· By Honest Toil
The Honest Guide to Olive Oil
What extra virgin, cold pressed and single origin actually mean
By Giulia Crouch: olive oil sommelier and journalist
If you're getting into olive oil, you've probably come across a lot of confusing terminology. What does "extra virgin" actually mean? Why do people keep talking about "cold pressing"? And does "acidity" mean the oil tastes acidic?
Olive oil can seem intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. That's why we've put together this guide: a straightforward look at the words and phrases you'll find on bottles, hear from producers and read on websites. Whether you're trying to buy a better bottle or simply understand what all the fuss is about, this guide will help you separate meaningful information from marketing. Consider it your guide to the language of EVOO.
Let's get started.
Jump to a term:
- Extra virgin
- Virgin
- Refined olive oil
- Olive pomace oil
- Cold pressed or cold extracted
- Single origin
- Cultivar
- Single-varietal vs multivarietal
- Filtered vs unfiltered
- Harvest date and freshness
- Early harvest vs late harvest
- Seasonality
- Acidity
- Polyphenols
- Bitterness, fruitiness, pungency
- Defective oil
Extra virgin
Extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality olive oil. It's made by mechanically extracting oil from fresh olives – without refining or chemical processing – and must pass strict chemical and sensory tests. It's essentially fresh olive juice.
Virgin
Virgin olive oil is made in the same way as extra virgin olive oil – purely from olives, without refining or chemicals – but it has slightly higher acidity and minor flavour defects, so it doesn't meet the standard for extra virgin.
Refined olive oil
Refined olive oil is made from lower-quality virgin olive oils that have been treated with heat and refining processes to remove defects in flavour, aroma and acidity. Because refining also removes much of the flavour and most of the beneficial compounds, it's usually blended with a small amount of virgin or extra virgin olive oil before being sold simply as "olive oil."
Olive pomace oil
Olive pomace oil is made from the leftover olive pulp, skins and stones after extra virgin and virgin olive oils have been extracted. The remaining oil is removed using solvents and refined before being blended with a little virgin olive oil. It's the lowest grade of olive oil intended for consumption.
Cold pressed or cold extracted
To be classed as extra virgin an olive oil must be cold extracted (often labelled "cold pressed"). It means that the oil was extracted at a temperature below 27°C. Keeping the temperature low helps preserve the oil's flavour, aroma and delicate compounds.
Single origin
Single origin simply means the olive oil comes from one place – an estate, farm or region. This is a marker of quality and freshness. If a bottle says "Product of EU" it means olives were taken from many different countries and blended together in a bottling facility, resulting in a less fresh, lower-quality product.
Cultivar
The cultivar is the variety of olive. Some famous ones include Spanish Picual, Italian Coratina and Greek Koroneiki (this is the olive variety that Honest Toil grow and press to make their olive oil). Italy has the biggest diversity of cultivars, with more than 500, but Spain produces the most olive oil. Cultivars that are native to a certain place can be taken abroad and grown there – you'll find Arbequina, a Spanish cultivar, happily growing in Argentina.
Single-varietal vs multivarietal
Single-varietal is not to be confused with single origin – it simply means only one variety of olive (one cultivar) was used to make the oil, such as a Coratina or Picual. On the other hand, multivarietal uses two or more different cultivars – expertly combining them to make the perfect blend. It's very common in Tuscany, for example, for different cultivars to grow alongside each other, so the Tuscans have been making blends for centuries. An olive oil can therefore be both single origin (from one estate or region) and a blend (made from several cultivars grown there).
Filtered vs unfiltered
Filtering the oil is a style preference, done at the end of the process to remove any remaining tiny particles of olive flesh, droplets of water and sediment. As well as giving the oil a clear appearance, it extends the shelf life of an oil, though many producers prefer the rustic appearance of an unfiltered oil, and some believe it tastes more intense this way. (Honest Toil's is unfiltered: if you see sediment settle at the bottom of the can, that's exactly why!)
Harvest date and freshness
Good producers will put the harvest date on the bottle. That's because EVOO is best enjoyed fresh – it's essentially a fresh olive juice – and with time it loses both its vibrant flavour and beneficial compounds known as polyphenols. The harvest happens once a year and in the Northern Hemisphere it's from October–January, so on a bottle you'll currently see "2025/2026," referring to the harvest just gone. When a bottle doesn't display a harvest date, it's impossible to know how old it is. Best before dates are much less useful because they're set by the producer and don't tell you when the olives were picked. As a rule of thumb, try to use extra virgin olive oil within 12–18 months of harvest to enjoy it at its freshest, and delight in the new-harvest oil when it comes around.
Early harvest vs late harvest
Early harvest means the olives were picked at the start of the season, typically in October or November, while they're still mostly green. These olives produce less oil, making early-harvest extra virgin olive oil more expensive to produce, but they're generally richer in polyphenols. The resulting oils tend to be more intensely flavoured, with grassy, herbaceous notes and a pronounced bitterness and peppery finish.
Late harvest means the olives were left on the tree for longer and picked when they were riper, often turning purple or black. These plumper olives yield more oil, but it usually contains fewer polyphenols. The flavour is typically softer and rounder, with notes of ripe apple, banana and tropical fruit, and less bitterness and pungency.
Seasonality
Most people don't think of olive oil as a seasonal product, but it is. New EVOO is made once a year and, like wine, it changes from year to year. The same olives, in the same place, might taste very different from one year to the next depending on factors such as the weather and growing conditions. EVOO should be thought of in "vintages" like wine, and part of the fun is comparing one year to another.
Acidity
Despite its name, acidity in oil has nothing to do with it tasting acidic. It measures the level of free fatty acids. These increase when olives are damaged, overripe, attacked by pests, or left sitting before they're milled. A low acidity tells you the olives were healthy, harvested at the right time, and pressed very quickly and carefully. Legally, extra virgin olive oil must have an acidity below 0.8%, but many of the world's best oils are below 0.3%, with some even below 0.2%.
Polyphenols
Polyphenols are defence chemicals in plants that also defend us when we eat them – they've been shown to help protect us against disease. EVOO is a rich source of polyphenols and contains specific types that aren't in other plants. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) stipulates that to be called a "high polyphenol" olive oil it must have at least 250mg/kg of polyphenols, though many think this number is too low. Polyphenols decline as oil ages, so having a higher number at the beginning ensures it'll still be reasonably high later on in the year.
Bitterness, fruitiness, pungency
These are the three positive attributes used to describe extra virgin olive oil. Fruitiness refers to the fresh plant-like aromas and flavours such as fresh grass, herbs, tomato vine, and even tropical fruits, while bitterness (on the tongue) and pungency (the peppery sensation in the throat) come largely from the oil's polyphenols. To be classified as extra virgin, an olive oil must have detectable fruitiness and be free from any sensory defects. Bitterness and pungency can range from delicate to intense depending on the olive cultivar and when it was harvested. The best oils are balanced and harmonious, with all of these qualities working together.
Defective oil
A defective olive oil is one that has developed unwanted flavours or aromas because the olives were poor quality or the oil was badly made or stored. Common defects include rancid (stale or crayon-like), fusty (from olives left sitting in piles before milling), musty (caused by mould) and winey (a vinegary or fermented smell). If a trained tasting panel detects any of these defects, the oil cannot be classified as extra virgin, regardless of its acidity or other chemical measurements.
Unfortunately, not every bottle labelled "extra virgin" lives up to the name. Although strict standards exist, there isn't enough routine testing to ensure every oil on the shelf meets them. As a result, many defective oils still end up on supermarket shelves labelled as extra virgin.
If you want to see what all of this looks and tastes like in a bottle rather than on a label, it's exactly what Honest Toil makes – a single variety, early harvest, unfiltered, unblended extra virgin olive oil. Their Greek Koroneiki olives are pressed within just hours of picking, pressed in the local village press. It really is as close to real, raw 'olive juice' as you can get.
Giulia is a food journalist and author who writes for publications including The Times. An expert in Italian cuisine, she published her first book, The Happiest Diet in the World, in 2024. As an olive oil sommelier and founder of The EVOO Edit, a platform dedicated to connecting consumers discover exceptional producers, she's passionate about helping people learn how to choose truly high-quality extra virgin olive oil. Follow her on Instagram @giuliacrouch and @theevooedit.
