Prima Mensa, a Love Story... (II)

As I promised, I want to share the second part of the story of Prima Mensa, a small dream we made real — not without a great deal of effort ;)

If you missed the first part, you can read it here: Prima Mensa, a Love Story... (I)

...

Three months after that phone call, I went to see Migue and Ricardo. I had to convince them that bringing that extraordinary oil I'd tasted on that November afternoon to you was possible. It was no easy task, dealing with the 4th generation of olive growers and two true sons of Puente Genil, haha.

- Migue, Ricardo, we have to bring this oil to Mi Oliva Gourmet. I believe that if we show its true value, there will be people out there who know how to appreciate it. It was the same with Spanish wine at first — decades later, people genuinely understand the difference between one wine and another. They know that small, carefully tended productions, from the vine to the barrel, produce a gran reserva, a reserva, a tempranillo... With olive oil, we still have a long road ahead. It's true that very few people in Spain know what the Envero stage is, what olive yield means, the difference between picking an olive straight from the tree and picking it off the ground... They're all Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but where do they end up? Do you remember what the Mill Master told us the day we visited? — "Look at that tanker truck. The oil it's carrying is extraordinary. They're taking it to Italy to blend it with far inferior oils and improve their quality and flavour."

Then Migue said, almost indignantly — Of course — they lower the acidity and sell it as Extra Virgin Olive Oil...

Exactly, Migue, I said, it's time someone spoke up. We'll be the first and people will call us crazy, but I think it's worth it. And if we can't make it work here, I can help you list it on Amazon and sell it in the UK, France and Germany. There, people really appreciate Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Bottles of oil far worse than this sell for €30 over there.

There was actually something I didn't tell them. I was afraid. Afraid of failing. Of not being able to convey just how precious an oil like this was. Afraid that they would trust me and I would end up costing them a lot of money... But if you never face your fears, dreams never come true.

We talked at length about it all. They had dozens of questions. Many of them I could answer. Many others I couldn't, but I muddled through as best I could. I tried to give them confidence. I know that with effort, anything is possible.

The first step was done. Migue and Ricardo had joined my dream :)

But there was still a long road ahead. My mission was clear, and I had less than nine months...

I started researching prestigious oils. They all came in beautiful, distinctive packaging. So I thought: I'll need to find an attractive bottle — if everyone sells it that way, that must be the done thing...

My search led me to Italy — the great glass manufacturers.

I hit a wall.

It turned out that, on top of being expensive, they require a minimum run of 10,000 bottles before the price stops being even more expensive than the oil itself. Madness! How was I going to tell Miguel and Ricardo they'd have to spend that kind of money on a dream?

Then I remembered that unlabelled bottle sitting next to my seat... To me it had seemed like the most precious thing in the world, and it wasn't an extravagant vessel — it was just a simple glass jar. What mattered was inside, not outside. What if I launched it in that very same jar?...

And that's exactly what we did ;)

I kept researching prestigious oils.

They all had awards.

So I started looking into awards.

And do you know what I found?

They required sealed tanks of at least 3,000 litres! And our production was going to be highly selective — only the finest part of the grove. A thousand litres at most... Awards were off the table too. They were designed for large-scale production, a world away from our idea of making the best oil we possibly could.

All that was left was the name.

I called my friend Jose María at Al Margen. It was his speciality. I told him the story. I brought him into our dream. I told him the name had to work just as well in Spain as across Europe.

A week later he sent me his four proposals:

- Fundum lares (estate of the gods, farm of the gods).
- Prima mensa (the main course, the first course).
- Penus Baetica (larder of Andalusia).
- Fundum Baetica (heart of Andalusia).

I talked it over with Ricardo and Migue and we settled on the second. I hope you agree with me that it was a good choice ;)

The last hurdle was the boxes. We wanted packaging that wasn't expensive either. After the experience with the glass bottles, I decided not to waste time trying to imitate the "Prestigious Oils." The value of Prima Mensa would lie on the inside, not the outside.

Even so, I ran into the same problem again. That wretched minimum print run. Every box manufacturer told me the minimum was between 6,000 and 8,000 boxes! I also contacted some online packaging companies that allowed smaller runs, but the prices were prohibitive.

It was already late November and time was running out. Migue was anxious. Ricardo called me two days out of every three to see how things were going. The olives had already been harvested and the oil pressed in its first run. The only thing I had going for me was the success of Arraigo.

Then, as if it were a scene from a play, while chatting with Jose María at Al Margen about the photography, I mentioned the problem I was facing. He told me to let him make a couple of calls. He might be able to get one of the box makers to agree to a smaller run.

And that's exactly what happened! We got to work designing the box — simple, practical, elegant, sturdy, and above all, affordable. By the end of December everything had been ordered.

The goal had been met! We wanted the price of Prima Mensa to be 80% oil and 20% everything else. For an oil of this kind, the norm is 60% oil, 40% everything else. Not only had we achieved it — we'd surpassed it!

In the price of Prima Mensa, 85% was the oil itself — the purest oil from the San Miguel grove.

We were overjoyed!

Since we put it on the website and I wrote you the first part of this story, a third batch has already been reserved!

I've already tried it myself. I was with Migue and Ricardo at the end of December — we took a photo together (the one you see above) with Arraigo and Prima Mensa in the grove, and they gave me a small bottle. It's a delight: intense in flavour, full of nuance, much gentler than Arraigo in its bitterness and peppery kick, yet with an even longer, more lingering finish.

It's a gem!

I'm saving it strictly for drizzling raw. I've already had three groups of friends over to taste it — just like that, on its own, with a piece of bread.

Incredible...

Well, I hope you've enjoyed learning more about Prima Mensa. This article has grown quite long, and I've still left plenty out — a few setbacks at the Almazara, the worry over the drought, the week of the harvest, the remarkable lab results, the wait to see the yield...

Maybe I'll get inspired and write a third part of the Prima Mensa story ;)

Or am I pushing my luck?...

Either way, thank you — truly thank you — for reading, for your support, and for your comments on the website...

A big hug!

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