From blossom to bottle: how olive oil is made

The olive oil in your box has travelled a long way before reaching the bottle — from small white blossoms in spring to the green or ripe black olive, pressed cold and gently to preserve its flavour and beneficial properties.

Spring: blossoming

In spring, the olive tree is covered in clusters of small white flowers. Only a small share of the flowers get pollinated and turn into fruit — the rest fall off. That's one reason olive trees can take several years to produce a large yield.

Summer: the fruit grows

Throughout summer, the small green olives grow larger. The fruit's colour gradually shifts from green to yellowish-red, and finally to deep purple-black as it ripens through autumn.

Harvest: timing is everything

Harvest timing dramatically shapes the olive oil's character. An early harvest — when the olive is still green or just starting to change colour ("envero") — yields less oil, but with a more intense, peppery, fruity flavour and a higher antioxidant content. It's this exact early harvest that's used for the olive oil in your box, harvested from hojiblanca olives in early autumn, when quality peaks.

Pressing: cold and fast

After harvest, the olives — pits and all — are mechanically crushed into a paste, from which the oil is extracted by centrifuging. To carry the label "extra virgin," the oil must be extracted using only mechanical methods, without heat or chemicals ("cold-pressed"), and have an acidity level below 0.8%. The time from harvest to pressing is crucial — the faster, the fresher and better the flavour.

What "extra virgin" really means

"Extra Virgin Olive Oil" (EVOO) is the highest quality category, denoting oil pressed without chemical treatment, with low acidity and a flawless taste approved by a professional tasting panel. It's the least processed and most nutrient-rich form of olive oil available.

Flavour notes depend on everything

Soil, climate, olive variety and harvest timing each contribute to a unique flavour profile — ranging from green, peppery and bitter notes to milder, sweeter and riper nuances. That's why the same olive grove can produce several different oils year after year, depending on when the harvest happens.