OL
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
At a Glance
Details:
Product:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Producer:
Origin:
Documentation scope:
Cradle to gate
Date of documentation:
October 2018
Production time: 26 days
Seasonality: October to December (harvest period)
Regionality: Tuscany, Italy
Shelf Life: 18 months after bottling
Production Steps
View process→
Step 2: Extraction process
Step 3: Bottling & Transport
Step 4: Label print & labelling
Step 1: Olive harvest
General Information
The harvest of the family owned Santa Maria olive grove in Larciano starts on the 25th of October 2018 – 7.3 km away from the Balduccio olive mill where the olives are further processed to high quality olive oil. For more than 40 years the owners of a small property in Larciano have been harvesting and processing their olives to produce excellent olive oil - for family use only. This year the OL team partnered up with the Santa Maria family and the Balduccio olive mill in order to create an extraordinary extra virgin olive oil - available for everyone.
Details
Workers: Dodaj Bardok (+team),
Timeframe: 3 days
Machines / tools: Olive picking devices (fuel), plastic boxes
Material input: Fuel
Locations: Santa Maria’s olive grove, Balduccio olive mill
Waste: Damaged olives
Timeline
Harvest information
Dodaj Bardhok and his workers are responsible for the olive harvest at the Santa Maria olive grove (Varieties: Frantoio, Lecchino, Moraiola). The olive harvest for the OL production takes three days (25th - 27th of October 2018). Every morning the nets are being spread beneath the olive trees to start the harvesting.
Tools & transport
For the harvest Dodaj Bardhok and his workers use small tools without harming the olives. The harvested olives are stored in small containers below the trees where they are kept before being transported to the Balduccio olive mill later at the same day.
Harvest process
Every morning the harvest starts at sunrise and ends around 17:00. Dodaj Bardhok and his workers take a two hour lunch break between 12:00-14:00. In total, 2,175.5 kg of olives have been harvested by Dodaj and his workers for the production of OL.
Transport
Right after the last olives have been picked for the day, Dodaj and his workers load the transport vehicle (peugot) with the freshly picked olives. The transport from the Santa Maria olive grove to the Balduccio olive mill takes on average 15 minutes. During the transport the olives are protected from light.
Arrival at mill & temporary storage
When arriving at the Balduccio mill the Olives are directly loaded into a bigger container. As soon as the bigger container is fully loaded the freshly harvested Olives are stored in the Balduccio storage hall where the Olives wait to be processed.
Step 2: Extraction process
Extraction
The freshly harvested olives are processed at the same day they have been harvested. The harvested olives for the OL production were processed in a time frame of maximum 12 hrs and 29 minutes to a minimum of 50 minutes after they got picked.
Filtering & temporary storage
The untreated olive oil is filtered for the first time with a panel air filtering machine to maintain high quality for a long time period. Before the olive oil is bottled it is stored in a stainless steel tank protected from contact with oxygen. Within three harvest days 2,175.5 kg of olives have been processed to 292.16 kg filtered olive oil. The total yield of olive oil amounts to 13.43 %.
7 days after the last processing day, the olive oil is filtered again to further reduce the water content in the olive oil. The second filtration is important for preserving a long lasting taste. Right after the 2nd filtration process the double filtered olive oil is stored in the storage hall. Here it will be stored until the olive oil is bottled.
Details
Workers: Adriano März (+team) – extraction & 1st filtering, Andreas März – 2nd filtering
Timeframe: 3 days
Machines / tools: Big plastic storage container, washing & debranching system, shredder, heat exchanger, vertical knead barrels, centrifuge, air panel filtering system, stainless steel tank
Material input: Fuel (transport), water, electricity (facilities and machines)
Locations: Balduccio olive mill
Waste: Extracted olive pulp (meat, stone), dirty water
Timeline
Washing, debranching & shredder
First the olives are unbranched, washed and dried with air blades. Then they are shredded and the resulting olive puree is transported to a heat exchanger which chills the puree to 21 degrees celsius. The temperature is of vital importance for the extraction process and the exceptional quality of the extra virgin olive oil of OL.
Temperature monitoring
Therefore, the temperature is constantly monitored throughout the whole extraction process.
Knead barrels & centrifuge
After passing the heat exchanger the olive puree is transported to vertical knead barrels that are protected from oxygen contact. The puree is prepared for 10 minutes before it is pumped into the centrifuge where the oil is separated from the rest of the olive.
Tasting & temporary storage
The resulting olive oil has to be tasted throughout the process in order to ensure the very best quality. Now the freshly extracted olive oil is stored in a stainless tank waiting to get filtered.
1st Filtering
The extracted olive oil is filtered with a panel air filtering machine. After the filtering process it is stored in a stainless steel tank again.
2nd Filtering
7 days later the olive oil is filtered again to further reduce water content in the oil. By double-filtering the olive oil, the original taste can be preserved for a longer time.
Storage
The double-filtered olive oil is stored in a stainless steel tank until it is bottled.
Step 3: Bottling & Transport
General Information
16 days after the second filtration, finally the bottling process of the double filtered olive oil takes place. The olive oil is bottled into half litre glass bottles via vacuum tubes. In total, 292 liters have been filled into 583 0.5 liter glass bottles (Quadra DOP). Right after the bottling process the bottles are directly shipped to Düsseldorf via DHL freight.
Details
Workers: Andreas März
Timeframe: 1 day
Locations: Balduccio olive mill
Machines / tools: Vacuum bottling machine
Material input: Electricity, glass bottles (0.5 liter – quadra D.O.P.), cap
Step 4: Label print & labelling
Label print
For printing the labels of the OL bottles a small printing company in Düsseldorf (Druckerei Pfeffel) has been chosen. First, the Heidelberg 4-colour printing machines (GTOVP52N) is being set up for printing the OL labels. Then the discussed printing parameters are tested and approved by the OL team. Finally, the labels are printed and stamped on one side of the label (this helps to get the adhesive label off the material).
Cutting
The freshly labels needed to dry properly, so that the labels can be cut without damage. For labelling the bottles, the labels are cut to the right format: 4 cm x 17 cm.
Labelling
The bottles are labeled by hand.
Details
Workers: Tobias Pfeffel (printer), Steffen Thomas (labelling)
Timeframe: 1 day
Locations: Printing (Neuss), Storage facility (Düsseldorf
Machines / tools: Heidelberg 4 colour printing machine (GTOVP52N), Cutting machine
Material input: Electricity, Pantone colours, adhesive labels
Waste: Excess labelling material
