How our oil is pressed

How our oil is pressed

Our four lots are pressed in two different ways. Lots 2, 3 and 4 go to a traditional press, where each stage is done on a separate machine; Lot 1 goes to a modern press, where a single machine does the work from start to finish. The traditional-press photographs were taken during the November 2025 harvest; the modern-press photographs were taken at the mill in Hasbaya.

Lots 2, 3 & 4

Traditional press

  1. Leaves out. The leaves and twigs are first separated from the olives, and the olives are washed.
  2. Stone grinding. The olives are ground under stone millstones into a thick paste.
  3. Hydraulic pressing. The paste is spread on round mats, the mats are stacked one on top of another, and a hydraulic press squeezes the stack. Oil and the olives' own water run out together.
  4. Centrifugal separation. A centrifugal separator spins the oil away from the water, and the oil runs straight into the container.
Leaf removal and washing at the mill intake
1 · Leaf removal and washing at the mill intake
The ground olive paste
2 · The ground olive paste
Paste spread on round mats and stacked for pressing
3 · Paste spread on round mats and stacked for pressing
Oil running from the mats under the hydraulic press
3 · Oil running from the mats under the hydraulic press
The centrifugal separator spinning the oil from the water
4 · The centrifugal separator spinning the oil from the water
The separated oil running into the container
4 · The separated oil running into the container

Lot 1

Modern press

In the modern press, at a mill in Hasbaya, one closed line does the work from start to finish, with no mats and no separate press.

  1. Reception. The olives are tipped into a steel hopper and carried up by conveyor.
  2. Leaves out and washing. Leaves and twigs are removed and the olives are washed under water jets.
  3. Crushing. A stainless-steel crusher breaks the olives into a paste.
  4. Malaxation. The paste is stirred slowly in closed steel tanks so the oil droplets gather.
  5. Separation. A horizontal centrifuge, the decanter, spins the oil away from the water and the solids, and the oil runs out into the collecting tank.
Olives arriving in the reception hopper, with the conveyor behind
1 · Olives arriving in the reception hopper, with the conveyor behind
Washed olives coming off the washer
2 · Washed olives coming off the washer
The crusher above the paste line
3 · The crusher above the paste line
The closed malaxation tanks
4 · The closed malaxation tanks
Paste turning under the safety grid of a malaxer
4 · Paste turning under the safety grid of a malaxer
Fresh oil running into the collecting tank
5 · Fresh oil running into the collecting tank

The oil that comes out is then filtered once more, to separate out the fine residue still held in it, before it goes into the container.

Additional filtering of the oil
Additional filtering of the oil
Filtered oil filling a Zaman tin
Filtered oil filling a Zaman tin
Stage Traditional press · Lots 2, 3 & 4 Modern press · Lot 1
Leaves & washing Separated from the olives first All done inside one machine
Grinding Stone millstones
Extraction Paste on mats, hydraulic press
Separation Centrifugal separator, straight to the container
Filtering — Additional filtering of the residue before the container
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