Manual harvesting is time consuming and labour intensive, but more gentle to the tree, its fruit and its surroundings. Mechanical picking is widely used in mass produced oils.
There are several methods of harvesting the olives. Whatever the method, the olives have to be kept undamaged and transported to the press as soon as possible for immediate pressing. The process of picking damages the olives and their skin may be broken or bruised while handling. This affects the taste and the quality of the final product.
Manual harvesting is time consuming and labour intensive, but more gentle to the tree, its fruit and its surroundings. Mechanical picking is widely used in mass produced oils. This involves harvesting machines, that vacuum the olives or shakers that shake the trunk of the tree and other branches. This is not very respectable for the tree or the olives but it is inevitable in large mechanised plantations. We have always used hand harvesting to pick our olives because we love and respect the trees and we want to ensure their health for the future. Our olives are transported to the press within a few hours after picking.
