For an early harvest, the olives are picked while they are still green or just starting to change colour. They contain less oil but more polyphenols. The result is a green, grassy oil with pronounced bitterness and pepperiness.
An early harvest needs considerably more olives per litre of oil than ripe fruit. Olives harvested later give milder, rounder oils. Each producer decides on the right moment according to the variety and the taste they are after.
