Olive Oil Tasting Guide: How to Recognise the Real Deal

17/06/2025

Most people don’t realise it, but tasting olive oil can be just as nuanced—and just as rewarding—as tasting wine. The trouble is, most supermarket olive oils have been sitting on shelves too long, mixed with lower-grade oils, or bottled long after harvest.

So how do you tell if your olive oil is truly extra virgin and worth drizzling?

Here’s a simple at-home tasting guide to help you tell real, high-quality extra virgin olive oil from the fakes.

1. Use a spoon (not a salad)

To truly taste olive oil, try it straight—no bread, no tomatoes. Pour a small amount into a spoon or shot glass. Hold your hand around it for a few seconds to warm it slightly. This helps release the oil’s aromas.

2. Smell it

Real extra virgin olive oil smells alive. Take a deep sniff. You should notice green, vibrant scents: freshly cut grass, green tomatoes, artichoke, almond, even wild herbs depending on the variety. If it smells flat, like cardboard, or like stale nuts, it’s likely old or refined oil pretending to be extra virgin.

3. Sip and slurp

Take a small sip and suck in a bit of air through your teeth to help the oil coat your mouth and reach your retronasal passages (yes, we’re getting technical!). This will allow you to really register the flavours.

4. Feel the finish

High-quality extra virgin olive oil should have a clean, fresh taste, sometimes slightly bitter or peppery. That little tickle in the back of your throat? That’s a good sign. It means the oil is rich in polyphenols—natural antioxidants that make olive oil so good for your health.

Many oils that claim to be “extra virgin” are bland, greasy, or heavy-tasting. Real olive oil feels light, fresh and alive.

5. Bonus: Taste with food

Now drizzle the oil over something simple—like tomatoes, mozzarella, or sourdough bread. If the oil elevates the food and makes it sing, you know you’ve found the real thing.

Why It Matters

Tasting olive oil this way connects you directly with the grove. It’s how producers, chefs, and judges taste—because it’s the most honest way to understand the flavour, quality, and freshness of the oil.

At Extra Virgin Olive Oil Direct, we only source directly from one award-winning Spanish farm, so you always know exactly where your oil comes from, when it was harvested, and what you’re putting on your plate.