# Serrana de Espadán, the olive almost nobody has tasted

- Source: https://origenes.shop/en/journal/serrana-de-espadan-olive-castellon
- Publisher: Orígenes (https://origenes.shop), épicerie fine espagnole en ligne, Villeneuve VD, Suisse
- Date: 2026-08-21
- Langue: en

## The essentials

- Serrana de Espadán is an olive native to the Alto Palancia and the Alto Mijares, in the hinterland of Castellón; depending on the valley it is also called Sevillenca, Artanenca or Grossal.
- It is rare for a simple reason: it grows there and almost nowhere else.
- Belluga Gourmet keeps its shop inside the Olive Oil Museum of Segorbe, a town that once counted nearly eighty oil mills.
- Two formats: the First bottle, 500 ml, whose label carries the words Serrana de Espadán, and the Selección tin, 250 ml, opaque, holding a filtered oil.
- Keep it cool and away from light, and taste it raw: on bread, on a tomato, on vegetables fresh from the oven.

## One olive, one museum, two formats

Tap a card to find out more.

### The olive

Serrana de Espadán, Sevillenca, Artanenca or Grossal: the name changes from valley to valley. It is native to the Alto Palancia and the Alto Mijares, around the Sierra Calderona.

**Why so little known**
Not a marketing rarity: it grows there and almost nowhere else. Very few people have tasted it.

### Segorbe

The town once counted nearly eighty oil mills.

**The museum**
In 2006 the Olive Oil Museum of Segorbe opened inside a 20th-century almazara. This interpretation centre received the first national AEMO prize for promoting and spreading the culture of the olive tree.

### Belluga Gourmet

It is run by José Luis Calpe and Teresa Blasco, who introduce themselves as the grandchildren of Luis and Carmen, farmers.

**Family names**
- El Abuelo: Serrana de Espadán from century-old trees on dry land
- Claudia: Koroneiki
- Martín: Frantoio from the irrigated land of Segorbe

### First, 500 ml

Green glass, white cap. Its label carries the words Serrana de Espadán.

**Where to keep it**
Cool and dry, away from the stove and the window: light damages an oil faster than heat.

### Selección, 250 ml

A filtered oil, in an opaque container.

**Why metal**
Opacity is not an aesthetic detail: a metal tin protects better than clear glass by the window.

### Tasting it

The simplest way is the best: raw, on bread, on a tomato, on vegetables fresh from the oven.

> Once opened, finish it within a few months: olive oil does not improve with waiting.

## Would you recognise it?

Four questions, the answers are in the article.

1. Where does Serrana de Espadán grow?
   - In the Alto Palancia and the Alto Mijares, inland from Castellón
   - It is native to these two districts inland from Castellón, and to almost nowhere else.

2. What damages olive oil fastest?
   - Light
   - Light, even before heat. Hence the opaque tin of the Selección format.

3. Where is the Belluga Gourmet shop?
   - Inside the Olive Oil Museum of Segorbe
   - The museum opened in 2006 inside a 20th-century almazara, in Segorbe.

4. Once the bottle is open?
   - You finish it within a few months
   - Olive oil is not wine: it does not improve with waiting.


## Article

There is an olive in Spain that is barely spoken of outside its own mountains. It is called **Serrana de Espadán**, and it is native to the **Alto Palancia** and the **Alto Mijares**, inland from **Castellón**, around the Sierra Calderona. Depending on the valley it also goes by Sevillenca, Artanenca or Grossal.

It is not rare by marketing. It is rare because it grows there and almost nowhere else. On a Swiss shelf, Spanish oils usually come from elsewhere: Manzanilla Cacereña from Extremadura, Hojiblanca from Andalusia. This one resembles none of them, for the simplest of reasons — very few people have ever tasted it.

## Segorbe, a town of oil mills

Segorbe sits inland, in the Alto Palancia. The town once counted close to eighty oil mills. In one of them, a twentieth-century almazara, the **Segorbe Oil Museum** opened in **2006** — an interpretation centre awarded the AEMO National First Prize for promoting and spreading olive culture.

Inside that museum is the shop of **Belluga Gourmet**, run by José Luis Calpe and Teresa Blasco, who introduce themselves as the grandchildren of Luis and Carmen, both farmers. Their collection carries family names: El Abuelo, Claudia, Martín — Serrana de Espadán from centuries-old dry-farmed trees, Koroneiki, and Frantoio from the irrigated land around Segorbe.

## Two formats, two uses

We bring in two references. The **First** bottle, 500 ml of green glass with a white cap: its label reads Serrana de Espadán. And the **Selección** tin, 250 ml, gold and opaque — a filtered oil in a container that lets no light through.

That opacity is not a styling detail. Light spoils an olive oil faster than heat does. A metal tin protects better than clear glass sitting by a window.

## Keeping it, drinking it

Cool and dry, away from heat and light. Once opened, finish it within a few months: olive oil is not wine, it does not improve by waiting.

To really taste it, take the simplest route: raw, on bread, on a tomato, over vegetables straight from the oven. A cooking oil is judged in the pan; an oil like this one is judged on the spoon.

## Produits cités (prix et stock à jour)

- Belluga First — Huile d'olive vierge extra 500 ml — 23.90 CHF — disponible — https://origenes.shop/en/produit/huile-olive-belluga-first-500ml
- Belluga Selección — Huile d'olive vierge extra, boîte 250 ml — 10.50 CHF — disponible — https://origenes.shop/en/produit/huile-olive-belluga-seleccion-250ml

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