This allows us to avoid washing the olives. Washing the olives harms the oil that will be obtained for several reasons: the olive swells with water, the water harms the phenols in the oil, there may be microorganisms that pass through the water to the olives and the oxidation process is accelerated.
It cannot be forgotten that in the autumn, unlike most farmers, we no longer throw chemicals on the tree, in fact, we only throw copper in the spring. Therefore, since the olive appears on the tree, no chemicals are thrown on it. If anyone is afraid that the olives, if not washed, could carry any dirt, they should bear in mind that at the end of the oil extraction process the paste is centrifuged at many revolutions and thus the oil is separated from any impurities that may be present. After harvesting the olives with the vibrator, the olives are transferred to a trailer that has a grid with small holes to sift the olives and remove any small branches and some leaves that may be present.
Next we move on to the mill. Here the first step is to separate the olives from the leaves that have remained.
This is done with a blower that makes the leaves fly away and the olives, being heavier, fall. This process is a little dirtier and for this reason we do it in the reception area outside, in front of the mill.
Then the olives are taken to the mill. There the first step is to pour them into a knife grinder. This grinds everything and turns it into a paste.
This allows us to avoid washing the olives. Washing the olives harms the oil that will be obtained for several reasons: the olive swells with water, the water harms the phenols in the oil, there may be microorganisms that pass through the water to the olives and the oxidation process is accelerated.
It cannot be forgotten that in the autumn, unlike most farmers, we no longer throw chemicals on the tree, in fact, we only throw copper in the spring. Therefore, since the olive appears on the tree, no chemical products are thrown on it. If anyone is afraid that the olives, if not washed, could carry any dirt, they should bear in mind that at the end of the oil extraction process the paste is centrifuged at many revolutions and thus the oil is separated from any impurities that may be present. After harvesting the olives with the vibrator, the olives are passed to a trailer that has a grid with small holes to sift the olives and remove the small branches and some leaves that may be present.
Then we move on to the mill. Here the first step is to separate the olives from any leaves that may be left.
This is done with a blower that makes the leaves fly and the olives, being heavier, fall. This process is a little dirtier and for this reason we do it in the reception area outside, in front of the mill.
Then the olives are taken to the mill. There the first step is to pour them into a knife grinder. This grinds everything and turns it into a paste.
Who we are
Our Oils
First-pressed extra virgin olive oil
and cold-pressed, 100% Arbequina olives.
Who we are
ORGANIC AND BIODYNAMIC EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
SHIPMENTS TO ALL EUROPE
Where are we?
Finca Les Cometes
Our estate is located in the province of Lleida, within the municipality of La Pobla de Cérvoles.
Access to the farm is from the neighboring town of Cervià de les Garrigues (the estate is only 4.4 km from this municipality) via a signposted forest track.
The estate consists of 27 hectares occupying an entire valley, in the middle of nature and far from human interference. Our olive trees are integrated into nature, in the middle of forests. Half of the estate is olive trees and the other half is forest that is interspersed.
The estate is arranged in terraces made with old dry stone walls that adapt to the landscape. Where the valley narrows there are a couple of cliffs. There are also 6 caves or caves spread across the estate, one of them served as a hiding place during the civil war and another was used by farmers and livestock when field work required staying there longer and to protect themselves from storms when the estates were far from the urban center.
Our olive trees are located very far from high-voltage towers and electric windmills. In some areas of the estate, the electromagnetic waves that provide mobile phone coverage do not even reach them. Nature in its purest state, a lot of biodiversity, a large number of birds (from bald eagles to small sparrows), wild boars, foxes, roe deer, all kinds of insects, etc. Another aspect that helps us achieve great biodiversity is the fact that we do not plow among the olive trees, we only cut the plants and grass that grow there from time to time.
Our olive trees are integrated into nature, they are dryland and extensively arranged, each spaced 6 to 8 meters apart. We have nothing intensive or super-intensive. We do not have any irrigation system in place, we are dryland and all this is reflected in the flavor and properties of our oil. Experts certify that a dryland oil has more flavor and properties than an irrigated oil, or than intensive or super-intensive oils where the trees are stressed. We pamper the estate, we only cultivate less than half of the surface, the other half is pure nature. Everywhere we have small groves that give us biodiversity. We do not want an intensive monoculture that wipes out all other forms of life, the goal is not to maximize profits but to maximize quality.
How to get there