THE GAY FARMERS STORY

The idea for The Gay Farmer came in the beginning of 2008 after doing my first olive harvest on my mother’s small farm in Moratalla, north west Murcia in Spain.

The oil from our harvest tasted wonderful and the idea came to import to the UK and sell to local delis, wholefood and grocery stores. The word spread amongst my friends and, being a gay man, they teased me with, “so what are you now then dear “The Gay Farmer?” The Gay Farmer was born!

After 7 harvests with the local Mill and an ever-increasing knowledge of Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, I made the decision, on my birthday, in February 2019 whilst at our farm to switch Olive Mills to one of the finest and oldest family run Organic mills in the country. After 6 generations at Cortijo El Tobazo, since 1850 no less, the family produce one of the finest Multi Award Winning Early Harvest Picual Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oils available, which cannot be beaten on quality or flavour.

Their organic and bio diversity principles are second to none, resulting in an Olive forest, where the land is not rotavated, leaving a sea of green goodness for 197 different species of fauna and flora as nature intended. The Olive Mill is situated at the centre of a 1500-acre estate, ensuring the olives are from tree to press in less than 3 hours to limit oxidization. This preserves maximum health benefits and flavour.

Roll on to 2024 and I Qualified as a Olive Oil Sommelier after a intensive course with the Olive Oil Times Education Lab, tasting 100s of oils and learning an in-depth knowledge from cultivation to the finished packaged product, from the leading experts in the world and meeting wonderful like-minded people in the process.

2024 also saw our biggest change in our 12 year history, with shockingly bad harvests across the Mediterranean basin in 2023 we decided to bring another Organic Mill into the fold and change our original classic from an Arbequina & Picual to 100% Arbequina. Along with our premium Early Harvest Picual From Jaen Andalucia we really are offering some of the finest Organic EVOO around. We also have plans to bring to you more Organic EVOO in the very near future with an emphasis on Organic, Single Variety, Quality and Sustainability.

At the end of December 2024 we updated our queer cans to include a £1 donation for every can sold for the wonderful akt charity, who's mission is to ensure that every LGBTQ+ 16-25 year old facing homelessness or a hostile living environment has a safe place to live.

So that is the story so far, all that is left to say is “Enjoy”, The Gay Farmer, Multi Award Winning Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oils at their finest and as they should be, whilst caring and respecting this beautiful planet we live on for generations to come...