Greek red lentils – 500 g no soaking required, creamy texture when cooked • from a family farm in northern Greece • grown in potassium-rich mountain soil
Greek red lentils have a delicate, slightly sweet flavour and naturally break down as they cook, making them ideal for creamy soups, curries, purées and sauces. Geusi Vounou means “taste of the mountains” in Greek. The family farm in Vatolakkos near Grevena is run by agronomist Vasilis Karapas, and pulses are part of the producer’s own farming operation.
- ● delicate, slightly sweet flavour • ideal for soups, curries, purées and sauces
- ● around 20 ha devoted to pulses • the farm grows beans, lentils, chickpeas and other pulse crops
- ● family land near Grevena • Vasilis built on his family’s farming background
- ● grown and packed by the producer • Geusi Vounou grows, packs and markets its agricultural products
Greek red lentils from Grevena
Red lentils have a delicate, slightly sweet flavour and soften quickly during cooking. That makes them especially useful for creamy soups, curries, purées and sauces.
Geusi Vounou is based in Vatolakkos near Grevena in Western Macedonia. Pulses form part of the Karapas family’s own farming operation.
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What makes them different
- Delicate flavour: red lentils are milder and less earthy than green or brown lentils.
- Naturally creamy texture: they break down as they cook, helping to thicken soups and sauces.
- Farm-grown: Geusi Vounou grows, packs and markets its own agricultural products.
- 500 g pack: suitable for everyday cooking and larger family meals.
Ways to use them
- Creamy soup: combine with carrot, onion, garlic and spices.
- Curry: cook with tomatoes, spices and coconut milk.
- Purée: blend cooked lentils with olive oil, lemon and herbs.
- Sauces: use as a natural thickening base for vegetable dishes.
Compare them with organic Greek lentils, browse the full Geusi Vounou range or explore more foods in our Food section.
Storage and allergen information
- May contain traces of sesame, cinnamon, mustard seeds, celery, nuts and barley.
- Store in a dry place away from direct sunlight.
Additional parameters
| Category: | Legumes |
|---|---|
| EAN: | 5214002734572 |
| Země původu: | Řecko |
| Výrobce: | Geusi Vounou, Βατόλακκος, Grevená, Greece |
| Vhodné pro: | Bez lepku-GMO Free-Low Carb-Vegan-Sugar Free |
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Geusi Vounou – “taste of the mountains” from Grevena, Greece
Geusi Vounou (Greek: Γεύση Βουνού, literally “taste of the mountains”) is a family agricultural business from Vatolakkos near Grevena in northern Greece. The brand is run by Vasilis Karapas, an agronomist from a farming family who planted his first oregano on family land in 2014 while still studying. He later added Greek mountain tea, thyme, sage, saffron, lemon balm, other aromatic plants and pulses.
His grandmother Magdalini was an important influence, teaching the family how to work with local herbs and emphasising the value of traditional plant material. What began as a small student project developed into an agricultural brand combining Greek farming and culinary traditions with modern processing control, packing and export.
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Not an anonymous brand. A real farm in Western Macedonia.
- Fields near Vatolakkos at approximately 600 m above sea level – not 680 m, as our website previously stated incorrectly.
- A family farming tradition – Vasilis grew up working in the fields and built on the experience of previous generations.
- Farm-grown herbs are naturally shade-dried to avoid unnecessary loss of aroma during drying.
- Herbs and pulses form the core of the farm’s own production. We use organic claims only for products that are individually certified; the brand’s wider range is not automatically organic.
Greek agricultural press reported in 2023 that the family farm covered approximately 50 hectares, including around 20 hectares of pulses and about 14 hectares of aromatic plants. Cereals used in crop rotation also remained part of the farming system. For the pulses and aromatic crops, the source reported certified organic cultivation.
Why Greek herbs are more than “just another oregano”
With Geusi Vounou, the main difference is not decorative packaging but provenance and the way the raw material is handled. Vasilis describes manual work from planting and weeding through harvesting, drying and packing. With aromatic plants, the aim is to preserve the character of the whole plant with as little processing as possible before packing.
For customers outside Greece, it is also useful to understand what individual Greek ingredients actually are and how they are used. A literal translation of the name is not always enough. Greek mountain tea, dittany, trahanas, kritharaki, hilopitaki and petoura are not marketing terms; they are specific traditional herbs, foods or types of pasta with their own uses.
From herbs and pulses to the wider Greek pantry
Today’s Geusi Vounou range is broader than the farm’s original production. At PraveBio.cz we therefore distinguish between two parts of the assortment:
- The farm-grown core: oregano, thyme, sage, lemon balm, Greek mountain tea, saffron, other herbs and pulses.
- The wider Greek range: traditional pasta, honey, mushrooms and truffle products, flavoured olive oils and other regional foods.
For each product we therefore check origin, ingredients, organic certification, the traditional name and the correct way to use it. The aim is not to sell customers “something Greek” without context, but to explain what makes each ingredient different, how to prepare it and why it has a place in Greek cooking.
Vasilis Karapas: from the first oregano crop to an export brand
Vasilis Karapas was born in Grevena in 1994 and studied agricultural development and farm business management in Thessaloniki. He has worked professionally in agricultural production and packing since 2014. Oregano was the first crop, followed by other aromatic plants and pulses.
Greek media reported in 2024 that more than 70% of production was exported. Exports began in Germany in 2018 and later expanded to other European countries, including the Czech Republic. Geusi Vounou was not created as a souvenir brand for tourists; it grew out of a working agricultural business and now sells its products across several markets.
Geusi Vounou at PraveBio.cz
PraveBio distributes Geusi Vounou in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. As with Ceylon Kokonati, we explain the differences between individual products, their Greek names, how they are used in the kitchen and the genuine USPs of each ingredient. Organic claims are used only where they apply to the specific certified product.
