It was a simple thing – something people have done for centuries – but you won’t believe how excited we were plucking our first ever crop of olives from our tree.

I felt part somehow part of a timeless tradition – connected through time and space. Olives, the tree of life, symbolising peace and prosperity, have been part of human culture for more than 5000 years.

I cannot wait to experiment with processing them and to eventually taste them. Being the first time I have done this, I am currently researching simple home-style methods of processing a small batch.

I’m also keen to learn how to make olive leaf extract, and when we get more olives I’d like to try making olive oil.

Any good suggestions for how to simply process these for table ?