Our Process
Our Process
Our process takes patience and effort, but the reward is worth it:
An extra virgin olive oil that will not only change your life for the better, but the life of a community and its people.
The Truth?
Producing any extra virgin olive oil is easy: take olives in any condition, at any time, to any mill, and you will get olive oil, and sometimes even an extra virgin.
But crafting an impeccable extra virgin olive oil is an intricate and delicate process, with countless variables that could falter — it requires expertise, science, intuition, and the harmony of Mother Nature.
Every bottle of our extra virgin olive oil transcends geographical boundaries and tells the story of a grove reborn
Crafted with Purpose & Intention
Abandoned Grove
|
Supermarket Brands
|
Boutique Brands
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin |
Grove Specific
|
Single or Multi-Country
|
Single Country
|
| Extra Virgin |
Always
|
Rarely
|
Usually
|
| Regenerative Farming |
Always
|
Never
|
Sometimes
|
| Quality & Health |
Highest
|
Lowest
|
Medium
|
| Fair & Equitable |
Always
|
Rarely
|
Sometimes
|
| Origin |
Single grove
|
Multi-country blend
|
Single country
|
| Handled with Care |
Always
|
Never
|
Rarely
|
×
Micro-regional and grove-specific
×
Sometimes single country origin, but usually multi region blend and often from multiple countries.
×
Single country origin, sometimes single region but often a regional blend.
×
Always, zero sensory defects and chemical parameters that far exceed the requirements
×
Rarely, often blends different year oil and quality degrades over time
×
Usually, but depends how long it took to get here, where it was bottled and how long sits on a shelf.
×
Regenerative and sustainable farming practices, nothing enters our groves and only olives leave them
×
Large-scale hyper intensive industrial practices. If and when sustainability is claimed it is just a small % of operations.
×
Sometimes, but more often than not mixed practices to satisfy demand and price point.
×
Expertly crafted to balance high MUFA and phenolic content with a sensory profile that reflects nature and the season.
×
MUFA content, with little to no phenolic compounds and rarely balanced, often bland - no hint of nature
×
MUFA and usually with phenolic content, often not balanced and inconsistent across times of the year and always a function of cost.
×
Directly support small farmers and local communities, paying well above market rates and collaborating to uplift and sustain them.
×
Often claimed but not delivered
×
Rarely, commerce is the priority.
×
Bottled at source under Nitrogen with temperature-controlled transport, optimized to preserve peak quality. We continually seek more sustainable packaging and transport methods that protect both the environment and the integrity of the extra virgin oil, just as nature intended.
×
No control over transport, standard shipping with a mass production focus
×
Often outsourced to the lowest bidder, sometimes bottled at source with limited control over quality.
Step-by-Step
Explore our detailed process for producing exceptional extra virgin olive oil
ONE
Abandoned Grove's extra virgin olive oil
begins with profound knowledge and dedication to caring for the grove and its trees throughout the year, a commitment that extends to ensuring the healthy growth of each olive.
TWO
The Art and Science
of timely harvesting is precisely executed, ensuring the trees and olives remain unharmed. This process begins by envisioning the profile of our soon-to-be-extracted oil, selectively picking the healthiest olives at the grove-subsection level when they reach the cultivar-specific perfect state of maturation.
THREE
Within a few hours of harvest
our master millers and world-renowned olive oil tasters take over, skillfully extracting the oil in a modern mill. They taste, calibrate, and recalibrate in pursuit of the envisioned sensory profile. Each drop is immediately filtered and stored in temperature-controlled, oxygen-free fusti for further testing and tasting.
FOUR
After rigorous in-house quality checks
we ensure unbiased results by having the oil evaluated by world-renowned professional tasters along with independent certified chemical laboratories and sensory panels.
FIVE
Production for each lot respects the natural yield of the tree
and is limited to the grove's tree count. To preserve the artisanship, quality, and integrity of our oil, we do not purchase olives from outside sources or blend in any external oil to increase production volumes.
SIX
The oil is bottled oxygen-free at the source,
under the strict supervision of the Abandoned Grove team, then shipped immediately to maintain peak benefits and the unique seasonal characteristics of exceptional, extra virgin olive oil.
This work is equal parts passion, patience, and trust in the process and in the idea that nature knows best.
It may not be the easiest way to do business, but to us, it’s just good taste.
"A great olive oil has the ability to change your life, the one of a community and the planet."
~ Fil Bucchino, Founder & Awarded Olive Oil Expert