August 15 Harvest
Fruity & Full-Bodied
Intensely green, unripened fruit. Explosive wild herbs, green tea bitterness, and a robust two-cough peppery throat burn. Peak antioxidant density for daily wellness dosing.
AUGUST EARLY HARVEST · GREEN UNRIPE OLIVES
Early Harvest Craft: Less Oil. More Character.
Early harvest extra virgin olive oil is pressed from young green olives picked by hand in late summer.
Unripe fruit gives much less oil than ripe winter olives — often far less than half the yield.
What you get instead is a more intense oil: higher polyphenols, fresher green character, and a lively herbaceous aroma.
USDA OrganicEU OrganicECOCERTTurkish Organic
THE OLIVE SEASON
What is early harvest olive oil?
Olives start green in summer, turn purple in autumn, and ripen to black in winter.
As the fruit ripens, it holds more oil and less water. At the same time, its natural polyphenols slowly go down.
Many large producers wait until December, when the black olives are soft and heavy and can give much more oil — sometimes around 20–40% of their weight.
Early harvest producers pick in August, while the fruit is still firm and bright green. These young olives give much less oil, often under 10%, but the oil is more intense in flavor and polyphenols.
The simple rule:
Ripe black olives give the farmer more oil.
Young green olives give the bottle more flavor and intensity.
Early harvest is a choice of quality over quantity.
SEASONAL TASTE & AROMA SPECTRUM
Can You Taste the Harvest Date?
Harvest timing directly shapes aroma, bitterness, and finish. Early fruit tastes green and alive; late fruit tastes mild and flat.
September Harvest
Mild & Flavourous
Firm green fruit. Freshly cut grass, tomato vine, and green artichoke with a balanced, clean throat sting. An exceptional all-rounder for salads and warm pasta.
October Harvest
Relish & Smooth
Olives turning veraison (purple-green). Soft apple and almond notes with a delicate peppery finish. Perfect for everyday cooking, seafood, and subtle vinaigrettes.
HARVEST ECONOMICS
Why early harvest needs about 4× more fruit
Young green olives give much less oil than ripe black olives.That is why one bottle of early harvest oil takes far more fruit.
01 · In the fruit
Up to 10× more polyphenols
August green olives can hold far more polyphenols than fully ripe winter fruit.
02 · Early harvest yield
About 10% oil
Young green olives give roughly 10 kg of oil from 100 kg of fruit.
03 · Late harvest yield
About 40% oil
Ripe black olives can give about 40 kg of oil from 100 kg of fruit. That means only about 25 kg of ripe fruit is needed to make 10 kg of oil.
04 · Fruit needed for the same oil
About 4× more olives
To make 10 kg of oil, early harvest uses about 100 kg of green fruit. Late harvest uses about 25 kg of ripe fruit. That is 4 times more fruit for the same amount of oil.
Olives Needed to Press 10 kg of Olive Oil
25 kgLate Harvest
100 kgAugust Harvest
4× More FruitBOTANICAL MATURATION STUDIES
Why Early Harvesting Matters
How ripeness changes the oil’s strength, color, and freshness.
Highest polyphenols
Picked at peak intensity
Young green olives naturally hold more polyphenols than ripe black olives. Picking in August captures that intensity — in our case, up to 840 mg/kg by HPLC analysis.
The green color
Fresh chlorophyll character
Unripe olives are rich in chlorophyll, which gives early harvest oil its bright green color. Kept in dark bottles, this fresh green character helps the oil keep its herbal aroma for longer.
Firm fruit, lower acidity
Better structure, cleaner oil
Firm green olives hold together better during careful handpicking. When the fruit is not bruised or broken before pressing, fewer free fatty acids form, which is why our acidity stays at ≤0.2%.
THE 120-MINUTE HARVEST PROTOCOL
From the Tree to the Cold Press in 120 Minutes
Early harvest fruit is delicate. Once detached from the branch, young olives must be milled immediately before summer warmth triggers oxidation.
Handpicked at Dawn: Pickers select only firm green fruit in breathable, shallow crates to avoid crushing.
Rapid 2-Hour Window: Transported directly to our on-site boutique mill within 120 minutes of harvest.
Sub-22°C Single Extraction: Cold-pressed once under 22°C (71.6°F) under nitrogen blanket to preserve volatile herbaceous aromas.
Zero storage fermentation. Zero heat damage. 100% estate traceability.
Pure Craft & Bottle Protection
Extracted Within 2 Hours
Olives go from grove to extraction within 2 hours, helping preserve their natural freshness, aroma, and polyphenols.
UV-Protective Dark Glass
Dark glass helps protect the oil from light, preserving its freshness, flavor, and quality over time.
Ultra-Low Acidity
Free acidity of ≤0.2% reflects exceptional olive quality and careful handling from harvest to extraction.
Organic Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Fruity & Full-Bodied
840
Polyphenols (mg/kg)
Acidity ≤0.2%
Organic Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Mild & Flavorous
620
Polyphenols (mg/kg)
Acidity ≤0.3%
Organic Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Relish & Smooth
440
Polyphenols (mg/kg)
Acidity ≤0.5%
LIMITED ANNUAL PRODUCTION
Experience the Freshness of the August Harvest
Because green olives yield less than 10% oil, our August harvest produces a strictly limited annual batch. Each bottle is numbered, lab-certified, and sealed in UV-protective dark glass.
HARVEST CLASSIFICATION NOTE (IOC & EU AGRICULTURAL STANDARDS)
Early Harvest' (Olio Novello / Cosecha Temprana) designates olive oil extracted exclusively from unripe green fruit harvested at the onset of the seasonal maturation cycle. All Juicy Olive Reserve oils are 100% single-estate grown, extracted mechanically under 22°C, and certified organic under EU and USDA standards. Polyphenol levels are certified by third-party HPLC laboratory titration.
Common Questions
Simple & Direct FAQ
Early harvest olive oil (also known as Olio Novello or Cosecha Temprana) is extra virgin olive oil pressed from unripe green olives picked at the very beginning of the harvest season (typically August to October). It is prized for its high polyphenol antioxidant content, vibrant green color, and intense grassy, peppery flavor.
Early harvest olive oil is more expensive because green olives contain significantly less extractable oil (around 10% yield) compared to ripe black olives (up to 40% yield). It requires up to 4 times more olives by weight to produce a single bottle, combined with labor-intensive hand harvesting and rapid cold milling.
Yes. Botanical studies show that olive fruit polyphenol concentrations peak during the unripe green stage and decline as the fruit matures. Early harvest green olives pressed under 22°C within two hours can contain 500 to 840+ mg/kg of HPLC polyphenols, compared to 100–250 mg/kg in late-harvest mature oils.
Early harvest olive oil features a bold, herbaceous, and lively sensory profile with tasting notes of fresh-cut green grass, raw artichoke, green tomato vine, and green almonds. It is characterized by pleasant culinary bitterness and a pronounced peppery throat catch caused by the antioxidant Oleocanthal.
Green olive oil is pressed from young, unripe fruit harvested early in the season, yielding a robust, high-polyphenol oil with emerald color and peppery notes. Black olive oil comes from fully ripened fruit harvested in winter, yielding a higher volume of golden, mild, buttery oil with substantially lower polyphenol counts.
Early harvest olive oil is best enjoyed raw as a finishing oil to preserve its delicate bioactive polyphenols and volatile aromas. Drizzle it over warm soups, grilled vegetables, sourdough bread, fresh salads, legumes, and steaks, or take 1–2 tablespoons daily as a dietary wellness ritual.
Because of its high polyphenol density and low free fatty acid levels (≤0.2% FFA), early harvest olive oil possesses exceptional natural oxidation resistance. Unopened bottles stored in dark UV-protective glass at 14–18°C stay fresh for 18–24 months; once opened, consume within 60–90 days for peak flavor.
True artisanal early harvest olive oil is always single cold-pressed or cold-extracted under 22°C (71.6°F) without chemical solvents. Cold extraction prevents thermal degradation of fragile biophenols and ensures that natural aromatic terpenes and chlorophyll remain intact.