To evaluate the quality of an extra virgin olive oil, professionals focus on aroma and taste. The visual aspect of extra virgin olive oil is unrelated to its quality, and hence the tasting glasses are darkly tinted.  Nevertheless, the clarity and the translucence of the oil tells us about the age of the oil and the filtration method used, its thickness depends its territorial origins, and its color the olive cultivar and the timing of the harvest.

Olfactory analysis

Warm the tasting glass with the extra virgin olive oil between your palms.  Cover the cup with your hand and delicately stir in circular motion for about a minute.  Inhale deeply with both nostrils.  Repeat a second time to confirm your impressions.  Evaluate the pleasantness of the smell, and individuate aromas, which you will seek to confirm through tasting.

Taste analysis

Use the tip, the sides, and the back of your tongue to evaluate the flavors.  Keeping the extra virgin olive oil in your mouth, inhale a bit of air through a slightly open mouth; you want to make sure that you inhale gently at first, then vigorously.  This vaporizes the oil and releases flavors.  Focus on fluidity, consistency, and intensity of the oil.  Look for degrees of bitterness, spiciness, and fruitiness.

Positive attributes to look for

Bitterness: typical for olive oil obtained from green olives

Fruitiness: the degree of fruitiness depends on the cultivar of the olives.  The oil should have a pleasant taste of the olive fruit, which testifies to the health, and freshness of the olives.

Spiciness: although the degrees will vary depending on the olive cultivar, high quality olive oils should have diverse spicy tones.


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