Any product produced by Olea Estate is one which is the production of a single estate. To put it plain and simple, the oil is produced on-site from the olives which are grown at Olea Estate in the clean, green environment of New Zealand.

If you ever picked an olive in your hand, there's no time to lose. The olives must be pressed as soon as possible so its peroxide content doesn’t climb too high, affecting its flavour. All our olives are pressed within 24 hours of being picked at the estate itself in The Olive Mill, Olea’s press room.

Once the olives are brought to The Olive Mill, they are weighed and sent through the de-leafer, which removes leaves and twigs, and then the washer, which removes dirt and any heavy particles, leaving the washed olives behind.  The olives are then put through a crusher which turns them into paste. The resulting olive paste containing oil, water and the fruit pulp is run through the malaxation process, which means that it is slowly mixed so oil droplets in the mixture begin to adhere to one another.

When the oil is ready to be extracted, the paste is passed through a centrifuge which separates the oil from the water and dehydrated olive paste (pomace). This oil then flows into a stainless steel vat where food-quality nitrogen is pumped into it to minimise oxidation. This maintains the integrity of our oil.

After this, the oil is left to stand, allowing sediments to settle naturally. Olea’s ‘liquid gold’ is then bottled at the right time for you to enjoy. When you pour any olive oil from Olea Estate fresh from the bottle, you’ll see it still retains a slightly cloudy appearance. This shows that no extra refining takes place. A product as natural and unprocessed as possible is exactly what we are aiming for.

The olives are cold-pressed, meaning that the process takes place at room temperature with no extra chemicals or mechanical tampering. It also certified by Olives New Zealand which consists of meeting specifics chemical and sensory analysis requirements and is based on the International Olive Council (IOC) standards for extra virgin olive oil. These factors are what define Olea’s oil as a New Zealand extra virgin olive oil.