The Best Olive Tree Adoption in Italy and How to Avoid Scams
Adopting an olive tree in Italy has become a popular gift, and the number of programs offering it keeps growing. Most of them look alike at first: a tree in Italy, a certificate, a few bottles of olive oil. What differs is what stands behind them, and that is hard to judge from an advertisement.
We are the Piras family. We have grown olives in Sardinia for five generations and have run our own olive tree adoption since 2023, so we know how these programs work from the inside. This guide explains how olive tree adoption works, what to ask before you pay, and how to spot a scam. At the end, we show how our own adoption answers the same questions, and why we think it is the best one you can choose.
In brief
- "Adoption" can mean a tree of your own, a shared tree, a share of a grove, or an olive oil subscription. Ask which one you are buying.
- Olives are milled in batches, so no program can truthfully promise oil made only from your tree.
- Before you pay, check who runs the company and read its reviews on an independent site.
In this guide
How olive tree adoption works
There is no single definition. Depending on the program, adopting a tree can mean:
- One specific tree, assigned only to you.
- A tree whose sponsorship is shared with other people.
- A share in the care of a whole grove.
- A new tree planted because of your adoption.
- A symbolic tree, where the real product is an olive oil subscription.
Any of these can be a fair deal, as long as the company says plainly which one it is selling. The trouble starts when the marketing suggests there is a tree in Italy with your name on it, and that isn't what you are buying.
It also helps to know how olive oil is made. Nobody harvests and mills a single tree on its own. Olives from many trees are milled together in batches, so no program can truthfully promise oil made only from your tree. An honest one will tell you which grove and which harvest your oil comes from.
Looking for Oliverse, YouGrove or MyOliveTree reviews?
Many people find this page while searching for reviews of adoption programs they have seen advertised, such as Oliverse (olive-verse.com), YouGrove or MyOliveTree. We haven't purchased from any of them, so we can't review them. Our advice, before you adopt a tree from any company, is to read their reviews on an independent site, starting with the most recent ones, and to ask the seven questions below.
Seven questions to ask before you adopt an olive tree
- 1Is there an actual tree with my name on it, and is it only mine? Ask directly whether more than one person can be assigned to the same tree.
- 2Where is the grove, and who farms it? You should be able to get a town, a region and a name. If the company works with partner farms, ask which one yours is.
- 3Can I visit my tree? A working farm can't promise someone will be there every single day, so needing an appointment is normal. But if the whole thing is marketed around your tree in Italy, you should be able to see it.
- 4Which grove and harvest does the oil come from, and what happens in a bad year? Ask for the harvest date, the cultivar and where the oil was milled. A fixed amount of oil is fine, as long as they tell you where it comes from when your grove falls short.
- 5Will I get real photos of my tree, and updates during the year? A photo of your tree with your name on it is not the same as a general picture of a tree.
- 6Who runs the company, and can I verify it? Look for real names and a legal business name. A US company at checkout is normal for anyone importing to the United States. Italian businesses have to show their VAT number (Partita IVA) on their website, and you can look it up to see who it belongs to.
- 7What do reviews on independent sites say? Skip unverified testimonials on the company's own page and look for third-party verified reviews.
If the whole thing is marketed around your tree in Italy, you should be able to see it.
How to spot an olive tree adoption scam
Most programs will answer those questions without any trouble. If one doesn't, these are the signs that should give you pause:
- Images that look AI-generated, and few real photos of the grove or the farmers.
- Little to no information about who actually runs the company.
- No verifiable company details, like a legal business name or a registration or VAT number.
- They promise oil exclusively from your tree, but can't explain how it's milled separately.
- You're told a specific tree is yours, but the only picture is an illustration, an AI-generated image, or a photo with nothing marking it as yours.
- They present themselves as one family farm, but the trees are in several different regions.
- They can't tell you which harvest your oil is from, and don't share basic information like the cultivar and lab results.
- A company under a year old claiming thousands of five-star reviews.
- Third-party reviews or comments mentioning unanswered emails or orders not arriving.
None of these proves anything about a particular company. They are reasons to ask more questions before you buy.
Why we think Obìa has the best olive tree adoption
Everything above applies to us as much as to anyone else. So here are our own answers to the seven questions.
Your tree is real, and it is only yours
We choose one tree in our family groves for each adoption and place a wooden plaque on it with the name you give us. You receive photos and drone video taken after we hang the plaque, and coordinates you can open on a map. One tree at our family groves per adopter.
We are the farmers
The groves are ours, around Villacidro in southwestern Sardinia, and we do the work in them. We prune, harvest and bottle ourselves, and we are the ones who prepare your adoption. There are no middlemen and no partner farms. Your money goes straight to the people growing the olives, and it helps us restore abandoned groves, plant new trees and farm with natural, regenerative practices.
You can come and see it
You are welcome to visit your tree any time. We've had several adopters visit us, walk the grove, find their plaque and stay for an aperitivo. With a week's notice, the tour and aperitivo are on us.
We are honest about the oil
Your oil comes from the grove where your tree grows whenever possible, and in a year when that grove gives little, from the nearest of our other family groves. We tell you which. It is also award-winning extra virgin olive oil. It is made from olive varieties entirely native to our part of Sardinia.
You hear from us all year
Our adoptions come with a personal webpage for your tree, updates through the seasons and daily news from the harvest.
You can check who we are
Our olive oil passes through three companies, and all three are 100% owned and run by our family.
Azienda Agricola Obìa, Villacidro, Sardinia, Italy
P.IVA IT04094330927
Magnum Opus SRL, Villacidro, Sardinia, Italy
P.IVA IT04003640929
Nuragic Imports LLC
You don't have to take our word for it
- Read our third-party verified customer reviews on Judge.me.
- Read about our awards, and see our listing on bestoliveoils.org.
- Watch independent reviews on social media, like Dominic's review on TikTok and Olive Oil Journey's on Instagram.
What you get when you adopt a tree with us
- A real tree that is only yours, with a wooden plaque carrying the name you choose.
- A personal webpage, ready in one to three weeks. Photos and video of your actual tree and its plaque, its exact GPS coordinates, and live weather from the grove.
- Two 500 ml (16.9 fl oz) bottles of our extra virgin olive oil from the newest harvest.
- A printed certificate and a 20-page booklet about your tree, its grove and our farm, packed in a gift box.
- News from the grove all year. Seasonal updates, and daily news during harvest.
- An open invitation to visit, with a complimentary grove tour and Sardinian aperitivo.
- Adopter pricing on more olive oil. A private version of our shop with at least 10% off, all year.
An adoption lasts one full year. Renewal is optional and never automatic. At the time of writing it costs $149, with US shipping included.
Frequently asked questions
Is olive tree adoption legit?
It can be. Many adoption programs are run by real farms, and some are little more than an olive oil subscription with a certificate. The way to tell is to ask about the supply chain. Ask directly, does the company produce the oil itself, or does it work with partner farms, and if so, which ones?
Do you get olive oil from your own tree?
Not exclusively, from any program. Olives from many trees are milled together, so be wary if someone promises you olive oil made only from your tree.
Can I visit my adopted olive tree in Italy?
With a farm-run program you usually can, by appointment. If a program can't tell you where your tree is, ask why.
How much does an olive tree adoption cost?
It depends on the program, and mostly on how much olive oil is included and how personal the adoption is. Ours is $149 at the time of writing, with US shipping included.
Does an olive tree adoption make a good gift?
Yes. Many people give them for birthdays, weddings, Christmas, or in memory of someone.
Adopt your tree
For us, an olive tree adoption isn't mainly about the bottles of oil. It's about the connection: a real tree you can find on Google Maps, a family you can write to, and a grove you can walk through if you ever come to Sardinia.
If you'd like a tree in our family's groves, especially one that carries the name of someone you love, we would be glad to prepare it for you.
