Organic Olive Oil

The farm at Hamatoura, on the slopes of the Qadisha Valley, is situated on land where the weather ranges from blazing hot, cloudless summer skies, to thick winter snow for 2 months of the year. The air is clean, coming straight off the Meditteranean during the day, and at night, coming down from Mount Lebanon.

Despite the farm being on top of a mountain, the height above sea level is just not enough to be above the level at which the fruit fly is still a pest. As the monastery is officially registered as an organic farm, by the IMC (Istituto Meditteraneo di Certificazione), pheromone traps are deployed throughout the olive groves to catch the fly, in place of pesticides. Other pests are controlled by their own natural predators such as snakes, which thrive in the organic environment here. Horses and donkeys that are used to work the land, also graze on the same land. Their manure is ploughed back into the land, providing the most natural way of nutrient re-enrichment. Any visitor to the olive groves will be struck by the diversity and number of wild flowers growing between the trees, reflecting the health of the soil land beneath.

Two types of olive are grown and harvested, Tyr and Ayrouni, and it is the blending of these varieties that produce the distinctive flavour of Qadisha Valley Olive Oil. The oil is harvested early, late September/early October, providing a greater concentration of flavour in the oil (and also helping to avoid the first rain!).

The harvest is done by hand, and many local villagers are employed to help out. Harvesting and milling is completedthe same day in a local, state of the art, co-operative mill. Reducing the time between harvesting and milling is a very important way of reducing oxidation of the oil, the result being a fresh-tasting, long-lasting oil.

The resulting oil is left to settle in tanks for a few weeks, in a strict temperature-controlled environment, after which the bottles are filled by hand. Special dark glass bottles have been chosen to contain the oil, with the dark glass protecting the oil from the oxidising effect of light. This is another method by which the freshness of Qadisha Valley olive oil is maintained for as long as possible.

Every part of the growing, harvesting, milling, bottling and export/import of Qadisha Valley Olive Oil takes place under strict monitoring by both the Istituto Mediterraneo di Certificazione (based in Italy), and Organic Farmers and Growers, (in the UK) to confirm that the highest organic standards and practices are followed.

Rose Ash Foods Ltd. is a UK company that was set up to exclusively import Qadisha Valley olive oil into the UK and the EU. Rose Ash Foods Ltd. is monitored as an organic importer by Organic Farmers and Growers.