Stroud Green Olive Oil - end of term report

andy · November 2013

By the way, I was running up and down Parkland Walk today and I've worked out how you can ship all of this out of the door for decent money, in a much easier way than you've been doing so far.<div> </div><div>It'll cost you a pint.</div>

krappyrubsnif · November 2013

Andy, let me clarify this. The KRS olive grove itself is quite small and supplies only a limited quantity of oil (somewhere between 20-30 litres, depends on the year). Even last year, I had to supplement with oil from my immediate neighbours - actually it says this on the bottle. Yes I'll be doing the same this year. But the oil from our neighbours is exactly the same quality as ours and don't worry, the provenance is secure. This is how it works: our few trees in the countryside are surrounded - nay totally overwhelmed - by thousands upon thousands upon thousands of identical trees in little open fields with no fences or gates, stretching hundreds of acres. The whole valley here is one immense sea of olive trees. Every little patch is owned by a different family, and there is no massive food company or agribusiness in this area (unlike in Spain, for example). This is Italy. It's not really a commercial operation - villagers and farmers just come down to the field at picking time with their families, make the oil, and use it themselves or maybe sell it to relatives or friends. All very medieval. Every family cultivates their trees and harvests them in exactly the same traditional way and they don't use any chemicals or advanced agricultural machinery, they all use the same mill, and the oil comes out the same. To source extra oil all I have to do is go to my most trusted and reliable friends and neighbours - at this time of year everybody has a few hundred litres of top quality, new season olive oil lying about in their cellar. I obviously get to taste it first and then I can buy as much as I need at the going price (which can be quite expensive, actually). The demand is so high this year I will probably get an extra 100 litres, on top of an estimated 30 litres of my own including some from last year. I keep the oils separate but I know which fields and which trees the extra oil has come from and it's as authentic as you can get. Actually it's a good system all round since otherwise there's nothing for the locals to do with the oil - the market for oil in Italy has collapsed and the most likely thing to happen to it is it will be bought up by some massive factory in a year's time and dumped into a tank to make cooking oil. Anyway that's why this year I've separated the oil into 'special reserve' (which is the stuff from my own trees), and the rest. The 5 litre tins will indeed be from my neighbours oil. So will the 3 litre tins and 1 litre bottles and I am planning that the smaller bottles will be too unless they are 'special reserve'. Does that help? If anyone feels short changed by this, let me know. (It's one reason for using the label 'Stroud Green Olive Oil' and not the name of my own grove as the name, by the way.)

krappyrubsnif · November 2013

And I'll buy you a pint!

krappyrubsnif · November 2013

The crack olive picking team is now in Italy <a href="http://stroudgreenoliveoil.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/the-countdown-to-o-day-olive-day-begins.html">and I'm blogging our progress</a>. Keep up at the back!

ChangN4N6 · November 2013

Crouch End is SO 1980s

miss annie · November 2013

Crack olives Krappy?

krappyrubsnif · November 2013

I told you - they are very special olives Miss Annie.

krappyrubsnif · November 2013

The 'Stroud Green' olives are almost harvested and the full story is here - with pictures! You may recognise one or two Stroud Green people. <a href="http://stroudgreenoliveoil.blogspot.it/2013/11/first-half-of-olive-harvest-achieved.html">http://stroudgreenoliveoil.blogspot.it/2013/11/first-half-of-olive-harvest-achieved.html ; </a> We've had two really good days of healthy physical activity in the great outdoors, food and drink to die for, really enjoyed each other's company, and had a fine cultural experience. The people here are as friendly as full of life as the people in Stroud Green......but how different it is. This has been a really good olive harvest, we'll have picked three quintali of olives, and we'll be coming back with loads of fresh oil from our own 'Casa della Meridiana' estate, plus a couple of hundred litres from our lovely neighbours. It's been a great few days!

Arkady · November 2013

All of the above is true. Splendid location and excellent company. I've never done so much honest labour in my life, and it seems that I'm rather suited to clamboring around in olive trees weilding a rake and a set of secateurs. It's also demonstrated that I'm a city-shrivelled weakling, and my shoulders hurt quite a lot. What Krappy didn't mention is that we have been pissed for four days on a collection of home-made wines, fortified wines, fermented fruit beverages, and other mysterious liqours that he keeps producing from his cantina.

Idoru · November 2013

[Deleted User] · November 2013

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krappyrubsnif · November 2013

First of all Arkady, thank you for the wholehearted endorsement, all of which is perfectly accurate. I will be coming home with three litres of incredibly powerful, 40% proof, and very tasty home made limoncello, made to an authentic Italian recipe, but it will be under lock and key and not for sale. Sorry. I do not necessarily advise or endorse being pissed while up a tree with secateurs, so I will be preparing the rebuttal for the 'elf and safety. Final harvest tally: we made 46 litres of Extra Virgin oil from our own trees - a bumper crop. Best ever. Some of this is currently in a van on its way to London and will arrive Friday. PLUS I have got a further 50 litres on the van from my neighbour, with a further 75 litres in tins ready to come in December. This town is going to be awash with Extra Virgin. Just a reminder - the special offers (pre-order discount or buy-ten-bottles-get-one-free) END AT MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY after the oil tasting. <a href="http://stroudgreenoliveoil.blogspot.it/p/blog-page.html">Order form here.</a> I will still do free home delivery to the relevant local postcodes on any orders made before Xmas. This Monday's tasting and dinner is full - way overbooked!!! We are thinking of putting on a second one very soon - maybe before Christmas. W atch this space.

krappyrubsnif · November 2013

More shameless self-promotion: <a href="http://www.hamhighbroadway.co.uk/news/spotlight_olive_oil_with_vintage_taste_of_stroud_green_1_3027832">http://www.hamhighbroadway.co.uk/news/spotlight_olive_oil_with_vintage_taste_of_stroud_green_1_3027832</a> ;

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

Very excited, the oil mill we use for Stroud Green Olive Oil in Abruzzo is one of the best in Italy, has been visited and written up in the Guardian travel pages: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/dec/01/abruzzo-italy-autumn-food-agriturismo?post_id=580020289_10153545312730290#_=_

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

Hi all, I have now completely sold out of the of the first batch (65 litres) of Stroud Green Olive Oil ! More is on the way, and the next batch will arrive by van on around December 15th. But IF YOU WOULD LIKE ANY EXTRA-VIRGIN STROUD GREEN OLIVE OIL THIS YEAR, THE BEST THING IS TO ORDER IT BY EMAIL OR ONLINE. That is the only guaranteed way to get it by Christmas. I will carry on doing free home delivery up to Christmas Eve. I'm afraid it is unlikely to go on sale in any of the local shops, as I have totally underestimated demand and won't have enough available. I may do a couple of markets in Ally Pally and Harringayin late December, but only if I have enough left over after the direct home delivery sales. My email address for Internet orders is mike(at)stroudgreenoliveoil.com and I'll shortly be reposting a new blog page to accept direct orders (watch this space). Phew!

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

Final pre-orders being delivered today and tomorrow with the exception of 3 and 5 litre tins - then I'll start afresh with a new order sheet. I'm having trouble sourcing 3 litre tins, so may have to find alternative sizes.

Papa · December 2013

@Krappy I've been remiss in ordering so far, will do so asap. Do the 1 litre bottles still come with a Stroud Green label?

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

Stand by, number one - the web ordering is in some disarray. Yes, the label will be the same.

Papa · December 2013

Shall I send you an email order, or wait? It won't be overly complicated. ie about three bottles. Thanks

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

@Papa L - you can send me an email order direct to mike@stroudgreenoliveoil.com and I'll get it into the system. I can do anything you want EXCEPT 3-litre tins - can't find that size of tin anywhere (except Italy). I'll need a home address with postcode, and a mobile number, to arrange home delivery. It is going to take me a few hours to make all the necessary changes on the blog site and to reset the order form - right now II've not quite worked out whether the 'special offer' prices will be extended up to Dec 15th or not. The original plan was to have special prices up to Nove 25th..... I'll confirm all that when I change the blog.

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

OK guys and gals - a new order form is online for home delivery of Stroud Green Olive Oil in time for Christmas: <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1gxNlqMr6IFXcBYHZb8YuSk2xx8JeU1tGzlZgSSzos2w/viewform"> You can go direct to the order form here</a> (and it's working) <a href="The blog page remains: http://stroudgreenoliveoil.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html">The blog page</a> is the same as before. <div align="center"> </div>

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

I am now COMPLETELY sold out. It means every last drop of the extra virgin olive oil being brought from Abruzzo (getting on for 150 litres) is now either pre-sold or already delivered. In fact, I am in danger of being over-committed. I did the sums this morning and was staggered at how it adds up. Hopefully everybody who has put in an order will get their oil by Christmas, I'll confirm each order individually. From now on the best I can do is start taking orders for January or February. This is just fantastic - totally unexpected. I've obviously completely underestimated demand and could have arranged to bring over double the amount. (There's nothing much I can do about it now, unless someone cares to sponsor me to go out to Abruzzo to fetch more - I'm not willing to bring any in unless I've personally tasted and approved it.) This leaves me with a bit of a dilemma - to continue into the New Year, or not? Will anyone still be interested in olive oil after Christmas?

miss annie · December 2013

Of course they will! Seems to me that folk are buying mostly for themselves than for than for gifts! Pleased for you Krappy, good work!

andy · December 2013

You owe whoever came up with the idea of pre-selling it a pint.

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

@andy - this could get expensive :-)

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

I have discovered that some of last season's olive oil is coming from Italy in a few days. Its November 2012 oil, pretty much the same as this year's, it's been stored in Italy as I couldn't get it back. Olive oil doesn't really go off. If anyone wants any for Christmas I can get it into bottles and deliver it - I'll do it at the discount price. Must order through the website though! (Specify 2012.)

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

I am making the final deliveries of SG Olive Oil before Christmas. It is now unfortunately becoming humungously clear that however I do the sums, and whatever way I pour it, there is never going to be enough SGOO to met every order *in full* before Christmas. There just ain't enough oil. (Even including emergency drawdown of the excellent 2012 vintage.) So therefore I am applying the judgement of Solomon. This is the plan. I've been delivering orders in strict sequence. Everyone who ordered before December 2 has now got their order in full. I think the fairest thing to make sure that everybody else gets at least a taste of excellent farmgate olive oil before Christmas, is that I'll divide the remaining oil equally between the rest. There are about eight people on the list. Each should get a litre bottle (unless they ordered less). It will have to be the 2012 (which is perfectly good). That will completely clear the oil warehouse (in my hall) and at least then everybody will have some for Xmas, even if it's not all they asked for. I'll send everybody concerned an individual email, there's always the option to defer or cancel. And I'm taking orders for January 2014. Thank you for making this barmy enterprise an Extra Virgin success.

Mirandola · December 2013

I'm not back in London until 8 Jan

krappyrubsnif · December 2013

@Mirandola, I am not going to make excuses, your order got lost. So, so sorry. Not your fault, the reason is because you asked long ago over Twitter, and it was never transferred to the Google master list I set up........I've just gone back on Twitter to find it. I've learned from this. One place to take orders. Final. Your order is here if you want it! Please DM me. Anyone else whose order got lost?

ChangN4N6 · December 2013

Ok. Can't you do it the old way by post? It is a nice idea mate but many of us are frustrated by this cock up. The meal at the pizza place was great and look forward to the next one in Jan! Chang

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Stroud Green Olive Oil - end of term report

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