Chios Mastiha is a variant of mastic which has a protected designation of origin status in the European Union. The main flavourings used in Chios Mastiha liqueur, mastic distillate and mastic oil, are wholly derived from PDO-certified Chios mastic.Mastic is harvested from the mastic tree (Pistachia lentiscus var. chia), a small evergreen shrub that grows to about two to three meters on rocky terrain on the southern part of the island of Chios. This tree takes fifty years to reach maturity, and can be harvested for mastic from its fifth year onwards. Although the mastic tree can be found around the Mediterranean Sea, the variety that produces the aromatic mastic sap only grows in the southern part of Chios. Chios mastic has also been certified by the Agricultural Products Certification and