Somos Cool | Experiencias y Venta Online de AOVE

Talking to the Olive Tree

What does “Talking to the Olive Tree” mean?
“Talking to the olive tree” means taking care of it and understanding its language.
That is why for us it is essential to live next to the olive tree and to carry out the whole production process
on the farm itself, as in this way we are with it every day, offering it everything it needs at the right time. It is important to remember that
the olive tree itself is the oil factory and we are limited to extracting the oil from its fruit. “Talking to the olive tree” means visually
observing the behaviour of the leaves on each tree, checking the irrigation of each olive tree, controlling the weeds, pruning so that the sun shines on it…

At Basilippo we have worked from the beginning to achieve a harvesting technique that does not cause any damage to the olive tree.
Currently, in some cases, we resort to manual harvesting and in others to vibrating the trunk with an inverted umbrella so that the olives fall,
and at the same time, we go over the branches with an electric rake that does not hit the olives directly and its extendable handle allows us to reach all the corners of the tree. This help is essential, as the olives are harvested very early and it is more difficult
to remove them from the branches. In our olive grove we harvest early, before the olives ripen,

which starts at the beginning of October
and takes between 20 and 40 days.
At this time the polyphenols and organoleptic components (flavours and aromas) present in
the Extra Virgin Olive Oil are at their highest levels. The first olives to be harvested (green)
are used for the Picual (Basilippo Picual Selection) and Arbequina (Basilippo Gourmet “First Days of Harvest”) monovarietals,
as well as serving as the basis for the blend of manzanilla sevillana and arbequina (Basilippo Organic).
The veraison olives (beginning of ripening) are used to produce Basilippo Selección Arbequina, seeking a perfect combination of quality and quantity.

In Harvest Time

From the end of September to the end of October we live
some intense days at our Hacienda Merrha. We maintain strict control during the whole process,
guaranteeing cleanliness, traceability and speed in our own facilities.
It is essential to proceed with immediate crushing, manual selection of the fruit, daily cleaning of the entire system,
keeping the fruit and the process below 27 degrees, and conservation of the aove in a
climate-controlled and inertised space (cellar) to maintain the qualities of the product.

Cool
Extra Virgin

EARLY MORNING HARVESTING

If the day’s temperature is expected to be high, we harvest early in the morning, so that the olives arrive fresh at the mill.

COLD STORAGE

We keep the olives fresh from the time they enter the mill until they are milled, thus reducing their deterioration after harvesting.

SELECTION BY HAND

We hand select the olives before milling to ensure that only healthy olives are used in the process.

COLD BLENDING

We control the temperature of the olive paste in the blender <<25ºC) to preserve all the aromas to the detriment of the quantity of oil we obtain.

AIR-CONDITIONED CELLAR

The cellar is air-conditioned (18-24ºC) all year round and the tanks are inertised with nitrogen to slow down the inevitable ageing process of the juice.

INERTISATION OF BOTTLES

All Basilippo bottles are inertised with nitrogen gas, thus maintaining the inert atmosphere of the tanks and preserving the quality of the EVOO bottled for a longer period of time.