A MASWORTH OLIVE OIL TASTING GUIDE
In short:
Tasting olive oil properly takes about three minutes and tells you more than the label ever will. Warm it, smell it, sip slowly. You're looking for fruitiness, bitterness, and a peppery catch at the back of the throat - that burn is oleocanthal, and it means the polyphenols are there. No catch, no bitterness? The oil isn't what it claims to be.
Most people have never really tasted olive oil…
They've used it, cooked with it, drizzled it - but tasting it properly is a different thing. And it's worth doing, because the flavour of a good extra virgin olive oil tells you something a label often can't.
Here's how to do it. This olive oil tasting guide walks through each stage of the process - what to look for, what to avoid, and what the flavour is actually telling you about what's in the bottle.
Why does tasting olive oil matter?
A proper olive oil tasting gives you a quick, reliable read on what's actually in the bottle.
Good extra virgin olive oil with a high-polyphenol content has a very distinct taste: fresh, with a touch of bitterness, and a peppery kick at the back of the throat. These are easy-to-notice signals of quality and freshness.
That peppery catch at the back of your throat? That's oleocanthal, one of the most studied polyphenols in EVOO, which we’ve covered in depth in our Ultimate Guide to High Polyphenol Olive Oil in the UK. The more you notice it, the more oleocanthal there likely is.
And it works the opposite way - if an olive oil tastes mild and neutral (like most supermarket EVOOs), that's telling you something too. Either the oil was never rich in polyphenols to begin with, or they've faded over time. Olive oil isn’t wine, and doesn't improve with age - it loses flavour and polyphenol content every week it’s exposed to light, heat, and air.
What do you need for olive oil tasting?
Professional tasters use small blue glasses to hide the colour of the oil so it doesn’t sway their judgement, but at home a small wine glass or even a shot glass will work just fine.
You'll also want:
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A good quality extra virgin olive oil (MasWorth Family Groves is a great choice for olive oil tasting at home) at room temperature
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Something plain to cleanse your palate between samples - a slice of white bread or a few slices of apple
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A couple of quiet minutes where you’re not rushing or distracted
That's really it.
Step 1. Warm it
Pour about a tablespoon into your glass. Cup both hands around it and swirl gently for 30 seconds or so. Body heat releases the volatile aromatic compounds that give the oil its character. This step makes a noticeable difference - don't skip it.
Step 2. Smell it
Cover the glass with your palm, give it another swirl, then lift your hand away and take a slow inhale.
Good EVOO smells green. Cut grass, green tomato, artichoke, fresh herbs - sometimes a hint of almond. Early-harvest oils, usually picked in October or November while the olives are still green, tend to be more aromatic, almost vegetal. That’s a great sign - it comes from higher polyphenol levels at the point of harvest.
You’ll likely notice that same intensity later as bitterness and a peppery finish; that’s normal in quality oil and comes from those polyphenols.
What you don’t want is anything musty, vinegary, or rancid-smelling. Under International Olive Council standards, those are classed as defects. If they’re present, the oil isn’t extra virgin - no matter what the label says.
Step 3. Taste it
Take a small sip, roughly a teaspoon, and let it spread across your whole mouth before swallowing. No need to rush it.
Some professional tasters use a technique called strippaggio, where they draw a little air in through their teeth while tasting olive oil - which helps carry the aromas up to the back of the nose. It sounds a bit unusual, and it can be pretty noisy, but it works.
What does good olive oil taste like? You're looking for three things:
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Fruitiness - the first impression. Does it taste like fresh olive? Something green and grassy, or riper and more rounded? Neither is better, you're just tasting the difference that harvest time and variety make.
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Bitterness - you’ll pick this up mostly at the back of the tongue. Bitterness is a good thing in olive oil; it points to the presence of polyphenols, especially oleuropein. If an oil tastes completely smooth and mild, that usually means fewer of those compounds made it through to the finished product.
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Pungency - the peppery burn at the back of the throat. Why does olive oil burn the throat? That comes from oleocanthal. A little cough is normal in a good, high-polyphenol oil. Tasters sometimes call this “one-cough” or “two-cough” oil, and if it catches you like that, it’s worth noting.
Step 4. Consider the balance
The best olive oil taste comes from balance - everything should be pulling its weight. You want fruit, a bit of bitterness, and that peppery kick all showing up, without one drowning the others out. Your extra virgin olive oil tasting notes should capture all three.
Higher polyphenol oils will naturally taste more bitter and peppery than your average supermarket bottle, but you still want some fruity character underneath it all.
If it’s harshly bitter with nothing else coming through, something’s off - usually underripe olives or rough handling in production. On the other hand, if there’s no bitterness at all, it usually means those all-important polyphenols just aren’t there in any meaningful amount.
A word on freshness
The harvest date on the bottle matters more than the best-before date. Best-before is based on when it was bottled, and oils can sit in storage for months before that even happens. What you really want to know is when the olives were pressed.
As oil ages, polyphenol content drops and the flavour starts to flatten out. If you taste an oil that has very little bitterness, no throat catch, and everything feels a bit muted, age is often the reason - even if the bottle still looks fresh on the shelf.
Does the taste of olive oil bake out? Yes - heat degrades polyphenols and dulls the flavour. The more pronounced the taste in the bottle, the more you're losing if it goes straight into a hot pan. Which brings us to the only rule worth remembering.
With high-polyphenol EVOO especially, fresher is always better. Aim to use it within 12 to 18 months of harvest, keep it away from light and heat, and it’ll hang on to its flavour better.
One thing worth taking away
If the oil catches your throat, it means the polyphenols are there. Heat will undo a fair amount of that. So the simple rule is: the better the oil tastes, the more reason to use it cold - over a finished dish, not lost in the pan.
Both MasWorth Family Groves (965 mg/kg) and November Polyphenols (1,200+ mg/kg) are independently lab-tested, early-harvest EVOOs from Crete - the kind worth tasting properly before you use them. The numbers are on the bottle, and the taste will back them up.
If you want to know more about what those polyphenol numbers mean in practice, our guide to choosing high-polyphenol olive oil is the place to start, and our piece on the olive oil and lemon shots trend is worth a read next.
And if you'd like a regular supply without having to think about it, our olive oil subscription service keeps a fresh bottle coming straight to your door, on repeat.
Choose from our MasWorth Family Groves olive oil subscription for everyday use, or our November Polyphenols olive oil subscription if you want the highest polyphenol count we offer.
Scientific & Nutritional Information
The information on this website is provided for educational and informational purposes only and summarises published scientific research and general nutritional information relating to olive oil and olive polyphenols. It is not intended as medical, nutritional or dietary advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice from your doctor, registered dietitian or other qualified healthcare professional.
Scientific studies reflect the findings of their respective authors and should not be interpreted as evidence that the same results will occur for every individual or from the consumption of any particular product.
Any health claims made in relation to our products are limited to those expressly authorised under applicable UK and EU nutrition and health claims legislation.
