Katina Mountanos · Kosterina
“Learn what really drives extra virgin olive oil benefits, how to spot a fake bottle, and why the 'low smoke point' cooking warning is a myth.”
A practical starting point
What You’ll Take Away
Shopping for olive oil becomes clearer when you know which details are worth asking about.
Look for origin, harvest information, and storage guidance rather than relying on front-label language alone.
Use freshness and flavor as part of your evaluation, not just price or packaging.
Support producers who make sourcing and quality standards easy to understand.
Try This
Check the bottle you use most and write down its origin, harvest date, and storage instructions.
Meet Katina Mountanos
Katina Mountanos is the founder and CEO of Kosterina, a premium Greek extra virgin olive oil and Mediterranean foods brand built at the intersection of taste, health, and transparency. Raised between New York and the olive groves of Koroni, Greece, Katina grew up knowing what truly good olive oil should taste like. After becoming a certified olive oil sommelier and uncovering the powerful health benefits of high-polyphenol extra virgin olive oil, she launched Kosterina as a passion project while working in consumer brands at Walmart.
Today, Kosterina's early-harvest, cold-pressed, high-antioxidant olive oils, fruit-infused vinegars, and olives are nationally available at Whole Foods, Walmart, Target, and online, and are recognized for both exceptional flavor and rigorous quality testing. Grounded in the Mediterranean diet, Katina's work champions cooking at home, clean ingredients, and replacing inflammatory seed oils with olive oil to support heart, gut, metabolic, and overall health.
In This Episode
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Benefits — What's Actually True: Katina Mountanos grew up on her family's olive farm in Koroni, Greece, and launched Kosterina after discovering that most 'premium' US supermarket olive oil delivers none of the real EVOO benefits she knew from home — leading her to become a certified olive oil sommelier
Why Polyphenols Are the Real Marker of Quality: average grocery store olive oil contains ~150 mg/kg of polyphenols; Kosterina's early-harvest, cold-pressed oil carries 500+ mg/kg; one polyphenol — oleocanthal — was discovered because it produces the same throat-burning sensation as ibuprofen, and researchers have linked high-polyphenol EVOO to lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline
The Smoke Point Myth, Debunked: what determines whether a cooking oil is safe under heat is the level of free radicals it releases, not the temperature at which it smokes; olive oil emits far fewer free radicals than canola and other seed oils, making it one of the safest everyday cooking and baking fats
How to Spot a Real Bottle at the Store: look for glass or tin packaging (never plastic — it speeds rancidity and leaches microplastics), a harvest date within the last two years, and a single country or farm of origin rather than a blend from multiple regions
The Smell-and-Taste Test at Home: swirl fresh EVOO in a glass, inhale for green grass, artichoke, or green tomato; a peppery burn in the back of the throat confirms the polyphenols are still active — flat or stale smell means the oil is rancid
Kosterina's Mission and What's Next: with no interest in profit at the sacrifice of consumer health, Kosterina's early-harvest oils, fruit-infused vinegars, and olives are now nationally available at Whole Foods, Walmart, and Target — and a 2027 product launch is ahead
Chapters
- 00:52
Meet Katina Mountanos: Growing Up in Greek Olive Country
- 06:09
Why Kosterina's Polyphenol Levels Triple the Average
- 08:46
Building Kosterina as a Passion Project While at Walmart
- 14:26
Busting the Smoke Point Myth About Cooking With Olive Oil
- 16:51
Canola Oil, the 'Hateful Eight,' and Why Blends Deceive
- 19:09
How to Spot Real Extra Virgin Olive Oil at the Store
- 21:48
The Smell-and-Taste Test for Good Olive Oil at Home
- 27:31
What's Next: Vinegars, Olives, and a 2027 Launch
Inspirational Quotes
“The intent in taking high antioxidant extra virgin olive oil is truly just to take it on a daily basis to be lowering your inflammation consistently.”
— Katina Mountanos
“A lot of people start as hobbyists or side hustles, and we've seen a lot of success starting from that place because it's starting from a really genuine place, something that's organic and meaningful.”
— Justine Reichman
“We, at Kosterina, have no interest in making money at the sacrifice of consumer health.”
— Katina Mountanos
“Olive oil actually emits the fewest level of free radicals when temperature is applied. It's by far one of the safest oils to be cooking and baking with.”
— Katina Mountanos
“You definitely want to avoid plastic. Plastic can make olive oil go rancid much faster. It can also leach microplastics into the olive oil. And it does not protect the quality of the olive oil.”
— Katina Mountanos
“Look for a harvest date on the bottle. Make sure it's from the most recent harvest or the previous harvest. You want to consume olive oil within two years of the harvest date.”
— Katina Mountanos
“How can you tell it's a good olive oil? First, swirl it around in a glass and bring it to your nose and take a big inhale. You should smell something fresh like green grass, artichoke, green tomato. If it smells flat, then it's probably rancid old extra virgin olive oil.”
— Katina Mountanos
“Transparency is not just needed, but it's also demanded now. People are asking more questions; they want to understand the why behind it. They want to understand for themselves, for the planet, for their health, and for taste.”
— Justine Reichman
“Integrity is the expensive ingredient that nobody sees. It's not put on the label.”
— Justine Reichman
“You can taste the quality.”
— Katina Mountanos
Full Transcript
Full conversation between Justine Reichman and Katina Mountanos.
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Justine Reichman
Founder & CEO of NextGen Purpose. Host and Executive Producer of Essential Ingredients — 11 seasons, 330 episodes, and a growing movement.
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