Did you know that extra virgin olive oils can have unique styles and flavors? They do when you find a credible source for pure, fresh extra virgin olive oil. Perhaps you’ve become accustomed to a big box store variety. Take a challenge to go deeper! There are actually many varieties of fresh extra virgin olive oils that all have personalities of their own! It can be an experience similar to wine tasting!

A pure extra virgin olive oil is named for the olive it is pressed from. Flavors such as Cobrancosa, Chiquitita, Koroneiki, and Hojiblanca, just to name a few, are actually the names of olives. The weather during growing season, and the timing of an early or late harvest pick, help to determine whether that olive crop will produce a mild, medium, or robust olive oil.

The process of tasting varieties is delightful. It’s purely a matter of preference! Some will be sweet and smooth while others may have a grassy flavor. Actual notes of fruit often come through such as banana or stone fruit. One sign of a true extra virgin olive oil is that you get a bit of a peppery feeling in the back of your throat. This feeling intensifies as you move toward a more robust oil. Mild intensity extra virgin olive oils are often smooth and subtle, with a ripe fruit flavor. A robust variety will have a greener and somewhat bitter flavor with a powerful peppery finish.

Do you think your olive oil preference would match your personality? Are you outgoing, living an action-packed life and think only robust will do for you? Are you quiet and laid back and think you would prefer a mild or medium extra virgin olive oil? Well, it’s fun to find out! Find a reputable source and do some taste testing! Heavenly Olive Oils & Vinegars is set up with stainless steel fustis of many varieties of olive oils and balsamic vinegars for sampling. There is always at least one mild, one medium, and one robust pure extra virgin olive oil for you to taste. Come in for the experience! Too far away? Contact us for a free sample.

Just as that peppery finish increases by going from mild to robust, the health benefits increase as well. The more robust the oil, the more benefit to your body. Polyphenols, micro-nutrients packed with antioxidants, increase as you move toward the more robust varieties. Extra virgin olive oil is well-researched and is known to improve things such as heart health, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and more.

So, whether you prefer the smooth style of a mild, the complex notes in a medium, or the bold intensity of a robust, the key is finding flavors you love and adding them into your daily routine!