The peppery kick and bitterness of a good extra virgin olive oil aren't a flaw, quite the opposite: they're polyphenols, the olive's natural antioxidants. You notice them mostly on your tongue and in your throat as you swallow, they last only a few seconds, and they're exactly what gives the oil its benefits. The more a freshly made oil stings and tastes bitter, the fresher and richer in these antioxidants it usually is.
Why does a good extra virgin olive oil taste peppery and bitter?
That sting we feel, especially when swallowing, which people sometimes describe as "it tickles my throat", is the oil's natural antioxidants, what we now know as polyphenols. We taste it mostly on the tongue, which is where our taste buds are.
It's just a few seconds of heat, and that's precisely what leaves your mouth feeling cleaner and gives you all the goodness the oil has. An oil with no kick at all is usually a milder or riper oil, not necessarily a better one.
When are the olives picked to make this oil?
We pick them at what we call veraison, a point between green and slightly ripe, but leaning more towards green than ripe. The harvest runs through November and December, and not a single day passes between picking and milling: the olives go to the mill the same day they're harvested.
That's why the season is so intense. If the olives sit waiting, they start to oxidise and lose that freshness you later notice in the kick and the flavour.
Is the kick the same in every olive oil?
No, it depends a lot on the olive variety. We grow several: picual, which we have in both organic and conventional, and arbequina, the fruitiest of all with almost no kick. So if you've had one very mild oil and another that's much more peppery, they may simply be different varieties, not one better made than the other.
Why does oil go cloudy or get white clumps in winter?
It's exactly the same thing that happens to honey: it's a sign of purity, not that it's gone bad. When the temperature drops below about thirteen degrees, the oil's natural fats solidify and form those little white beads.
As soon as you leave the bottle at room temperature again, the oil gets its normal look back and loses none of its quality. It's a physical reaction of the oil itself, not a sign that it has separated or spoiled.
How should you store oil so it keeps all year?
Somewhere out of direct light and always tightly closed. Oil has three enemies: light, heat, and a bottle left open too long.
That's why we don't use clear bottles: clear glass lets in too much light. We use dark glass that protects the oil from direct light and helps it stay in good condition all season long.
FAQs about the kick in olive oil
If an oil stings your throat, does it mean it's gone off?
No, quite the opposite. That sting is polyphenols, the natural antioxidants in freshly made oil. It's a sign of freshness, not a flaw.
Do the white clumps that appear in the cold mean the oil has separated?
No. It's the oil's fats naturally solidifying when the temperature drops, just like honey. It goes back to normal at room temperature.
Do all olive varieties have the same kick?
No. Varieties like picual tend to be more peppery, while others like arbequina are much milder and fruitier.
If you've ever opened a bottle of freshly milled oil and found it cloudy, here we explain why new oil comes out cloudy and what that sediment actually is. And if you're curious about how we grow the rest of our produce, this is how we farm organically.
Try our Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold-pressed the same day as the harvest.
