1The ancient Greek poet Homer called olive oil liquid gold,
2and today a little drizzle can still dazzle.
3Like fine wine, premium olive oil can bring a complexity of flavours to the table
4and create a real taste sensation.
5Lovely.
6The roots of the olive tree stretch far into the past.
7For thousands of years, people have harvested its fruit and crushed it with stones to extract the precious oil.
8In those early days, olive oil wasn't just used in food,
9it fuelled lamps and was a medicinal ointment.
10Today's thriving olive groves are living proof that our appetite for olive oil hasn't waned.
11When green olives turn a violet red, they're ripe and ready for harvest.
12Workers shake the olives off the branch with vibrating rakes.
13The olives fall on nets spread beneath the trees.
14The harvested olives are then funneled into the factory.
15They fall down a chute into a large vat of pure water.
16A hose sucks the olives and water into a vibrating bin.
17This separates out leaves and twigs as the water drains away.
18The cleaned olives now bounce merrily on their way towards the crusher.
19A few centuries ago, the crusher was an apparatus powered by a donkey.
20Today though, a motor drives 600 kilogram granite wheels to grind the olives, pits and all, into a paste.
21Once the paste reaches the desired consistency,
22it's over to a computerised system that regulates the temperature of the paste as an auger mixes it.
23The oil is then separated from the paste using this machine.
24Traditional extracting techniques involve spreading the paste on mats
25and then stacking them to press out the oil.
26This system is more high-tech.
27Rows of metal plates dip into the paste and the oil adheres to them.
28A spin in a centrifuge separates the residual paste from the oil.
29The result is virgin olive oil.
30A sample of every batch goes to the testing room,
31where there's a man who has a nose for the job.
32He inhales the olive oil's aroma.
33Like a glass of fine wine, it should have a certain bouquet,
34and it should taste intensely fruity.
35If the oil makes the grade with this tester,
36the entire batch is ready for packaging.
37The packing process is entirely automated,
38ensuring it's all done hygienically.
39A conveyor funnels these tins into a line for filling.
40A mechanised system then feeds the olive oil directly from big tanks into the tins.
41A measuring device controls the amount that goes into each one.
42At the next station, a metal disc is inserted for the bottom of the can.
43The conveyor flips the can so it lands right side up, ready to pack.
44The premium grade oil is bottled.
45Dark glass is used to protect the oil from the sun's ultraviolet light,
46which could cause the olive oil to degrade and lose its intensity.
47After an automated fill-up, the threaded necks on the bottles are then capped.
48Machinery then press fits and screws the caps on for an airtight seal.
49Equipment then glues and applies the labels to the bottles.
50Preserved and protected, this olive oil is now on its way to the shops and ultimately the table.