Why This Oil
What you are buying — and why it matters.
The olive trees growing in the northern provinces of Iran — Gilan, Rudbar, and the Tarom Valley — sit at an altitude and climate that produces olives with distinctly low acidity and high polyphenol content. The combination of cool winters, warm summers, and mineral-rich volcanic soil creates conditions as exceptional as any in Tuscany or Andalusia.
Every olive in this bottle was picked by hand during a ten-day window in early November, at the precise moment of transition from green to purple. Early-harvest olives yield less oil per tree and more polyphenols, lower acidity, and a more vivid flavour. We accept the smaller yield.
Cold-pressing within 24 hours of harvest is meaningful only when literally true. Our pressing facility operates within the Rudbar region. The oil in this bottle was extracted within that window. The acidity figure on the label — 0.6% — is the measurable evidence of that commitment.
Freshly pressed Yeshilay oil has a distinctive green-gold colour — slightly hazy in the first weeks, settling to a clear amber-green. On the palate: fresh grass and green apple at the front, clean bitterness in the middle, a warm peppery finish that lingers. The pepper is the signature of high polyphenols and a genuine first press.