Why All Olive Oils Don't Taste the Same

Did you know that there are several factors that can determine the flavor of a bottle of olive oil?

One of the main factors to take into consideration is which variety of olive tree is being used to create the oil. For example, at Templeton Olive Oil we grow both Arbosana & Arbequina olive trees and we keep their oils separate so that we can offer our customers a broader range of olive oil flavors to try. Arbequina Olives produce a more floral and fruity profile that is followed by a peppery finish, while oil from Arbosana Olives are more earthy with a hint of a nutty apple flavor followed by a strong, smooth finish.

Another factor that affects the flavor profile of the oil is when the oil is harvested. Olives naturally shift from a green color to a deeper purple as they ripen on the tree. If the olive is harvested while it still has some green to it, this results in a more peppery and earthy taste while olives that are harvested while they are riper tend to fall more into the buttery and fruity flavor profile. At Templeton Olive Oil we try to harvest our olives as early as possible while still allowing some room for ripened fruit to be in the harvest as well. We do this because this gives us an oil with a very broad enjoyable profile that starts off smooth and finishes with a peppery flavor. This decision however is not only for the flavor profile but also for your health! The peppery flavor that comes along with an early harvest is actually an indicator that the oil is very high in antioxidants (Polyphenols) which have amazing benefits for the consumer.

How the oil is made and the growing condition of the olives also have a major impact on the taste of the olive oil. This comes from a variety of factors including irrigation, climate of the year the olives were harvested, time between picking of the fruit and pressing, and the amount of sunlight that the trees receive throughout the day. At Templeton Olive Oil, we have worked hard to utilize every factor we can control to ensure that the flavor profile of our oils is exactly where we want it to be.

The amazing thing about olive oil is that even though the ingredient list is limited to only olives, the producer has the ability to control many of these above factors in order to dial down on the best flavor possible without ever altering what is put into the oil itself. This is what makes olive oil tasting so fun because it is so amazing to see how different olive oil producers chose to highlight the flavors of their oils to be exactly how they want them to be!