The secret of our Olive Oil is in the early harvest

No time to loose! We must hurry and harvest our olives before they turn from green to black, which usually happens from the end of October through November. That is, in a nutshell, the secret behind the uniqueness of our Olive Oil, with it’s unusual characteristics, a deep greenish yellow color, a green grassy aroma, and a fresh, lightly piquant flavor. Less ripe olive fruit is also healthier, as it is higher in Polyphenol and lower in free fatty acids (-0,2% FFA).

Most olives in our area are usually only harvested when they are black and fully ripened, and depending on the variety (ours are the Portuguese variety Cobrançosa) that can happen from November through February.   The reasoning behind this is simple - the longer you leave the olives to ripen, the more oil you can squeeze out of them – an average of 18%, compared to only 10% when they are green. Quantity, but not quality!

We have somewhat mechanized the harvesting, making the job easier for the people who do it. The olive trees are shaken by hand-held vibrators, causing the olives to fall onto large nets which have been rolled out under the olive trees. Not an unpleasant job, as long as it doesn’t rain and everything gets muddy! Also, less damage to the olive trees, as the traditional beating of the trees with sticks, breaks a lot of branches.
It is very important to get the olives to the mill as quick as possible, as oxidation starts to take place as soon as the olives have been harvested. However, early harvested green olives are tougher, and do not bruise and oxidize as easily as riper fruit would during harvest and transport to the olive mill.