For some time now I’ve been receiving questions about black olives. Some questions are about the black olive tree, while others are about the degree of ripening that they need to reach before being consumed. The flavor of this type of olive is so distinctive that I’m not surprised to be asked so many questions about them.

Are there specific olive trees that produce black olives?

It’s true that there are two types of table olives: green and black. This gives rise to several questions, including: Where is this type of olive tree cultivated? How are they different to olive trees that produce green olives? Before answering any question related to this topic, however, we must ask ourselves the following: is there a black olive tree?

Black olives do not come from a variety of olive tree that specifically produces this type of olive. In fact, they are the same as green olives. Their color is different because they have reached a peak point of ripeness, after turning from green to a reddish hue, and then from reddish to black.

How long does it take for black olives to ripen?

Knowing now that a black olive tree is the same as a green olive tree, we should presume that the next question is: How long does it take the olives to reach peak ripeness? There is no precise answer to this question, unfortunately. The harvesting of green olives usually takes place between September and November, but the fruits of each olive tree ripen at different times. It is the Master Oliari who observe and select the quality and perfect moment of ripeness of the fruit.