Good morning! How's your week going?
Over here, we're super busy, working since early morning.
But I'm taking this break to tell you about some news and something I've been thinking about...{name}, today's newsletter is packed with flavors.
First, let's start with the sweetest thing you'll see today: we have muchamiel broad beans. Atiliano grows them here in Valencia just as his ancestors taught him: with natural fertilizers and 100% artisanal processes. And believe me, it shows.
Now, that we've talked about the sweet. Let's move on to the bitter and the sweet of the day.
It occurred to me to tell you this because, although I don't go to the city much, every time I go down to Valencia and see the orange trees on the avenues, they seem beautiful to me, they add a touch that not even the best decorator could achieve.
But beware, they hold a secret that has made more than one person frown. If you're curious, keep reading, because there's something brewing here... well, orange 🍊
We all know it here, but just in case anyone is distracted, I'll tell you loud and clear. The oranges on the streets of Valencia are bitter oranges, the Seville type. They are not sweet or suitable for direct consumption.
If you take a bite, your face will look like your ID photo, serious and wrinkled, and not even with churro sugar will it get better.
So, if they're not eaten, why are they there? Because they are city trees. They hold up well, fill everything with orange blossoms in spring, and make the streets look like a postcard. Nature is sometimes playful and puts a fruit in front of you that looks like it's from a magazine, but it's meant for show, not for breakfast juice.
And here's the good part, because it doesn't end up in the trash, far from it.
Those oranges are not wasted. They are collected and used to make compost, for cosmetics with citrus aromas, and even for biogas. So, that cream you put on at night might come from the orange you dodged at the traffic light, just how the circular economy works.
The funny thing is that what doesn't serve your palate, is great for the earth and industry. And now the million-dollar question, how are they different from the ones we send you home?
In my fields, and in those of the colleagues we work with across Spain, orange trees are not extras, they are athletes.
We care for them by hand, just like our grandparents did, with pruning that guides the light, irrigation adjusted to the season, living soils, and constant care so that the fruit gains size, juice, and sweetness.
We harvest on demand every morning, we check orders and go to cut only what you are going to eat, directly from the tree to your home, without going through cold storage.
Here, we choose the exact moment of harvest at the foot of the tree. We taste, we look at the shine, the detachment point, and that orange smell that tells you "I'm ready". We cut them one by one and they are shipped the same day.
So now you know, if you see an urban orange, enjoy the scenery and don't bite into it; and if you want one that's worth it, here we are, from the field to your table with all the love in the world.
A big hug and have a great week,
