Visiting a Modern Olive Mill

Published 2nd of December, 2021

In this article we take a look at how the olives growing in the tree in your back garden can be turned into olive oil. So come with us as we take a trip to a modern olive mill.

Getting Ready To Harvest

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This article has been kindly provided by one of our Facebook Group members. So allow me to hand over to Achilleas Georgiou, General Manager of Security Absolute Services.


October to March is the time when the olive mills are open in Cyprus and where everyone that has olive trees will take their olives to be pressed into oil.

People pick the olives when they are green to make into “takistes” olives – you have probably seen them on the table at a Cypriot taverna – they are the ones with lemon, garlic, crushed coriander and olive oil on them or when they are fully black to be salted and made into olives that are eaten with meals.

The rest are normally left to go mainly black (this is when they have the most oil) and this can be between November and March depending on the olive variety.

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If you have a lot of trees then you might hire (or have) machines that will help you pick the olives.

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But most people will use their hands or a large “comb” to pull the olives from the tree onto the nets you have laid out below the tree.

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The olives are then taken to the mill normally within a couple of days of picking so that they do not start to turn bitter (as they are off the tree).

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The olives are weighed – some people bring just a few from one tree.

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