Good morning from the Valencian orchard.
Another morning, I take this moment to tell you how everything is going here. Today, it's going to be a busy day, I'm not going to lie. Fridays are almost always quiet, but today we're swamped.
We are about to start harvesting one of our little gems, one of those we literally wait for all year.
And we are preparing to receive them as what they are: true queens.
They arrive directly from the mountains of Alicante, cultivated with traditional methods and harvested one by one under the first rays of the sun.
Do you know who I'm talking about?
That's right: Alexander and Sujan's mountain cherries are back.
And no, we don't call them that because it sounds nice; they are real mountain cherries. They grow between 600 and 900 meters high, in Alexander and Sujan's fields in Alicante.
Up there, the air changes, the nights cool down, and time seems to slow down a bit. And the cherries, believe me, notice it.
They cultivate about 55 hectares using traditional methods, caring for varieties like Prime Giant and Sweet Heart. The first, a very intense red, has that firm and crunchy bite you notice immediately. The other is sweeter and juicier, the kind that makes you look at the pit when you finish, as if saying, "Well... just one more and I'll stop."
I'll tell you now that you'll fail to stop eating because it happens to me every time 🤷♂️.
Let's go back to the field because if these little red delights taste this way, it's not just because of the variety. It's also because of how they are grown, of course, and because the area where they grow has a big advantage: the perfect balance between cold and heat.
The cherry tree is a demanding tree, very sensitive to the rhythms of the climate. It needs to be cold in winter to go dormant, truly sleep and gain strength. This rest is essential so that later, when spring arrives, it blossoms with energy and a good fruit load. If winter is too mild, the tree gets confused. Like any of us when we don't sleep well.
And then summer arrives. Up there, it's hot during the day, which is necessary for the fruit to gain sugar and flavor, but it cools down at night. This contrast between hot and cool helps the cherry ripen slowly, concentrating sweetness better and maintaining firmness.
The field, when it follows the rhythm of nature, works wonders.
And then there's the hand of the farmer, where there's also a lot of skill. These cherries are cultivated traditionally from beginning to end. Pruning is done with how the tree will breathe months later in mind. Thinning helps the plant concentrate its energy on fewer but higher-quality fruits. And the harvest... the harvest is almost a ritual.
They are picked one by one, early in the morning, when the sun is not yet strong and the fruit retains all its freshness. With care, without pulling, nurturing each cherry so that it arrives from the tree to your home with a piece of the mountains of Alicante.
I've already tried them this week, and I'll tell you one thing: they are unmissable. One of those fruits that disappear from the bowl without you even noticing. You start with a few, and before you react, you're already looking for any hidden in the fridge.
Next week they will be available, and, as always, we will harvest them on demand. Remember that, like all our harvests, they are limited.
I hope I have conveyed to you the reason for so much preparation and care. They are not just any cherries; they are the result of true artisanal effort, of farmers who put their heart and soul into the land to bring out the best of it by caring for it and accompanying it without invading.
For my part, I thank you once again for appreciating our work, our way of cultivating, and the care we put behind every box we send.
Here we will continue at the foot of the tree, getting up early, observing the sky, and caring for the land as our grandparents taught us.
A big hug and until next week.
