Taste and quality

Taste as a quality indicator

Olive oil is professionally assessed based on three positive flavour attributes: freshness (fruitiness), bitterness and pepperiness. All three are considered desirable in a high-quality extra virgin olive oil.

This can be unfamiliar to those accustomed to milder oils. But within the olive oil industry, an oil without bitterness and pepperiness is more likely a sign of low polyphenol content or that the oil has declined in quality.

Freshness

Freshness describes the oil's aroma and base flavour. A fresh oil can recall green tomatoes, freshly cut grass or green almonds. It's a sign that the olives were harvested early and that the oil is fresh.

Bitterness

Bitterness in olive oil comes from polyphenols, primarily oleuropein. It's felt on the tongue and in the mouth. A certain bitterness is a positive sign and indicates that the oil has a naturally high content of protective compounds.

It's worth noting that bitterness in olive oil is not the same as an unpleasant "bad" bitter taste in other contexts. It is a quality criterion.

Pepperiness

Pepperiness is a pungent, warming sensation in the throat. It comes primarily from oleocanthal, a polyphenol that has received considerable attention in research.

A distinct pepperiness, sometimes enough to trigger a small cough, is typical of olive oils with genuinely high polyphenol content.

What taste tells you

An olive oil that is fresh, mildly bitter and distinctly peppery has in all likelihood been pressed quickly, from early-harvested olives, at low temperature. The taste is, in other words, a direct expression of how the oil has been handled.

A completely mild, neutral olive oil has lost these characteristics, either due to a late harvest, long storage, high processing temperature or a combination.

Our olive oil has a pronounced flavour profile with clear freshness, some bitterness and marked pepperiness.