Growing & Harvesting Olives

Blossom  appears on the olive  trees during the Spring, with the olives becoming fleshier and forming a hard stone in the centre in the Summer.

After ripening, harvesting  begins in the  Autumn months, with the precise time varying according to the type of olive required.  In Greece olives are still harvested without the use of intensive machinery, this ensures the fruit isn’t damaged and that birds and other wildlife are not harmed during harvesting. It’s more labour intensive but well worth it.

• Green Olives: Harvested at the “unripe” stage around September, these olives are firm in texture, crunchy when bitten into with their flesh firmly attached to the stone. Green olives vary in colour from leafy-green to straw-yellow.

• Blond Olives: These olives are harvested in September/October when semi-ripe, during the “turning” stage from green to black. Colours can be anything from light green-yellow to shades of light brown. These olives are firm but will not have the same bitterness as green olives.

• Natural Black Olives: Natural black olives vary in colour from light brown through to deep chestnut, the skin is still fairly firm but the flesh will be much softer and more loosely attached to the stone than that of green olives. These olives are harvested at the “ripe” stage.

• Kalamata Olives: With their rich fruity flavour, meaty texture and distinctive almond shape it is easy to see why the Kalamata is considered the “queen” of all Greek olives. These olives should be plump with glossy skin and show a slight variation in colour from deep chestnut through to dark purple. Like natural black olives, Kalamata olives are harvested when ripe.