The first, and perhaps the most important, step in cold-pressed olive oil is the harvest. Not only the ripeness of the fruit matters, but the hour of the day it leaves the tree.
We begin early in the morning and stop by twelve. Olives picked while the sun is at its peak sit in direct light, and their natural compounds start to break down within hours. What follows is measurable: acidity climbs and the oil loses the character we pressed it for.
What happens to the fruit between the tree and the crate decides the rest:
- Crates are perforated plastic, never sacks.
- They rest in shade, in moving air, never stacked on one another.
- Nothing waits in the sun, not even for an hour.
None of this is visible in the bottle. It is visible in the laboratory report — which is exactly why every lot we press carries one.