How a tasting works
- Jacob presents itHe tells the room who made the oil and what is special or different about it, as people try it.
- The room scores itEveryone tastes and gives it a score out of 5. Oils are tasted on their own from small glasses, and every page prints the harvest date.
- It gets its own pageThe score goes up here with photos and a link to the producer, win or lose.
The next tasting
The next date is not set. Ask to join and you will hear when it is.
What we tend to like
Good olive oil from people who know their olives.
- We like knowing the variety, where it grew and when it was picked, when a maker can say.
- Any good oil from a careful producer is welcome, from the famous regions and from anywhere else.
- Mostly we want a bottle a person would keep on the counter, or give to a friend.
The score sheet
From the journal
A harvest date tells you when the olives were picked, which a best-by date does not. Here is what you can work out from it, and why so many labels skip it.
Professional tasters follow a written method for olive oil, down to the glass and the temperature. Most of it works at a kitchen table, and it explains why a good oil can make you cough.
Extra virgin is a defined grade with a lab limit and a tasting test behind it. Here is what those tests require, and what the words on a bottle cannot promise.
Who runs it
Jacob runs Olive Oil Club. About a hundred people are on our invite list. Write to him at jacob@oliveoilclub.net.
Questions
What is Olive Oil Club?
A free olive oil tasting club. Jacob presents each oil, who made it and what is special or different about it. The room scores it out of 5, and every oil gets its own page here, win or lose.
What does it cost to join?
Nothing. Joining is free, and nothing is for sale at a tasting.
When is the next tasting?
The next date is not set. Ask to join and you will hear when it is.
Is Olive Oil Club a shop?
No. It is a tasting club and not a retailer, and it does not sell anything.
Where do the oils come from?
Producers send them to the club free. Every page that covers one says who sent it, and they do not see the page before it runs.
What does the club like to taste?
Good olive oil from people who know their olives. That is a guide and not a rule.
How big is it?
About a hundred people are on our invite list.
Want a seat at a tasting?
Joining is free. Tell us who you are and what you have been enjoying lately.
Ask to join