The Harvest

The harvest takes place any time between the last two weeks of October and the first two weeks of December, depending on the season.

                                                             

We harvest our olives when they are half-green and half-purple, because this is the point at which the oil’s wholesome properties will be at their peak. This stage of ripeness produces a bright oil with green tinges and a fruity palate with soft bitterness.

The olives are picked by hand or using small, hand-held rakes to avoid damaging the fruit. After being transferred to plastic crates, they are taken immediately to the farm’s own olive mill to be processed in a continuous-cycle mill.

The time-lapse between the harvest and the  moment when the olives are delivered to the mill is approximately 1-2 hours. This favours a very low acidity level of below 0.2% (the maximum legal limit for extra-virgin olive oil is 0,8%).

Before being crushed, the olives are cleaned (leaf/twig removal and washing) and sorted to eliminate any unsuitable fruit.

Several people take part in the harvest, which lasts a few weeks. Some of our customers have spent a day with us during the harvest period to pick the olives and see how they are made into oil. And, of course, they taste the oil freshly-made from olives just off the tree. They come to understand and appreciate the “harvest spirit”, the physical effort and the joy of making premier extra-virgin olive oil.