This was another find from my alternate Shop-Rite grocery. I happened to spy it on the shelf, as its drawings of ancient Greek figures on the box were somewhat unusual. Then when I read the box I found out that these biscuits were made in Cyprus. Which, I think is a new country for me. I don't recall consuming something else from this island nation. Specifically, I bought the dark chocolate sandwich kind, and the cinnamon tahini variety, both from the Olyra brand and company.
The official Olyra website was one of those brief, undetailed ones, so I had to piece together what limited information I had about the company's origin from several different online sources. According to them, Olyra Foods Inc. started in February of 2017. Its founder and CEO is Yannis Varellas Ouzounopoulas, who usually goes by Yannis Varellas. Varellas's family has reportedly been stone-grinding grains for over five generations, in an unnamed area of Greece. The Olyra products are primarily based on the four ancient Greek grains that Varellas is incredibly enthusiastic about: lupine (see my post on September 15, 2018 for more information), oats, barley, and spelt (a type of hulled wheat that uses the entire grain). Varellas was educated both at the English University of Cambridge and the National Technological University of Athens, finishing with a Master's Degree in chemical engineering. Aside from the two I tried, Olyra also makes a hazelnut cocoa and Greek yogurt/blueberry flavor in the sandwich biscuit line, and hazelnut carob and fig anise in the crunchy biscuit line. They also have a newer, smaller, stuffed cookie variety, with flavors of double chocolate, peanut butter, and almond butter. The website also has a chart which demonstrates that Olyra biscuits are superior to those from the Kind, Belvita, and Kashi companies in protein, fiber, and sugar, as well as lacking GMO's and being organic. (With two exceptions--Kashi is also GMO free, and has equal amounts of fiber as Olyra's products.) If you're curious, "Olyra" is an ancient word that refers to a type of grain similar to spelt. And, if you're wondering about the clunky, vague-ish title of this post, the box says the biscuits are made in Cyprus, but Varellas is Greek, and his main manufacturing centers are located in Greece as well. Olyra does have a plant in Wilmington, Delaware, but I believe this mostly for distribution within the U.S.
Olyra breakfast biscuits, dark chocolate sandwich flavor: Being a sandwich cookie, it was like a big Oreo, with two outer pieces joined together with a soft filling. The outer cookies were rounded off rectangles, about 3.25 inches by 1.5 inch (or about 8.5 by 4.5 cm.), with a light brown color and a figure embossed on them. The filling was a dark brown color. The odor was chocolate-y. The taste was alright. The outer cookies were a tad bland. The filling was surprisingly good--I normally dislike dark chocolate, but the outer cookies evidently cut the bitterness nicely. Overall this was decent, but not spectacular.
Olyra breakfast biscuits, cinnamon tahini flavor: These were not sandwiches--instead each packet contained three flat cookies, in the same size and shape as the outer cookies for the dark chocolate kind. Same color, and embossment. They had a distinctive cinnamon smell to them. The biscuits were dry and crunchy. Once again, a little bland. Some cinnamon flavor, but I would have liked a more intense taste. They did grow on me, though, as I ate more of them. So these were mediocre, and I liked the chocolate ones better.
Now let's briefly discuss some famous Cypriots, or at least folks with some Cypriot heritage. First, there's Christopher A. Pissarides, who was born there, but is now a dual citizen of England and Cyprus. An economist, he shared the Nobel Prize in that field in 2010, with Peter A. Diamond and Dale Mortensen. Going way back, there's the philosopher Zeno of Citium. He was born in Cyprus in 334 BCE, although he may have had Phoenician heritage as well. He founded the Stoic school of philosophy.
Moving to sports, there's native Cypriot Paulos Kontides, who won the first country's first and only Olympic medal (a silver) in 2012, in the men's laser class of sailing. (Disappointingly, no actual lasers are used.) In tennis, Marco Baghdatis was born in Cyprus, although his father is Lebanese. His lifetime record was 349-274, he won 4 singles titles, and he was ranked as high as #8 in the world in 2006. He made the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2006, and was the runner up in the 2006 Australian Open. Garo Yepremian, born in Cyprus, was a kicker in the NFL from 1966-67, and 1970-81 with the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lifetime he made 67.1% of his field goals, and 95.7% of his extra points, for 1074 total points. He was named to 2 Pro Bowls, 2 All Pro teams, had a lifetime AV of 54, and was part of 2 Super Bowl winners. (He also notoriously had an embarrassing fumble in Super Bowl 7 that was returned for a touchdown by the other team.)
Leon Redbone was born in Cyprus, to Armenian parents. He was renowned as a musician, in the jazz, blues, and Tin Pan Alley genres. In the world of cinema, Cyprus-born producer, writer and director (movies and theater) Michael Cacoyannis was part of many projects. He was nominated for 5 Academy Awards--for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Picture, and Best Director for 1964's "Zorba the Greek," as well as for Best Foreign Language Film for "Electra" (1962) and "Iphigenia" (1977). Finally, there's Natasia Demetriou, who was born in England to an English mom and a Cypriot dad. Natasia acted in such movies as "The Festival" (2018) and "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" (2020). But most fans, including myself, remember her for playing "Nadja" in the great current television series "What We Do in the Shadows."
