It would seem that quality extra virgin olive oil is super healthy and, probably the healthiest fat in the world! Here’s why…

 

Protects Heart Health.

Helps Fight Cancer.

Helps with Weight Loss and Obesity Prevention.

Supports Brain Health.

Fights Mood Disorders and Depression.

Great for Boosting Skin Health.

Can Help Prevent or Treat Diabetes.

Helps Balance Hormones.

 

When we moved into our cortijo, we knew we had olive trees in our garden ( plus grape vines, pomegranates trees, orange tree, lemon tree, fig tree and many almond trees). Our oldest and largest olive tree shades the pool terrace. This tree was in desperate need of a good prune in order to grow good olives. We were introduced to a local Spanish gardener who, appeared one evening waving his hand saw and winking with his one good eye! Hola!

 

 

 

As expected, we had no olives last year but, this year we had loads. However, do you have any idea how many olives you need to pick to fill a crate?

 

 

We spent ages laying the net at the base of the tree and, raking our olives off the branches. We had a few more olives on the young trees in our orchard but, we needed help, especially as our puppy, Charlie was munching through quite a few! Our friends Kay and Mike kindly ‘lent us an olive tree’ in their garden and, helped picked more olives. Kay was determined to fill our first crate to the very top.

 

The following day, we all went to the olive press in Lubrín, just a short drive away. The olives are pressed at the Almazara de Lubrín factory. A family business which can currently grind up to 180,000 kilos of olives every 24 hours. There are five varieties of olives grown in this region. The hot, dry climate, mild winters, hours of sun and the influence of the Med so close, results in a very distinctive product from other regions in Spain. The extra virgin olive oil produced gives an intense flavour with a mild bitterness and fruity taste.

We arrived to find a long queue of trucks and tractors with their trailers full of olives, cars and vans packed with stacks of crates, so we wait patiently and excitedly with our one crate!

 

 

The process started with Steve tipping our olives through a large grate in the ground.

 

 

As our olives trundled along the conveyor belt, a handful were removed and taken to the laboratory to be tested for quality and oil content. Oh! Yes, all mod cons, no donkeys pulling large stones involved! All of us stand with eyes fixed on the display board waiting to see how many kilos we had collected.

 

 

The light flashes – 18 kilos! We receive our special form and in exchange receive 3 litres of Almazara de Lubrín Extra Virgin Olive Oil!!

 

 

Fantastic, good fun and, another cherished memory made in Spain. We will be nurturing our olive trees much more now. If you had told us 5 years ago that we would be picking our own olives etc, we would just never have believed it!