Some factors that determine an oil's quality: the zone of cultivation and the variety of olives grown, the climate, the technology used in harvesting the olives, their level of ripeness, the times and conditions of storage, the extraction techniques, the preservation of the oil, the hygiene and the treatments that plants and land receive.
Extra-virgin olive oils are only processed mechanically, no heat is used, no added treatment is introduced, except for the washing, the decantation, the spin-drying, the filtering and the acid test that must not result more than 0,8% - like the oils that we present to you here.
Once the olives are picked they are brought to the oil mill as quickly as possible in well-aired baskets and care is taken not to squash any of the olives. The next job is to separate the fruit from any leaves, branches or soil through suction and washing. The pressing is the next step: in this phase the olives are squashed by heavy mixers and the result is a heterogeneous mixture of pulp and nuts. The blend is then remixed in kneading machines.
The next step is the pressing of the olives: in this phase the olives are squashed by heavy mixers and the result is a heterogeneous mixture of pulp and nuts. The blend is then remixed in kneading machines. The final extraction is done by machine again, under which vegetable fiber or synthetic fiber discs are piled up to gather the mix. Here it is squeezed with increasing pressure for an hour approximately until the must oil comes out. The solid part attached to the discs is called 'sansa', meaning residue. The must oil needs to be left standing still since it is cloudy and contains particles of water and air. Then the oil is poured out and filtered so that vegetable particles do not make the olives go rancid too quickly.
