How did I find the people in Portugal to work with?

Polüfenoolid 8211 mis tegelased nad on

When it comes to agriculture, especially olive groves – it’s all about trust!

LaPortu has found its trustful partners through shared VALUES and QUALITY.
#1st loving and respecting the nature as it is
#2nd supporting small producer sustainability
#3rd authenticity

Partners need to meet each other. Every collaboration starts from shaking hands and conversations. After quality check, women tend to use their intuition too, it comes organically and then it’s a done deal.

LaPortu brings high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil from two different regions and producers. Why? Olive oil taste depends mostly from the soil, olive varieties, climate and olive master.

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Firstly, I found through online Marije from Condeixa, near the Coimbra region. It is one of the oldest olive oil producing regions. Conímbriga is one of the largest and best-preserved Roman settlements in Portugal, and the climate is ideal for growing olive trees.

Why the Passeite farm?
First things that gains trust for me, when I hear words like small producer and how they manage the groves. Marije use only year-round climate cycles, animals and plants to fertilize to maintain their groves. The value they live by is respecting nature and preserving it in the least harmful way. Not to mention she is on the international jury of the Olive Oil Competitions. And of course visiting her and seeing the groves, it was clear – her oils will definitely be brought to Estonian people.

The second partner came through Marije as well. Since owning the plots is not the first priority, and mostly the ability to manage them. So apart from the plots in the central Portugal, Marije has partners in the North-Portugal.
It is the Soresa grove, 3 generation family inheritance. Geographically, it is in an exceptional location in the northeastern part of Trás-os-Montes, where the land moves with the transition from a cold to a hotter area. They are also distinguished from other regions by the combination of crops harvested from different altitudes, which gives the olive oil special flavor characteristics. It is a region where the climate and soil favour the growth and development of many different plants.

Since Soresa family owns a larger plot, their land is bigger – they have the privilege to grow olives, almonds and chestnuts. We have luckily different consumers who value different aspects – and which is why I am glad what also sets them apart is that they have the EU organic label certificate, Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), Organic Production Mode Certification (BIO) or the HACCP quality system certificate.

My choice of choosing different partners is a very well aware decision. Quality comes first but also to offer Estonian people different tastes so they can feel the authenticity around them.

Fun fact – not only am obsessed with quality, I really cared about the package – Passeite and Soresa really represent minimalistic but eye-catching bottling – colours and shape.