Cooperativa Santa Catalina

The Sociedad Cooperativa del Campo Santa Catalina de Alía, founded under this name on November 24, 1967, is the transformer of monovarietal olives “Manzanilla Cacereña” into Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO). Previously, by the “maquila” process, the oil was obtained in very rudimentary presses: the olives were introduced into the stone mills, rollers or conical stones to be crushed and a paste was obtained that was later introduced into a press to extract the olive oil. Layers of pasta separated by circular plates – the “capachos” – were formed in a press, and pressing the olive oil was obtained, then it was decanted to separate it from the vegetable water – water and the remains of olives.

At present, since the constitution of the current Governing Council of the cooperative, the concern is constant for the production of a quality oil that has led society to the development of a “Proceeding Manual” so that all processes are well defined and contribute to the final quality of the product. Choosing the optimal time for harvesting, not damaging the raw material, grinding the harvested daily and keeping it in ideal conditions: shadow, 18/22ºC cellar temperature, NO exposure to oxygen and stainless steel tanks, among other measures, will give as a result an excellent quality oil: VillaliA.

VillaliA is an excellent extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), of a superior category, obtained directly from healthy olives and only by mechanical procedures, with a high content of oleic acid (78%) and antioxidants, from the best olives, of the variety Manzanilla Cacereña, collected in its veraison (November), native to the Villuercas-Ibores-Jara UNESCO Global Geopark.