The Aegean Center Olive Harvest

John getting to every last olive

Thriving in the Aegean Center courtyard is an olive tree of remarkable size. Watered by a natural, underground spring, this tree is capable of producing quite a large olive crop. With olive picking season upon us, we recently made a day of raking out the olives from every last branch and collecting them in a large sack. It was quite a few days, however, before we were able to take our harvest, which weighed in at almost 20 kilos, to Iakovo’s Olive Press, and as a result, it was lost to mold – a lesson sadly learned. Fortunately, on the day of our visit, Iakovo was pressing a local farmer’s olives, so we were still able to witness firsthand a centuries old process.

The Aegean Center Olive Picking Squad

At Iakovo's Olive Press

Spanning the length of the machine

Iakovo with the finished product

Walking home

Thanks to Nadya Keating, Amber Thompson, and Aimee Palladino for the photos.