WHO WE ARE
Our brand
We produce, process, pack and sell garlic and herbs grown in Basilicata, where the cool air of our mountains blends with our passion to create unique aromas.
We are beauty seekers, our mission is to take care of every single detail of our products: polished spices that hold the essence of a whole territory.
Aroma Terrae was born in 2016, when we decided to share skills and resources to give birth to our life project: coming back here, in Basilicata, with the aim of cultivating sincere products and gathering details able of enhance any meal and make it special.
WHERE WE WORK
Our land
Our ancestors, who lived in Basilicata (or Lucania) millennia ago, called this region Lucus, the land of woods. Instead, another etymology recalls the Latin word lux, light.
If you could represent Basilicata with a binomial, it would be “woods and light”.
The woods, their dim light, the wildlife that lives there, the ancient oaks, their inaccessibility.
The light, like the one of our clear skies, like the light of the endless valleys that spread beyond the uplands, like the one that makes our landscapes’ colours shiny.
Our products were born here, aromas that encompass the contrasts of a sincere and fascinating land, sweet and bitter at the same time.
TRADEMARK
Our guarantees
We are proud to be mountain producers: our products come from a unique blend of Basilicata’s innate environmental attributes and timeless local know-how. Indeed, Lucanian agricultural traditions have been treasured by farms like ours, which have been playing an important role in the development of our communities.
Thanks to these peculiarities, Aroma Terrae garlic and herbs have gained the “Prodotto di montagna” quality trademark.
Farming on the mountains is not easy, it means adapting to soil and weather sharpness and dealing with limited infrastructures. For us it means also uncovering new production techniques and safeguarding the human, natural and culinary heritage that shape Basilicata’s identity and our products.
We endorsed the “Prodotto di montagna” trademark Charter to prove the quality and authenticity of the mountain aromas and remind the social, economic and environmental value of our work to our customers.
HOW WE FARM
Our method
Our work begins choosing the right soil, assessed considering its exposure and chemical composition, and goes on with the crop rotation of the grounds, enriched and fertilized to be ready to host garlic farms every four years.
In the Lucanian hinterland, our production area, the most suitable period to plant garlic is at the end of October, when fall rains ensure a steady garlic roots development.
Basilicata’s garlic acquires its unique aromatic properties thanks to the low temperature of the frigid winter, it starts bulbing when the early spring warmth begins.
At this stage many control operations are carried out in order to guarantee a healthy development of the plants and prevent water stagnation and pathogens attacks.
Harvest starts at the end of June and is followed by a natural drying process thanks to dry and ventilated microclimate.
Finally, the dried bulbs are cleaned and packaged by hand; then the product is marketed loose, in meshes or in handmade braids.
The aromatic herbs are usually planted in spring and harvested in pre-flowering, when the aromatic component is superior and the scent more intense.
Then the herbs are dried to ensure a longer storage time. Thanks to the extremely favorable climatic conditions of our territory, sunny and well ventilated, the drying process is natural and allows to preserve the products aromatic qualities and appearance.