*Olive Oil Varietals - Don't They All Taste The Same?

Are you kidding?  Does Gouda taste like feta?  Does Kona Coffee taste like Colombian?

Everyone has a favorite, and if you don't - then let's help you explore and find yours.

Do you like peppery, grassy, stone fruit flavors, green tomato flavor, nutty notes, herbal notes?

The crazy part... it also all depends on when an olive is picked.  Green, purple or black?  Greener is younger with less oil, but more flavor, more polyphenols, more peppery, and if picked way too early, more bitter.  Oils picked on the green side tend to cost more because you can't squeeze as much oil out of the olive as you can a black squishy one.  If you like a mild flavor, but want the health benefits of olive oil, don't buy a "refined oil", you're just buying calories with limited flavor and even less health benefits.  A black olive will create a mild more buttery oil.

Here are the most common olives grown in California:

ARBEQUINA

This Spanish variety is currently the most planted olive in California. It is the mainstay of the super-high-density olive production system, a method that allows a high degree of mechanization while harvesting the olives. Arbequina produces a mild, fruity oil, characterized by almond and tropical notes when it is ripe. Harvested greener, it is grassy, with a little pungency but usually has minimal bitterness. Traditional style Spanish Arbequina is very fruity, ripe and soft.

ARBOSANA

This variety is grown in the super-high-density system in California (see Arbequina). It is Spanish in origin, but rarely seen there as a single varietal oil. It is becoming more popular in California for its bright herbaceous profile.

ASCOLANO (OR ASCOLANA)

Traditionally grown for table olives, this variety is used to make oil as well. It has an apricot/stone fruit flavor that is very distinctive. The ripe oil has a strongly tropical note. This variety originated in Italy.

CORATINA

We typically bring in Coratina every other year.  Like most olive trees, it has high and low harvests every other year.  It's low years in California tend to make it super pricy.  Originating from Puglia, Italy, this variety creates an intensely fruity and spicy oil high in polyphenols.  

FRANTOIO

This is one of the main varieties in most Tuscan blends. It is a central Italian variety that yields exceptionally fine fruity oil. The ideal harvest is about halfway between ripe and green, giving it a green, grassy and artichoke quality with floral and nutty undertones and excellent balance of fruitiness, bitterness and pungency.

HOJIBLANCA

A Spanish variety, very mild.  Typically a sweet oil with notes of almonds and green grass.

KALAMATA

Kalamatas originate from Greece. The name is a PDO (protected designated origin). While it is the same varietal, they can't be called Kalamata if they're grown elsewhere.  That's why we call them Kalamon, or Kalamata-style in California.  This is the everything "olive" about table olives - big bold flavor with a juicy buttery texture.  If you want a taste of the Mediterranean - go here. 

KORONEIKI

This Greek variety is found in super-high-density production. It is highly prized for its extremely aromatic oil. It has a distinctive varietal note reminiscent of banana, green or ripe, depending on the maturity of the olives.

LECCINO

This is another one of the varieties found in a Tuscan blend. This central Italian variety produces a sweet, delicate oil with a cinnamon-spice note. It can be harvested quite green for a bright, peppery flavor profile.

MANZANILLO

This is the dominant table olive in California. However, it is also being used to make olive oil in styles ranging from very green to very ripe. This variety is from Spain, and is widely planted worldwide for table olive production.

MISSION

California's "native" olive. The Mission olive can be used to make either an early harvest or late harvest style oil, or something in between. The greener style will have piney, herbaceous notes with distinct pungency and bitterness. The ripe style Missions tend to be very round and buttery, with tropical/pineapple flavors.

NOCELLARA DEL BELICE

From Sicily, they are also known as Castelvetrano olives. They are used both for a mild buttery oil as well as a crunchy fruity table olive.  If you don't typically like table olives, give this one a try.  It may surprise you.   

PICUAL

Picual, originally from Spain produces a naturally robust extra virgin olive oil  high in polyphenols. Typically it has fruity, green flavors such as tomato leaf, green almond, and artichoke with a  peppery finish.  Our Picual sits on your tongue with a thick buttery quality that you won't find in "lighter" oils.

SEVILLANO

This Spanish variety is best known for its role in the bottom of a Martini glass. Although predominantly used for pickling, it makes a superb olive oil with a very characteristic flavor of grassy and herbaceous notes.

TAGGIASCA

This northern Italian/French variety (Cailletier in France) has recently garnered a lot of attention in the California premium olive oil world. The traditional Italian oil from this variety is a late harvest, very delicate style. The California Taggiasca tends to be earlier harvest and have a much more complex and assertive profile. It is grassy, floral and well-balanced.

There are French varietals in California too - just not that many.  The  most common here is Picholine. Others you may find here are  Aglandau, Lucques, and Tanche. I have never seen any domestically-grown Salonenque, a variety I referred to in a previous post.

... yes there are more... lot's more...