This is an archived edition of our Field Report email newsletter. You can sign up at the bottom of the page!
Greetings from Fat Gold!
In this Field Report: a new gift offering for the holidays, some notes on the harvest (IT HAS BEGUN), and an update on our mill.
This season, for the first time ever, we are happy to offer a Fat Gold Gift Set, which is one tin of Fat Gold Standard, one tin of Fat Gold Blue, and a brand-new 24-page zine that combines an introduction to extra virgin olive oil with a recipe stockpile.
The recipe zine is called HOW TO USE IT UP, and it is small and cute and wonderful. For longtime users of Fat Gold, particularly those who have read our comprehensive online guide, the material within won’t be particularly surprising. That’s why we think this set will make a great gift for anyone who HASN’T already steeped themselves in the pleasures of California extra virgin olive oil. In short, it’s a perfect introduction.
Furthermore, we’re offering this as a pre-sale. If you place an order now, or anytime in the month of November, we will ship it on December 15. So, consider this an easy way to check one gift recipient off your list!
Here’s the rationale. For any business like Fat Gold, November and December are wild months; it’s not uncommon to sell as much in this season as in the rest of the year combined. In Fat Gold’s case, this is compounded by the fact that our annual harvest is happening now, so it’s two avalanches at once.
Offering this gift set as a pre-order is our gambit to “smooth out” the work a bit, so we can prepare many of these orders throughout November, rather than do it all in one brain-melting week in December.
Fat Gold has always made a terrific gift, but we think this set, with its warm and welcoming zine, takes it to another level. It’s a limited edition, so if this sounds like a good match for someone you love, claim their gift set now.
The harvest has begun! We’ve already produced nearly 500 gallons of oil, mostly focused on our two main offerings, Fat Gold Standard and Fat Gold Blue. We’ve also produced our upcoming December shipment to annual subscribers, which is made from an olive we have NEVER sent before—pretty cool! (It’s not too late to subscribe: as long as you get in before December 5, you’ll receive your first shipment in December.)
Here’s an obligatory glamour shot of some frantoio olives, hours before being harvested:
And here’s an obligatory shot of the same olives, not even an hour after being harvested, loaded into our truck, ready for me to drive them to the mill:
This year, that mill is the great Frantoio Grove, which you will find lovingly documented in the milling section of our guide.
All in all, everything’s going smoothly, and we are about one-third of the way through this year’s production.
Hey, what about the Fat Gold mill??
Its transit has been slow and halting, basically in line with our expectations. After arriving on the East Coast, the container sat for about three weeks—not any special delay, just the current pace at the port—until being loaded onto a train that is now chugging across the United States. As I write this, it might be… in Texas? There’s a lot of Texas.
Our mill will arrive at the Port of Oakland in a few days, and our fingers are crossed for a quick transfer to a truck, which will carry it on the last leg of its long journey from Italy. Then, we’ll install it, and, with any luck at all, mill at least one batch of olives this season.
The mill’s real inauguration will come next year, which feels like a long time to wait, but honestly, we are just delighted that it’s finally here. This mill, Kathryn’s dream machine, is going to transform Fat Gold as a business and a product.
That’s it for this Field Report, but you’ll hear from us again this month. In the last week of November, we’ll send you our first-ever gift guide, spotlighting the ingredients we use most at home, made by peers who we love and respect. Keep an eye out for it!
From the field,
–Robin, Kathryn, and Bryan