Canastra Estoi — Local services in Faro

Met the owner when he did a promotion of his goods and shop at the TUI Blue hotel in Olthos d' Aqua. Excellent. Brilliant guy who patiently explained to me the benefits of the Carob pods. How they were so important to his predecessors they would plant the tree then build the house around it. Why. Because the pods were so full of nutrients and had health benefits not dissimilar to dark chocolate. However dark chocolate contains caffeine whilst the Carob is caffeine free. So Carob powder in my yogurt smoothies from now on. Did not visit the shop but so pleased met the guy with his information. He also gave benefits of the local honey to also add, and I now wish I'd purchased. However did elect to also buy some local olive oil and hot piri marinade. (Well when in Rome etc.). Did not go to the shop which looks fantastic, but so pleased he came to hotel. The Carob boards looked great, but little costly for my budget. He said he was up late putting oil on them for this promotion and then up at 5am to make visit to hotel. The guy works hard and deserves success for these interesting and beneficial...

We found this charming little shop on our completely spontaneous trip to Estoi on the first rainy day in Algarve. A definition of hidden gem! Very careful selection of local products, all beautifully presented and lovingly packaged. We were very well looked after the owner who told us interesting background stories about his products and offered a homemade carob cake. The cake was delicious and we bought the main ingredient he sells there, carob powder. I have just made the cake at home (recipe provided by the lovely owner!) Sooooo nice! Almost as good as the one we tried in the shop! (I'll get there with a bit more practice!) Thank you very much for this personal touch and to help us create some lovely memories of Estoi and Portugal. We appreciate that very much! We will be back if we're...

We were looking for shelter as it was raining on our way to the Palace of Milreu and found this cute little shop with lots of handmade wooden pieces and local jams, oils and spices.

To our surprise, the owner spoke great German and English. As we are from Germany, he explained every item in the store and its background story in German.

We then talked a lot about random topics such as the upcoming party elections in Portugal or his work at TUI Hotel. Very nice guy and a cute little shop.

The prices ranged from cheap to expensive, so everyone can get their money's worth here. A few jams can also be taste...