Within the world of incredible foods there exists the exciting realm of an ancient lush and verdant oil; olive oil. But the shear variety of olive oils available on the market today can make the process of finding the right olive oil seems overwhelming. However, with just a little information you can procure a perfect olive oil for your needs and tastes.

First think about what flavors appeal to you. Peppery, grassy, mild, bitter, fruity, spicy, and buttery are all adjectives used to describe different olive oils, and you may need to taste a variety of oils to decide which appeals most to your palette.

Then consider how you wish to use your olive oil. Will it be for everyday, heated cooking, for finishing fish, meat, and vegetable dishes, or for using in vinaigrettes?

How much you have to spend is also obviously important and something you’ll want to consider before heading to the store. Olive oils come in a variety of prices from inexpensive to very pricey, so have somewhat of a budget in mind as well as flexibility so you can match your tastes with what you can afford.

A great place to start your search is by tasting a good many olive oils. Good quality olive oils should maintain a balance between bitterness and peppery pungency. Depending on the variety of olive and the time of harvest, the oil will either be more or less fruity. Olives harvested at the beginning of the season, October, will be a brighter green in color and have a very fresh, grassy, and peppery flavor. Olives pressed at the end of the season, December through January, will have a milder yellow-green color and a fruity flavor and aroma.

Always look for first cold-pressed olive oil, as it is made from olives that were pressed immediately after being picked, which minimizes oxidization and preserves the flavor integrity of the fruit. It also means that no hot water was added to the extraction process, which dilutes the flavor. It’s very important to be sure that the olive oil was not cut with other oils, a common practice for low quality producers, which taints the flavor and nutritional value of the oil.

With this information in mind we invite you to try our samples of our small and thoughtfully hand-picked selection of olive oils, a few of which we list here. We carry oils from California, Spain, Italy, France, Morocco, Tunisia, and New Zealand that range from pungent to mild, buttery to peppery, and value to higher priced.

Merula Olive Oil, one of our top sellers, is from Spain and boasts soft, fruity, buttery, and luscious flavor that is excellent for drizzling on your salads and everyday cooking.

We carry a couple of organic olive oils, one of which is Olemun Viride from Spain and is greenish-yellow in color, fresh, fruity with hints of almonds, apples and tomatoes, and finishes with a soft bitterness and pungency.

Les Moulins Mahjoub Organic and unfiltered olive oil from Tunisia is cloudy and robust with fresh fruit flavor which is due to the hand decantation pressing process. This is unique and special oil whose flavor will vary from one harvest to the next.

A L’Olivier, French oil, is lighter, soft and fruity and sure to tantalize your palate!

Alili is a pure Moroccan olive oil made from the Picholine. Its green color and peppery kick make this an excellent choice to use as finishing or sauté oil.

I Love Olive Oil from New Zealand is a cool-climate oil boasting fruity flavor and aroma, which is created by the long ripening season.

For those of you looking for the best quality value we carry California based Lucero’s Arbequina Olive Oil, as well as their traditional styled balsamic vinegar, in bulk. Lucero’s olive oils are high in quality and affordable as we buy and sell it in bulk sizes.

There’s so much you can do with a quality olive oil and once you taste the better oils it will be hard for you to go back to a mass produced, inferior oil, and we’re here to help you with that!

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