Early harvest: the oil from the first olives of the season
Why the first oil of the season runs so green, what makes it different and why there is so little of it.
Cooperative olive mill in Espejo, Córdoba
Olive oil from 89 families in Espejo
We press our members' Arbequina, Picual and Picuda olives two kilometres from the village and bottle the oil right here.
Seventeen growers founded the mill in 2000. Today we are 89 members, and every season we press around 6 million kilos of olives.
Three olives from the Córdoba countryside
Our members farm around Espejo, Castro del Río and Córdoba. At reception each variety goes into its own hopper.
Picual
Intense, green, peppery
Clear bitterness and pepper, notes of leaf and tomato vine. Andalusia's most planted olive.
Arbequina
Mild and fruity
Hints of apple and almond, very little bitterness. For those who like a gentle oil.
Picuda
Sweet and balanced
Also known as Carrasqueño de Córdoba. Gentle fruit and an almond finish, very much from our land.
Every season around 6 million kilos of olives arrive from the groves of Espejo, Castro del Río and Córdoba.
From weighbridge to bottle
This is how the olives travel through our mill at the height of the harvest. The whole process is mechanical: extra virgin oil is olive juice with nothing added.
Reception
We weigh every trailer and unload it into one of four hoppers, keeping varieties and qualities apart.
Cleaning
Two lines remove leaves, twigs, soil and stones before milling.
Milling
Two milling lines crush the whole olives and slowly stir the paste.
Separation
The centrifuge separates the oil by weight. Up to 160,000 kilos of olives every 24 hours.
Cellar
The oil rests in stainless steel tanks holding up to one million kilos.
Bottling
We fill the glass and PET bottles and the tins right here.
Swipe to see all six steps.
Early harvest
Every autumn we press the first, still-green olives separately. The oil comes out deep green, smelling of fresh grass, with a touch of pepper. There is little of it and it sells out fast.
In glass, in a jug or in a tin
We sell by the case, straight from the mill. Shipping within mainland Spain.
What's left goes back to the groves
With EU funding we built a composting plant. Each season's leftovers become fertiliser for our members' olive trees. The goal is zero waste.
News from the mill
Arbequina, Picual and Picuda: the three olives that reach our mill
Three varieties, three characters. What each one brings to the oil made in Espejo.
A harvest day at the mill
From weighbridge to cellar: what happens to the olives in the hours after they arrive.
Visit the mill
We are two kilometres from Espejo on the road to Nueva Carteya. You can buy oil directly at the mill. Call before you come and we'll tell you the opening hours.
AddressCtra. de Nueva Carteya, km 2
14830 Espejo (Córdoba)
14830 Espejo (Córdoba)
Phone957 33 20 00