How many trees does it take to make one bottle of extra virgin olive oil? Please keep reading to find out. ... We've just begun harvesting our olives. And we've just wrapped up our annual Harvest Retreat.  We give chefs, big customers, and culinary partners a  tour of how we harvest and crush olives into EVOO at our groves and mill in Artois, in northern California.On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings a big group of us climbed on a bus and drove about 100 miles north on the interstate, to Artois (don’t blink or you’ll miss it). People chatted and got to know each other during the ride. I also talked about our olives, our mill, and other ins and outs of the business.One more thing: I gave an olive oil trivia quiz. I thought it would be good to share it with you. Sorry, there’s no prize. But we hope you learn something new about our company and the olive oil business.1. How many trees does it take to make 1 bottle (500 ml) of California Olive Ranch extra virgin olive oil?

• Two of our “semi-dwarf” 9-foot trees.

2. How much olive oil does the average American consume a year a year?

• Less than 1 liter.

3. How much olive oil does the average Spaniard consume each year?

• 26+ liters

4. What countries are the largest consumers of olive oil?

1. Italy – 25%
2. Spain – 21%
3. United States – 9%

5. What countries are the largest importers of olive oil?

1. U.S. – 45%Italy – 14%Brazil – 7%Japan/Australia – 5%

6. What countries are the largest producers of olive oil?

1. Spain – 39%
2. Italy – 20%
3. Greece – 11%
4. Tunisia – 6%
5. Syria – 5%
6. Turkey – 5%

• *U.S. – less than 1%, at 0.9%

7. What three olive varietals does California Olive Ranch grow?

• Arbosana (Spanish varietal), Arbequina (Spanish varietal – most of our crop), and Koroneiki (Greek varietal)

8. What are the four categories of olive oil? (The oils are ranked by quality, starting from the best.)

1. Extra virgin
2. Virgin
3. Pure Olive Oil
4. Olive Pomace Oil

9. Why do olives differ in color?

• Different olive varietals have different colors, and color varies by the olive’s stage of ripeness.

10. What color do olives turn when they’re ripe?

• Dark Purple

11. How many linear feet of drip line hose do we use on all California Olive Ranch ranches?

• 13,400,000 linear feet. We use 100% drip irrigation. It cuts water use and reduces wasteful evaporation. We use less than half of water per acre required by other orchard crops – i.e., we plan for 2 acre feet of water a year vs. 4 acre feet of water for almonds.

Bon appétit,Claude S. WeillerVice President of Sales & MarketingCalifornia Olive Ranch