Tasting comprises carefully examining the oil through three senses; sight, smell, and taste. A sensorial analysis that can be summarised in the following steps.

  • Pour the oil

    Pour the oil into a glass, preferably opaque, as the colour is not an attribute of the quality, and cover it.

  • Warm the glass

    Warm the glass a little with the heat from the hands. Uncover it, tilt it slightly and turn it, so that the aromas of the oil flow.

  • Smell the oil

    Inhale the aromas and hints of different nuances. You will notice the scent of plants, vegetables, herbs and spices, and fruit and nuts.

  • Taste

    Sip some oil and hold it on the tongue for a few seconds. In order not to lose the essence, inhale slowly to help release the flavours. Close the mouth and exhale through the nose.

  • Perceive flavours

    Detect the different flavours; apple, tomato, grass, walnut, artichoke, etc. and the sensations they leave in the mouth and throat; fruity, bitter, spicy, and sweet.

  • Complexity

    Focus all of your sensations to detect more complex details. Is it balanced? Does an aroma or flavour dominate another? What is its density?.

  • Clean

    Clean your paludar before tasting the next oil with a piece of bread, sparkling water or apple slices.

  • Fruity

    This could be ripe or unripe. It will depend on the level of ripeness of the olives at harvest.

  • Bitterness

    This characteristic is generally associated with the level of polyphenols present in the oil.

  • Spicy

    This characteristic is associated with the level of polyphenols.

  • Sweetness

    Oil is classified as sweet when it is not bitter or spicy. These characteristics are present in mild oil, where you can perceive every attribute.

  • The fruity flavour is perceived in the nose and on the whole tongue.

  • The bitterness is perceived at the back of the tongue.

  • The spiciness is perceived in the throat.

  • The sweetness is perceived on the tip of the tongue.