They were picked in July when they began to wrinkle.  They are then graded and washed. All olives with any blemishes are taken out (bird pecks, bruises, etc).  Also any small olives are taken out at this stage.

The olives are then put in Certified organic sea salt, kilo for kilo, and monitored for 4 months.  Over this time the bitterness is leached out of the olives by the salt.  Then the olives are given a final grade, washed and packed into 1kg bags, ready to eat.