Fresh new harvest olive oil

THE HARVEST IS OVER, AND THE FARMERS HAVE FINISHED THEIR WORK!

CAN YOU IMAGINE STANDING WITH THE HARVEST CREW IN THE OLIVE GROVE? HEAR THE OLIVES RAINING ONTO THE NETS, SMELL THE GREEN AROMAS, TAKE A DEEP BREATH...

You’ll experience the same feeling when you uncork the first bottle of new harvest olive oil. You’ll journey with your senses to the lush olive grove, summer flooding into your kitchen, the fresh oil smelling like newly cut grass, thick and green, pleasantly robust. Perhaps you drizzle it over herbs and dip some bread in it...

Our oil is sourced from the crop belonging to connected farmers on Merja’s Cretan home turf, with the best of the crop reserved from the beginning of the harvest through pre-orders.

It’s the exact product the farmers themselves reserve for their family’s use, carrying it directly from the separator in the barrels to their homes.

During harvest season, the farmers involved in bottling our oil deliver their freshly picked olives in sacks and baskets to the Tsivaras village olive oil separator every evening. The oil is extracted immediately, with the best batches reserved in a large tank designated for us. New oil is bottled for us from the tank in small batches after the harvest period according to demand, so it doesn’t oxidise and stays fresh!
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- smells like summer
- and grass
- tastes green
- has the perfect kick

Order now! 👈
Merja

WHEN YOU ORDER NOW, YOU’LL RECEIVE YOUR OIL JUST AS FRESH AS THE FARMERS THEMSELVES!

Fresh oil is robust, green, and smells like freshly cut summer grass. It captivates, it packs a punch when enjoyed on its own, and it doubly enhances the flavour of food!

WHY ORDER YOUR OLIVE OIL DIRECTLY FROM FARMERS?

You’ll receive it completely fresh

The harvest is over

You’ll get a better price

The price of olive oil will continue to rise, and perhaps significantly...

Supporting the farmer

Why this is important?

At the olive farmer’s table

The Story of a Former Olive Farmer in Crete

We owned a few olive groves together with my husband’s siblings, when one of our aunts gave us her old, abandoned and overgrown grove. Blackberry bushes as tall as a man covered the trees beneath them.

a whole winter of sweating to clear the grove and prune and fertilise the trees. A couple of winters later, we had our first harvest.

The oil from that grove was the best we had ever had, and we didn’t sell a drop of it! At that time, all olive growers were at the mercy of major buyers: whatever the quality, the price was the same.

Former olive farmer Merja Tuominen-Gialitaki

“ We do things differently to the big players ”

The big buyers are becoming even bigger, and there is nothing else available for small growers like us. That’s why I have long wanted to open doors so that small producers can enter the market, and offer their excellent oil to us and our friends without a host of intermediaries, not to mention diluting and mingling the product with oils of different qualities. We do things differently to the big players: we know the farmers and their thought processes, we bottle the best of their harvest in small batches, and we sell it directly to olive oil enthusiasts.

We don’t wait for the olives to darken and oxidise on the tree; instead, we harvest them early, when the oil contains the highest possible amount of goodness that takes care of us and our health.

This kind of early harvest oil tastes sharp and robust, smells of grass, and indulges the senses. It’s the exact oil that farmers themselves use and thrive on.

BIG THANKS TO YOU FOR DOING YOUR PART TO SUPPORT THE FARMER!

2023 harvest

Valantis’ olive grove 🍂 Apokoronas, Crete

Here in the Apokoronas region and elsewhere in Western Crete, the early harvest begins in October at the earliest, which is a brand new phenomenon. When the harvest is picked early while still semi-ripe, we get small green olives that contain a lot of the olive fruit’s own flavour compounds, polyphenols. This picture show the harvest nets being spread out.

Unlike the intensive olive plantations in Spain and Italy, olive harvesting in Crete still happens the same way as it did thousands of years ago: by hand. The groves are so small and rocky that machines have no place there. Merja is showing the way.

On the day of the harvest, the field and grass growing in it must be dry, and a slight breeze is preferred. Extreme heat is not good; olives prefer a cool environment when it’s time for harvesting. Harvesting usually takes place with the help of a group of volunteers or with one’s own family members. Sometimes, reaching the topmost branches is challenging, so the most agile and daring person climbs the tree to drop the olives.

We have only recently started to understand the importance of olive oil polyphenols, which are responsible both for the oil’s flavour and its health benefits. That’s why the farmers involved in making this oil harvest their crop early - among the first in the entire Mediterranean region. This way, they obtain a pungent oil with a fresh, grassy aroma that transforms into sweetness when used in cooking.

Each farmer has their numbered loading area in the separation plant yard, where the olive harvest from the grove is brought. The yard bustles with activity throughout the harvest, with farmers’ truck beds coming and going. This is also the place where the farmers exchange harvest news and updates.

The separation plant operator drives the forklift to lift heavy crates and bags inside. It’s a job that requires precision!

The bags and crates are emptied into a large chute at the separation plant. From there, they travel to a fan, and then to the washing process. The blown-off leaves are returned to nature, serving as feed for sheep and goat herders.

After washing, the oil is separated from the olive pulp, and thick, fresh oil flows out from the other end of the pipe. Nothing is added. The oil is the genuine elixir of the olive fruit! The farmer’s year of hard work pays off when they bring home the first batch of completely fresh new harvest!

Then, it’s time to enjoy! Many farming families fry fritters (tiganites) in fresh oil and savour them with grape syrup. Have you reserved your share of the new harvest yet?

Order your olive oil fresh directly from the farmer

Sprinkle some herbs on top. Dip a piece of bread in it and close your eyes. Slather it generously onto the pan and brush your veggies with it. How can food taste so authentic?

And it probably doesn’t hurt that you’re simultaneously doing good both for yourself and the farmer, who gets to sell the best batches of his harvest straight from the grove through this direct sales channel?

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