How To Taste Extra Virgin Olive Oil
An at Home Tasting Experience
This guided tasting experience is designed to introduce you to the remarkable range of flavors found in fresh, high quality extra virgin olive oil. As you taste from mild and delicate to bold and robust, you'll discover how olive variety, harvest timing, and freshness influence each oil's aroma, texture, and flavor.
Along the way, you'll learn what sets exceptional extra virgin olive oil apart, how to recognize its defining characteristics, and why freshness matters. Whether you're new to olive oil tasting or looking to deepen your appreciation, this experience will help you taste with confidence and discover the unique qualities that make each olive oil special.
Pour, taste, compare, and enjoy the journey through the world of premium extra virgin olive oil.
Before You Begin
Pour a small amount of each of the six olive oils into a separate tasting cup. Place each cup on the corresponding numbered sample circle on your provided EVOO 101 tasting placemat, arranging the oils in numerical order.
Your tasting has been carefully organized from the mildest oil to the most robust. Following this progression allows your palate to gradually experience the increasing intensity of fruitiness, bitterness, and pepperiness that define high quality extra virgin olive oil.
Once your samples are prepared, you're ready to begin your guided tasting experience.
Step 1: Warm the Olive Oil
Begin with Sample 1. Gently cup the tasting cup in the palm of one hand and cover the top with your other hand. Slowly rotate the cup for 20 to 30 seconds, allowing the warmth from your hands to gently warm the olive oil.
Warming the oil helps release its natural aromatic compounds, making it easier to detect the unique scents and flavors that distinguish each extra virgin olive oil. Avoid shaking the cup. A slow, gentle swirl is all that's needed before moving on to the next step.
Step 2: Smell Deeply
Remove your hand from the top of the cup and inhale deeply. Fresh extra virgin olive oil should smell vibrant and alive. You may notice aromas of freshly cut grass, green herbs, tomato leaf, artichoke, green apple, almond, or other fruits and vegetables, depending on the olive variety. These fresh aromas are a hallmark of quality.
Step 3: Slurp and Taste
Take a small sip and draw in a little air through your teeth with a gentle slurping sound. While it may feel unusual at first, this technique spreads the oil across your palate and helps volatilize its aromas, allowing you to experience its full range of flavors. Let the oil coat your entire mouth before swallowing.
Step 4: Notice the Sensations
After each sample, use the provided tasting checklist to record your impressions before moving on to the next olive oil. Check off the descriptors that best match your tasting, such as Fruity, Green, Floral, Nutty, Bitter, or Peppery. There are no right or wrong answers as everyone's palate perceives flavors a little differently.
As the flavors linger after swallowing, pay attention to the three positive attributes of high quality extra virgin olive oil: fruitiness, bitterness, and pungency. You may notice a pleasant peppery sensation in the back of your throat, a hallmark of the naturally occurring antioxidants known as polyphenols. A fresh, well crafted extra virgin olive oil should taste balanced, vibrant, and complex, leaving your palate clean and inviting you back for another sip.
Continue tasting your remaining samples, repeating each step for every olive oil. For the best experience, cleanse your palate with a sip of plain soda water between tastings to help each varietal shine on its own.
And thank you for choosing our EVOO 101 Tasting Kit and allowing us to share our passion for exceptional extra virgin olive oil. We hope this experience has given you a deeper appreciation for the unique aromas, flavors, and healthful qualities that make every harvest special. Be sure to check back each year as we introduce a fresh selection of limited harvest extra virgin olive oils, featuring exceptional producers and exciting olive varietals from around the world. Each season brings new discoveries, giving you even more opportunities to expand your palate and experience the incredible diversity of fresh EVOO.