My Encounter with Olive Oil
The Story of My “Turning Point”
Information on Olive Groves That Was Hard to Come By
I had never considered importing olive oil.
Importing was difficult, and managing it afterward would be even harder. I couldn’t imagine selling it, and besides, it all seemed like too much trouble...
However,
as I received more and more work as an olive oil planner,
I began to feel strongly that in order to share the fascinating and profound world of olive oil with everyone in a clear and accurate way,
I not only needed oils I could be confident in, but also wanted to speak about them with a deep understanding of their stories.
At the time, even when I asked oil suppliers for information about the groves, they were surprisingly uninformed in some cases,
and many of the people in charge of importing oil had never visited the groves.
Many also did not know olive oil tasting techniques.
Olive oil is made by people.
Many of them have lived in the same place for generations, running olive groves as a family business,
and hold the history of the grove alongside their family history.
The hardships unique to their land, stories of stubborn grandfathers, tales of reforming the grove after taking it over, traditional production methods, the olive tree planted when their daughter was born... They have so many stories to tell.
I wanted to share those wonderful stories.
I wanted people to feel as though they had gone to the grove with me.
But back then, there was so little information... It always left me feeling disappointed.
I wanted to do work I could be proud of.
I wanted to hold seminars where people who had never been to a grove could listen to my stories and enjoy imagining them.
So, reluctantly, I began importing small quantities.
The Beginning of My Olive Grove Tours
I searched thoroughly for groves to work with. At first, I was truly groping in the dark.
Not knowing how to find groves, I traveled here and there based on the information I could find...
There are many oils that can only be appreciated by visiting them in person. I wanted to discover hidden, exceptional oils.
Olive trees have the vitality to live for thousands of years.
Because they are so powerful, I believed they surely had something to tell me...
So, letting go of my preconceptions, I traveled to many groves as I felt led, stood in olive fields on my own two feet, and spent time slowly with the producers.
During that time, I tried an oil from a particular grove I had encountered in Italy for three years straight.
It was truly delicious every year.
Because olive cultivation is at the mercy of the weather, the flavor varies from year to year like wine, but it was delicious every single year.
The producer of that oil was a man who looked like Santa Claus with a large belly.
He was surprisingly taciturn for an Italian!
Before I knew it, I had fallen in love with the oil he produced, and I decided to import it.
The first grove I imported from was Le Tre Colonne, located in Puglia, the heel of southern Italy.
I never expected our relationship to last this long, but I learned so much from them, and working with them drew me even deeper into the world of olive oil.
Although I had reluctantly started importing for my own sake,
far more people than I had anticipated came to like the oil, and though I was surprised, I gradually began selling it.
A Promise to the Farmers: “Why Our Oil?”
It was a big decision for me! When I made up my mind to import and told the farmers,
he didn’t change his expression.
I had expected him to be overjoyed that I was importing his oil for my first transaction with Japan,
so his reaction was unexpected.
Then he began to ask me questions.
“Why our oil?”
When I answered, he would ask again and again.
As I spoke with them, I realized something important.
It wasn’t enough for them to sell oil and make money.
They were looking for someone who would handle their brand and quality without compromising them.
They cared deeply about how the oil they had carefully produced would be treated in a distant country.
I see.
I realized that importing meant entrusting myself with not only the oil, but also their pride and integrity,
and that it was a job that required me to protect the quality of the oil at the same time.
The importer they were looking for was not someone who would pay them money,
but someone who would never give up on understanding them and their oil.
What pride!
I slowly shared my feelings about olive oil over and over again,
and what I had felt after drinking his oil for three years.
Finally, at the very end, he smiled quietly and said, “I want to entrust it to Hiromi.”
And so, I began the import I had sworn I would never touch.
By then, I was so excited and thrilled.
My Feelings for Those Who Want to Work with Olive Oil
I have long held a feeling in my heart.
When I was trying to decide whether to work with olive oil,
my struggle was that information about olive oil was so difficult to come by.
It would be easiest to work with oil I had imported myself,
but importing involves significant risk, and it is not something anyone can do lightly.
So, for anyone who uses the oils I handle to conduct sales or seminars, I will provide as much information as possible.
I feel that everyone will be happier if they can work with confidence and enjoyment, while also enjoying buying the oil.
I realized that because I know the groves I work with better than anyone in Japan, there is something I can do.
Thinking back to when I first started importing not because I wanted to sell, but simply because I wanted to, these feelings come to mind.
Since ancient times, the olive has been a symbol of peace that connects people.
I hope many people can enjoy connecting with one another.
About BIO Oils
As I encountered various olive oils, I became interested in BIO oils—that is, pesticide-free oils.
There are quite a few pesticide-free oils.
However,
the quality of the oil produced by a grove that uses no pesticides because it does nothing to cultivate the trees
is vastly different from that of a grove that cares for its olive trees using pesticide-free cultivation methods.
Pesticide-free cultivation requires a tremendous amount of effort.
Sometimes, unfavorable weather conditions may persist, making it unsuitable for olive cultivation.
Olives are plants. In an unsuitable environment, they can fall ill, attract pests, and sometimes even die.
Nature is not something to control, but something to coexist with.
BIO cultivation cannot be done without the deep love and passion of the producer.
As I met many BIO producers, I discovered that
quality-conscious food professionals from various industries surrounded them.
As I met them, I learned about the difficulty and importance of pesticide-free cultivation.
There are many wonderful oils that are not pesticide-free.
But oils that maintain a high quality despite the greater difficulty of pesticide-free cultivation are also truly wonderful.
For my own growth, I want to work with producers who have even higher ideals.
And I want many people to experience the deliciousness and peace of mind that come from high-quality pesticide-free oils.
Along with the stories of the land and groves they love.
Insisting on Air Freight
Almost all the oils I handle are air-freighted directly from groves in Italy and Turkey.
There are three ways to transport oil to Japan.
- Shipping by sea in a non-temperature-controlled container. This is the least expensive method.
- Shipping by sea in a temperature-controlled container (reefer).
- Shipping by air. This is the most expensive method.
By sea, it can take up to two months to arrive in Japan.
By air, it arrives in one day.
Because olive oil is an oil, it does not grow mold or spoil.
However, even if it is not visible, it slowly deteriorates once it is bottled. It is a natural process—degradation over time.
To maintain the highest possible quality and deliver it to you as quickly as possible from the groves of Italy, I insist on air freight.
Storage
The main causes of oil oxidation (deterioration) are light, heat, and air.
Even if imported by air, poor storage methods can accelerate the deterioration of the oil, so we store the oil ourselves in a dark place away from light, at 10–20°C.
Because I want to deliver the same flavor you would experience at the grove to you, I do my best to store it in the best possible conditions.
Hiromi Nakamura
In 2004, I thought, “What if I could make Italian food as a hobby...?”
That lighthearted feeling led me to study cooking in Italy, and after returning to Japan, I began holding cooking classes on weekends while working as an office worker.
At first, having little knowledge about oils,
I thought olive oil was just
an oil used in Italian cooking.
As the number of students in my hobby cooking classes gradually increased and I began holding more lessons, I realized that changing the olive oil changed the flavor of the food, and I began to wonder.
Olive oil—an oil that changes the flavor of food??
My interest in olive oil grew, and in 2009, I took a course to obtain an olive oil certification at AISO in Italy.
I was amazed by the depth of olive oil and surprised by the wide range of work involved in the olive industry.
I wanted to know more!
After that, I repeatedly took similar courses with several different organizations.
During my fifth or sixth course, an Italian instructor asked me,
“How many times have you taken this? I keep seeing you. Why do you take it so many times?”
There were several reasons, but when I answered, “I just can’t stop my passion♪,” he invited me to try working in the olive oil industry.
Since then, I have also become involved in international olive oil competitions.
I still tour olive groves, but I have become able to view olives and olive oil from multiple perspectives, and I have more to talk about.
Olive oil is becoming more established in Japan as well.
I want to continue sharing delicious oils and accurate knowledge with many people, along with the stories of the oils and the producers.
Thank you for your support.
Hiromi Nakamura