Global Gardens celebrates 25 years of fresh olive oil as social media makes it a popular gift and party item

SANTA YNEZ, Calif. -  When a very special varietal of trees went into the ground in 1998 in Santa Barbara County, it was still unknown what the demand for olive oil would be on the Central Coast with a product that has a field of competition that fills store shelves around the world.
The owner of Global Gardens, Theo Stephan smiles at the growing enthusiasm for organically grown and hand harvested olive oil and the blast it's getting on social media sites.
As she celebrates 25 years in the Santa Ynez Valley, Stephan holds a bottle of her newest favorite and the one that is front and center in her store and says, "The top seller is the Olio Nuevo because it is a limited edition.  We just harvested it and bottled it last week," said Stephan.
It stacks up right next to many other choices for cooking and gifts. "We produce over 12 olive oils now and about 20 fruit balsamic vinegars," she said

It's also expected to be a big item for the holidays.  "People are buying jars of olive oil and sharing gifts of olive oil instead of wine.  There is certainly a health consciousness around especially around California," said Stephan. " And when you get the flavors of fresh olive oil, people go to their cupboards and just throw everything else out.   It is definitely a party food with a fresh loaf of bread and sharing with all your friends and it's a lot of fun."
In the last quarter of a century in business, Stephan sees a difference in the olive oil industry and the olives overall. "They are more intense.  The fruit and olive oil itself is more intense.  That little tickle you get in the back of your throat when you taste fresh olive oil denotes freshness."

She says customer education on the product is also changing.  Small tastings of olive oil is a popular trend along with adding a little to your morning coffee. "Most people are doing shots believe it or not. It was a tik-tok craze. We have created a shot set for the holidays," said Stephan.

For health reasons she says it's "good for everything", and says there is a trend in the kitchen where "cooking with olive oil is the thing to do."  Like buying wine from a local winery,   "It's always wonderful to stay local," she says about buying from a local grower, in a local store.

(For more information go to : Global Gardens)