Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Olive oil has been used for more than 4,000 years by the people of the Mediterranean and although several nations have claimed the olive tree as their own, we will never be sure of its exact origin.

Records and artefacts show that it was the Greeks and Egyptians who first cultivated olive trees and traded in olive oil but that it was the Romans, who during the expansion of their Empire introduced olive groves throughout southern Europe and North Africa and produced oil in considerable volume for the first time in history.

Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the importance of olive oil declined and indeed it was not until the end of the nineteenth century and the impact of the Industrial Revolution that large-scale production once more occurred. Very little olive oil was consumed in the U.K. up until the late 1970's but thereafter, its newly discovered health benefits combined with a growing interest in more exotic cuisine, triggered a surge in demand which has been maintained and indeed has accelerated to this day.

We supply olive oil from all over Europe, for delivery in the UK.

Here is some information about the olive oil producing countries we supply from:

Italy

Has more varieties of olives than any other country. Virtually all of her regions cultivate olives and produce olive oil with 70% of it being produced in the southern regions of Apulia and Calabria and a further 10% in Sicily.

Much further north, Tuscany whilst only contributing 3% to the total production figure, it's oil is of such consistently high quality that it actually produces more extra virgin olive oil than any other region!

Spain

The hot and stable summer climate of inland Spain is ideal for producing huge harvests of olives and normally the country is the world's largest producer of olive oil. The southern inland regions of Jaen and Cordoba together account for almost 50% of Spain's total olive oil production. Contributing much less in volume are the northern regions of Lerida and Tarragona but their limited production is renowned for its quality

Greece

The Greeks consume more olive oil per head of population than any other country. They also produce as a percentage of total production more extra virgin olive oil than any other country. Greece is the third largest producer of olive oil in the world with the Peloponnese on the mainland and the islands of Crete and Lesbos being the major regions of production.

Of course Olive Oil is produced in many more countries including France, Australia and the United States. We will be updating this section on a regular basis as we add more countries olive oils to our product range.