Olive Oil Tasting

Do you know the difference between a Virgen Extra and an Aceite Virgen? Do you know why some olive oils are hot and others are not? Are you able to distinguish an excellent oil from a mediocre or poor one?

If you want to find the answer to all these questions and get aware of the benefits of the most emblematic products of the Mediterranean region (brought 6000 years ago from Asia Minor) you have to get ready to taste olive oil and to be knowledgeable of the tiny differences between olive oil types and different fragrances.

The Oil tasting workshop that we offer you will teach you to get aware of the real qualities of your senses.
When tasting a product you simply have to be there. One may be an expert in theory but a complete ignorant in fact. That’s why we invite you to spend one hour in our olive oil tasting workshop. We cannot completely describe a taste in words, you simply have to meet with your sample in person and be able to distinct in the first place between quality olive oil and products that feature negative characteristics. The main differences in flavors are determined by several factors, such as type of olive, growing conditions, storage parameters, handling the fruit, ripeness of olives, milling process and so on. Experts say flavor standards include absence of defects associated with olive fruit, unsanitary equipment, prolonged storage, oxidation, etc.

Although tasting olive oil is an intuitive action, you have to be aware of the theoretic steps which have to be respected in order to have a true experience. First, you have to know how to prepare for a tasting experience, that’s why you should know what is the secret that lies behind our senses. The perception of flavors has to be a compound between the sense of taste and smell. Much of the oil’s characteristics are sensed through the nose. Our nostrils inform us about all the nuances other than salty, sweet, sour or bitter. That’s why any olive oil tasting experience begins with the correct inhaling of the sample’s smell. You have to pour a small quantity of oil in a glass and swirl it while the top of the glass is covered with one palm. You will smell the flavor noticing a mild or strong aroma. The next step is to slurp the liquid sipping some air along with the olive oil that you taste being thus able to savor the nuances of taste. The final step is to swallow the oil noticing the sensation that it leaves in the throat.

The tour that we propose you consists of tasting six different types of olive oil and learning how to distinct between mild, medium and strong aromas and how to verbalize the experience that you have. In between samples you clean your taste buds by eating a neutralizing bite (a small piece of green apple, tart or fresh bread) and rising your mouth with plain water.
Having this opportunity to compare in a small period of time a large variety of olive oil types you will train your senses in seizing very fine taste differences. In time you will be able to use your own vocabulary when talking about olive oil and of course to create an own priority list concerning quality products that you want to have in your household. This is a real help when you become aware that worldwide there is a great variety of olives that are grown (over 1000) and processed.

Besides being helpful in choosing your products, tasting olive oil can be real fun. You will learn to label different samples as green (desirable) or red (undesirable). Or simply amaze your friends by teaching them how to describe an oil as buttery, herbaceous, peppery, pungent, round, fruity or astringent. Join us for one hour of fun and learning experience for 25 euro/person and we will help you get your way through the very intricate paths of olive oil fragrances. Let yourself be initiated in the secrets of different Premium Virgin Oils from Spain.