Organic Olive Grove - 'Oleastro'

The 'koroneiki' variety of olive trees, renowned as one of the best to gain olive oil out of and very rich in flavour and aroma, is cultivated with all our love and care without any chemical products according to EU 2092/91 (for organic farming) in the serenity of the organic olive grove 'Oleastro'. Being in the countryside, 3km outside the village, but mainly remote from any other conventional farming fields, the location is ideal for organic farming.


Olive Oil Quality Criteria

The main quality criteria of extra virgin olive oil are low acidity (normal range 0-0.8%), low peroxide value (maximum 10) and the unchanged organoleptic characteristics (aroma, taste, color).

The lower the acidity the less free fat acids there are, the higher the quality. Peroxide value determines the changing of olive oil due to improper extraction or storage. It is measured in chemical laboratories. The organoleptic characteristics are perceived through the senses. These are taste, aroma, and colour. These are tested in 'panel' testings.

Taste is directly related to the degree of maturity of the olives during the picking. There is a whole range (60-70) of pleasant and unpleasant tastes. The aroma depends on the olive type, the climate, and the soil conditions. The aromatic components are at their pick at the initial stage of the maturing of olives. In other words, as the colour of the olives begins to alter from bright green to purple-blue. The color of the olive oil is mainly determined by the colouring substances in the crop at the moment of harvesting and by the carotene contained in the olive oil. For example, olive oil with yellowish colour contains a high degree of carotene. The greenish colour is an indicator of unripe crop at the moment of harvesting or of the first weeks after the extraction. Both are healthy olive oil colours.


Factors Influencing Quality

The factors that influence olive oil quality are mainly the olive sort, the time and the manner of harvesting as well as the extraction, storing and bottling.

Some olive types, like grapes, are more suitable as table olives and some for olive oil. Olives should be harvested with 'meraki' (desire to achieve the best outcome) at the initial stage of the ripening of the crop that is when it starts to turn purple-blue, so that it preserves its aromatic qualities to the maximum, even if ripe olives contain a higher degree of oil. 

Cold pressing on the same day of the harvesting ensures the highest possible quality. The longer it takes the farmers to bring their olives to mills, the more their olives are oxidized, the worse the quality of the olive oil is going to be. Cold pressing is the only method to ensure that the olive oil maintains all its nutritional elements, aroma, colour and flavour. With the state-of-the-art extraction methods almost all olive oils are first pressed, so this is no longer a quality criterion. Extraction at an ecological olive mill guarantees that no water is used during the centrifugation. Consequently, no water waste is created and the olive paste is not diluted. Ideally, the ecological mill should be certified to the HACCP (safety and hygiene), ISO9001 (quality) and ISO14001 (environmental protection) standards. 

Olive oil needs to be stored in cool, dark, dry places with controlled temperatures in stainless steel tanks or dark glass bottles. Bottling should be best carried out at facilities certified to the HACCP, ISO9001, and ISO14001 standards. 

Why organic

Organic farming is an alternative to conventional farming. It uses no pesticides or chemical fertilizers that contaminate our soil and water. It creates a healthier and more sustainable environment for us all.

The EU Common Agro-Environmental Policy illustrates the importance of the organic cultivation of the olive tree promoted by the European Union. There is the need for environmental friendly restructuring of agricultural production and there is the need to improve the use of natural resources and ecological processes, which constrain the environmental pollution caused by conventional agricultural practices.