Spice up your life - The Best from Greece

Posted on: 19/Jun/2011 THE WORD elixir conjures images of a wizened apothecary creating magic potions for eternal youth or some such medicine.

When Perikles Koniaris and his wife, Maria took over the family spice-and-herb business from his father 12 years ago, they drew inspiration from the word to create a spice-and-herb concept store: Elixir Spices and Herbs.

The store on Evripidou Street, near Monastiraki, has become an indispensable specialist outlet in herbs and spices for both culinary needs and holistic health.

“When we took the business from my father-in-law, it was one of many stores on this street,” Maria Koniari calls. “Although the store specialised in herbs and spices, it stocked mostly the traditional items that were known and used by the locals in Greek cooking: oregano and thyme, mountain tea, cinnamon and cloves. Now Elixir is food. It’s culinary. It’s really specialised and it’s different.”

Evripidou Street is recognised as the ultimate shopping destination for specialty foods where you will find everything from pastourmas (highly seasoned, air-dried cured beef) to paella pans and, courtesy of Elixir, the most exotic herbs and spices.

“When I came on board, I started importing the more unusual spices, the teas and all the complementary products for gourmet culinary needs,” says Koniari, explaining her role in the business, which has been shaped by her colourful history.

International blend

Born and raised in South Africa by Greek parents, Koniari moved to Australia, where she was further exposed to a multicultural lifestyle, and in 1996 arrived to a culturally developing Greece.
Elixir’s unique old-world fitout achieves Koniari’s concept, with its roughly polished floorboards, dark-wood panelling and hundreds of drawers and glass jars full of powders and bunches of dried herbs.

According to his wife, Perikles is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to herbs. “Customers say they have heard about a certain herb they can add to their cooking to help relieve symptoms of this, that or the other. By no means is Perikles a certified herbalist, but he knows all the medicinal benefits and helps direct clients to what they are looking for,” she says.

Konstantina Anastasoglou, a young married woman, is one such customer who shops for her herbs from Elixir, not just for cooking, but also for her herbal teas.

“Elixir stocks everything we need for my fertility tea, no matter how obscure these things may be. We have just bought leaves of wild strawberries and dried framboise,” she says.

Serving the niche

The longstanding relationship with small herb growers has ensured the quality of the herbs available in store. As Maria explains, “we work with small producers. That said, much of the product is not actually cultivated but collected from the wild in small batches by people who have been doing it for years. This is Perikles’ niche. He knows what to look for in the herbs.”

Koniari’s niche is in the extra products, especially the broad selection of what she refers to as “bespoke teas”, such as the osmanthus blooming tea, the gourmet foods and condiments from the French Provence that are packaged under the Elixir label, and Koniari’s personal obsession, superfoods.

“I am very enthusiastic about superfoods,” she says. “I am thrilled about what they can do for us and what is available on the market.” She imports, among others, acai, goji berries, hemp seed and manuka honey.

“Manuka is the most amazing product because it has both antibiotic and antiseptic qualities,” she raves. Apart from the health benefits, it has a unique flavour derived from the flora of New Zealand, making it a valuable ingredient for pastry chefs Down Under.

Koniari is continually on the lookout for exciting new products that will enrich her customers’ lives. She has an instinctive understanding of who is open to new products, such as the Iranian rock salt, with its vibrant yet natural blue colour due to the copper contained in it, or the foie gras with apple and raisins.

At Elixir you are guaranteed to find a myriad of ingredients to spice up your culinary life and, thankfully, the right tea to balance out the indulgence.

Elixir Spices & Herbs
41 Evripidou St, Athens
Tel 210-321-5141
www.elixir.com.gr

 

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