenced by the natural environment of the Kaz Mountains.