Gustav Heess works together with a cooperative in the hills of Sierra Morena, which cultivates on an area of 8000 hectares. This area is situated on a slope and includes many different species of trees and shrubs. Many of the trees are already over 200 years old.

The quality of the fruits depends very much on the cultivation of the olive grove. In our organic cultivation, which is located on a slope, there are problems of erosion. Therefore, our cooperative focuses on sustainability and on making sustainable development the main pillar of the production system. Erosion is counteracted by the biodiversity of the olive grove, as there is a rich variety of trees and bushes. But this diversity itself is not enough. Therefore, the cooperative grows herbs and grasses in the grove. These slow down the flow of water on the slope and thus avoid the considerable runoff and the associated loss of fertile soil. The roots of the herbs and grasses protect the fertile uppermost soil layer. On the other hand, the grasses and herbs extract valuable water from the olive trees. Therefore, the size and spread of the herbs and grasses must be kept to a certain extent. For this purpose, the cooperative let animals graze on the olive grove. The grazing of the olive groves has two main aspects. From an agricultural point of view, to reduce the competition for water between herbs and grasses and the olive tree, and from an animal husbandry point of view, to use the energy from the herbs and grasses for the animals and reduce the need for animal feed.

For our pharmaceutical olive oil we use almost exclusively olives of the Picual variety. The oil obtained from these olives is ideal for use in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Due to its high polyphenol content, this oil is particularly stable.

After the harvest the olives have to be brought to the oil mill as soon as possible, because they have to be processed in the oil mill within 24 hours after the harvest in order not to spoil. Once the olives arrive at the oil mill, the leaves are removed, and the olives are washed. After a further quality control, the olives arrive at the oil mill via a conveyor system. There a roller crushes the fruit into a pulp. The mash is kneaded in the Malaxer so that the fine oil droplets in the fruit flesh combine to form larger drops. The oil is then separated from the fruit water and the solid components by a centrifuge.

After pressing the olive oil is safely protected from light and stored under nitrogen. All production steps and analyses comply with the requirements of the Pharmacopoeia Europaea (Ph. Eur.). This enables us to guarantee the high quality of our extra virgin olive oil organic Ph. Eur. over a long period of time.