I recently had the opportunity to visit a number of producers while working on a project. It is always so much fun when visiting these producers. It always reminds me of my childhood growing up on the farm.
This was especially the case when I visited Obi Obi Essentials, who are based in the Obi Obi Valley at the back of Mapleton. The property is picture pretty; olive grove, green tea hedges, geese, horses, the cutest alpacas and donkeys – I have decided I want a donkey! Sooo cute.
My Local Harvest – Sunshine Coast Regional Food Directory, is about to undergo a major update, upgrade and visual transformation, so I am relocating the Blog on to Pebbles and Pomegranate Seeds. For this reason I thought I would repost some of my favourite blog stories, so that they don’t get ‘lost’. Here is one of them…
Repost from July 20, 2010 – Local Harvest – The Sunshine Coast and Surround’s Regional Food Directory
Alexina Johnson is the wonderful lady behind Obi Obi Essentials and the producer of a sensational olive oil, green tea and some green tea, olive leaf and lemon myrtle tea blend. The farm is pretty self-sustained, with everything grown and then processed and packaged on the farm. The tea and olive leaves are dried in a solar powered drying room, while the olives are also cold pressed and bottled on site. The oil is in pretty high demand due to the small volumes produced, so if you happen to own a bottle, treat it like gold!
Alexina is passionate about her produce and is a prime example of producers on the Sunshine Coast that are quietly producing products with such integrity. Olives are crushed the same day that they are picked and only quality fruit is used. No wonder the olive oil tastes so good.
I spent the morning wandering around the farm – I didn’t really want to go home, it was just so beautiful out there. There was a slight drizzle of rain, so the olive grove looked almost a bit mystical because it was slightly misted in.
The alpacas were grazing throughout the grove, and talk about cute. There was a little baby alpaca (a ‘cria’ I believe they are called) that was there, that I had a hard time tearing myself away from – that was until Alexina said that she would take me up to see the horses and donkeys.
I don’t know what it is with me and donkeys, but if I could run one in my backyard, I would! I had particular affinity for the one called Angel.
Angel the donkey…
In the meantime look out for Obi Obi Essentials teas and olive oils. I have seen the at husk and honey and Alexina does frequent some of the Sunshine Coast markets. Check out her website for more details:
This post was written by Petra Frieser – Local Harvest
To find out more about the Sunshine Coast’s regional growers and producers visit:
www.localharvest.com.au
Please Note: Repost from July 20, 2010 – Local Harvest – The Sunshine Coast and Surround’s Regional Food Directory
