Getting in touch with our friends at Yo, Verde was an adventure. No mobile signal, missed or dropped calls… The joke was served on a plate: we knew they were in the middle of harvest, and that the family’s olive groves, Finca Pichilín, are located in the beautiful hills of Úbeda.
However, even though siblings Araceli and José Ramón Blanco have their minds on the harvest in this beautiful countryside, they know exactly what they are talking about when referring to Yo, Verde, the project that extends a family olive-growing tradition spanning four generations.
Yo, Verde: an olive oil with personality
The first thing that stands out in Yo, Verde is its bright green color, thanks to the early harvest, which gives it an intense fruity flavor with notes of freshly cut grass, fig tree, and banana peel, highlighted by green almond. It is a full-bodied, very balanced oil, with medium pungency and bitterness, leaving a harmonious, long-lasting freshness. Although, tasting can vary often because nature is sovereign. They tell us that previous harvests of Yo, Verde had a strong tomato flavor, but the current one almost resembles an arbequina olive!
Without a doubt, it is a bold and balanced oil; medium pungency and bitterness, leaving a long-lasting sensation of freshness, made from picual olives that are still green.
Its mission is to create a healthy product as a lifestyle choice. Hence its name, Yo, Verde. In fact, it is the only olive oil sold in pharmacies for its nutritional and antioxidant qualities.
Meticulous production of Yo, Verde
As we write this, the Yo, Verde oil is decanting. It was harvested 8 days ago, and they tell us it was a night harvest to avoid the high temperatures that can occur during early harvest season. But this is just one aspect of a detailed extraction and bottling process, where every step is carefully measured and controlled.
In a way, this meticulous and almost scientific approach seems directly related to the fact that the oil is distributed in pharmacies.
No, Yo, Verde is not a medicine, Araceli explains. But my brother José Ramón is a pharmacist.
This explains the wide range of olive-oil techniques used to preserve the qualities of Yo, Verde, from traditional methods (reducing the time between harvest, milling, and decanting) to innovations like inerting the oil with nitrogen, along with various analyses of Yo, Verde’s benefits, such as polyphenol measurements.
An extra virgin olive oil focused on health
Yo, Verde, besides having a genuine flavor and bold design, stands out for its antioxidant benefits thanks to its polyphenol content, which helps reduce harmful free radicals.
These characteristics come from the early harvest but also from the picual variety used to make Yo, Verde. Oil from this type of olive is the most resistant to oxidation and maintains its flavor and properties longer. Being 100% picual, Yo, Verde’s properties and oleic acid levels are much more stable.
A new way to spread olive oil culture
After four generations dedicated to olives with the local cooperative, the launch of Yo, Verde in 2015 aimed to produce a higher-quality and more organoleptically rich oil. They opted for cold extraction and early harvest, renting a mill to do so.
Araceli and José Ramón Blanco are part of this initiative to modernize the sector with a more scientific approach, using various analyses to manage their estate. They measure the quality of the bottled product while also closely monitoring the soil and trees to track all parameters affecting the fruit and oil quality.
Speaking with them, we agreed on the importance of continuing to promote olive oil culture. With Yo, Verde, they have chosen to break away from the usual extra virgin olive oil standards, designing a unique bottle and using innovative distribution to bring premium oil to new audiences, surprising those accustomed to traditional brands. But above all, they have prioritized quality over quantity, offering an extra virgin olive oil that will surely impress you.
