The great NatureDoc olive oil taste test

Don’t you just love a gorgeous glug of extra virgin olive oil? Nine of us in the NatureDoc team met up and had loads of fun tasting 14 mostly delicious (and rather expensive) olive oils in a blind taste test. We’re not experts at olive oil tasting by any means, but we all love olive oil and use it all the time.

If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s worth paying top money for some special olive oil, read on because we have some answers for you!

How did we choose the olive oils?

My husband Christopher surprised me by buying a big box of amazing olive oils for Christmas. He says that he chose them individually based on being easily available online or in supermarkets, with a mix of prices, brands, countries of origin and styles. We already stocked one of them, Mr Organic Extra Virgin Oil, which I use and really like. And I sometimes buy Filippo Berio in the supermarket, especially the light one, for frying and salad dressings. But I’d never come across any of the others.

What are the benefits of olive oil?

Olive oil does have omega-3 in it, but this post is not really about the health benefits of olive oil, it’s more about their taste and usability in the kitchen, but you can find some information on health benefits here. And even if we were going into the health properties, we have no way of judging which individual olive oil is healthier than another.

How did we rank the oils?

Each person was given a sheet with 14 spaces for tasting notes and a simple score out of 5 (1 being the least delicious and 5 being the most delicious). The oils were in numbered white ramekins and no one knew what oils were on test. We used Waitrose Ciabatta and gluten-free bread from mygfbakery.com to mop up the oil. Everyone tasted them in a different order. The instructions were just to score them according to preference, and Christopher worked out average scores for:

1. Taste Rank – Best preference
2. Value Rank – Preference score divided by cost/100ml

People had different opinions, and some were more generous than others. For example, Christopher and I both gave an average score of 4.0, while the lowest average score given by one person was 2.6. Discussing it afterwards, Christopher and I felt that almost all of the oils were pretty damn good, and we would happily use all of them; while the person who gave 2.6 was carefully grading the oils relative to each other.

The prices of the oils are what Christopher paid, or a representative price at the time. But they do not take account of the fact that typically the bigger the bottle or tin of oil you buy the lower the cost per 100ml. However, where possible, the 500ml size was chosen to make comparisons better. Remember, prices change and some have already changed since December.

Remember these scores are blind, so they do not take into account factors like look and practicality of the packaging.

About the oils

The top preferred oil had 3.8 points and then five oils were rounded to 3.7, but it was all so close. I was happy to see the top two were organic, and that the one we sell already was the second most preferred. Since this taste test, we decided to stock Hunter & Gather products too since their oil performed so well and everyone loved it.

We’re not olive oil experts and it’s true that our scores and comments varied quite a lot on the same oils. The variability could be down to the different order people tasted them, and we have a feeling that they taste less peppery the more you try. But also, these are generally very nice oils so maybe we were clutching around to find difference.

But taste and value are not the only considerations. Packaging matters too. We weren’t grading the oils for packaging because it was a blind taste test. Dark glass or a tin will prevent the oil deteriorating in sunlight, so that is generally a plus. Some of the oils had slow nozzles that made them good for drizzling, and great for economising, but not so great for pouring faster. And some of the bottles were just nicer and more attractive to have around in the kitchen, compared to others.

This whole thing has made me realise there is not a single best oil. I’ll pick one for light drizzling at the table, another for salad dressings and frying, and a different one for best cooking or dipping. And I might try more different ones for a change.

The oil rankings

Taste preference

Best value (as of December 2023)

The oils in order of taste preference

Hunter & Gather Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1^st for taste and 5^th out of 14 for value, we bought this organic Spanish oil from Amazon. Comments from the team included: “Smooth, quite deep flavour”; “Nice – Good for dressings”; “Smooth with peppery aftertaste”; and “Strong olive flavour”. The label is a bit shouty compared with most of the others, but full marks for effective branding. Hunter & Gather has certainly delivered on taste and won a Great Taste award in 2022.  This is so good we decided to stock it at naturedoc.shop.

Mr Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2^nd for taste, and 3^rd out of 14 for value. This one is from Italy. We used our own stock from naturedoc.shop. Comments from the team included: “Smooth, no particular aftertaste”; “Nice flavour, not too strong”; “Fruity”; “Basic boring”; “Slightly pepperyish”; “Rounded”; and “Neutral taste, slightly bitter at the end”. The bottle looks fairly elegant. Like the Hunter & Gather oil, it’s really impressive to do so well for taste. But, also to come 3^rd for value with such good taste and organic too is amazing. We’ll carry on stocking this one! Click here to find it in our shop.

Belazu Arbequina Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3^rd for taste and 4^th for value. Belazu had several similar limited-edition oils in Waitrose also from Spain but we just picked one to try. Comments included: “Smooth – not too strong”; “Nice strong flavour, would use daily”; “Very peppery at the end”; “Deep colour but not too strong”; “Mild”; Rich”; “Smooth at the start, pepper kick at the end”; and “Mellow, soft. Good dipping”. The bottle is nice and has a chateau-bottled look to it.

Morgenster Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4^th for taste, and 7^th for value. This South African oil came from Waitrose. Comments included: “Strong fruity flavour, not too peppery”; “Possibly too strong for me”; “Gentle pepper, pleasant”; “Slightly fruity”; “Quite strong flavour”; and “Mild taste with quite a pepper kick at the end”. I was really interested to try a South African oil and I don’t think we should be surprised to find that people found it tasty but quite strong. The bottle design does not stand out, but this was one of the bottles which had a slow pour, which is either helpful for economy or boring if you have to wait!

Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5^th for taste, and 2^nd for value. Everyone has seen this blended oil in the supermarket. We happened to get it in Tesco. Comments included: “Smooth, not too strong/peppery”; “Like this one, good all-rounder”; “Smooth & fruity”; “Basic”; “Fruity”; “Lovely and smooth, slightly fruity and a nice pepper kick”; and “Lighter”. The bottle is clear, so don’t leave it out in the daylight. This one is not going to win you awe and admiration for extravagance, but it is a great value and great tasting option. You won’t feel guilty glugging this into your cooking.

Léoube Premium Olive Oil
6^th for taste, and last for value. This extra virgin oil came from Daylesford. Comments included “Medium flavour”; “all-rounder, nice”; “Smooth & mellow”; “Strong peppery aftertaste”; “Mild”; “Smooth, not peppery”; “The least smooth”; and “Robust flavour”. This is the most expensive oil but also the smallest and most stylish bottle. The pourer is slow for drizzling. This one really divided our taste testers and really goes to show how subjective this all is. Because of the look, size and slow pour, I think it’s actually the most suitable oil for popping on the table for people to drizzle just a little.

Nicolas Alziari Cuvee Prestige
7^th for taste, and 10^th for value. This premium extra virgin oil in a tin comes from the south of France, and we bought it from Waitrose. Comments included: “Medium flavour”; “Mild, nice all-rounder”; “Peppery up front”; “Floral delicate pepper”; “Very mild”; “Mild & fruity”; and “Nice smooth taste with a lovely black pepper kick at the end”. This is pleasant but I think we were expecting more from a premium oil. The tin is not something you’d put on the table.

Lia Premium Edition
8^th for taste, and 9^th for value. This Greek extra virgin oil came from Waitrose. Comments included: “Very strong & peppery, bitter”; “Strong flavour, a little peppery”; “Depth of flavour, a good level of pepper”; “Slightly bitter”; “Too peppery”; “Peppery & strong”; “Bitter”; and “Lovely taste, biggest pepper kick at the end”. This oil has by far the most striking white bottle, and a slow-ish pourer. I can dream of having it on the table for an al-fresco lunch in Corfu.

Honest Toil Olive Oil
9^th for taste, and 8^th for value. This is another Greek extra virgin oil, and from Daylesford, but a very different style of bottle. Comments included: “Quite fruity”; “Not so much flavour – cooking?”; “Not much flavour”; “Peppery”; “Mild but pleasant”; “Smooth”; “Lovely and smooth, and easy on the tongue, a good starter olive oil for people who don’t like an overly peppery oil”; and “Honey, subtle flavour”. The bottle will definitely get noticed, and we liked the fun style.

Gaea Kalamata Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10^th for taste, but 1^st for value. Greek olive oil bought from Waitrose. Comments included: “Quite light”; “Good all-round flavour”; “Smooth, mellow”; “Gentle”; “Not much”; “Smooth & rich”; “OK – Cooking”; and “More peppery & nice flavour”. Christopher was a bit disappointed that it did not taste of kalamata olives. He likes buying them in oil and then using the flavoured oil in dressings. The taste of this is fine, but the value is outstanding, and the bottle looks really smart too, with a slow pourer.

Léoube Olive Oil Tin
11^th for taste, and 13^th for value. This French extra virgin oil in a tin came from Daylesford. Comments included: “Quite light, not strong”; “Peppery, strong”; “Smooth, not very distinct”; “Smooth taste, quite neutral”; “Very light”; “Rich & intense”; “Light & pleasant”; and “Dipping, bland”. Overall, this is a nice oil, but there are better ones that are better value.

Daylesford Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
12^th for taste, and 11^th for value. As you can guess this organic Italian oil came from Daylesford. Comments included: “Quite bitter and peppery”; “Grassy smooth finish”; “Gently peppery”; “OK, peppery”; “A mild smooth taste with quite a peppery kick at the end”; and “Bitter”. The tasters’ verdict was mixed but the bottle is lovely and one of the most elegant.

Venta del Barón Extra Virgin Olive Oil
13^th for taste, and 12^th for value. This Spanish oil claims: “Voted The World’s Best Olive Oil” and came from Amazon where it has 640 ratings, averaging 4.4. Our comments included: “Nice & fruity, medium peppery aftertaste”; “Strong, like the flavour”; “Not much going on!”; “Strong”; “Slightly pepperish aftertaste”; “Just OK”; “Smooth taste, and slightly bitter aftertaste”; and “Bitter”. The bottle is clear, so while you can see it, you need to keep it out of the light. There’s a slow pourer. It’s safe to say we don’t think it is the world’s best olive oil. Not by a long shot.

Filippo Berio Classico Olive Oil
14^th for taste, and 6^th for value. This light blended oil was the only oil that wasn’t extra virgin, and we got it from Tesco. Comments included: “Very light, not strong at all”; “Cooking? Quite bland”; “Very light, good for baking”; “Tasteless fat”; “Bright”; “Lacking flavour”; “Neutral, light colour & taste. Assume this one would be good for cooking”; and “Minimal taste”. This oil was the joker in the pack. It is the second cheapest oil and I think it’s perfect for lighter dressings and frying.

Round up

If you are an olive oil lover, but confused with which one to buy, then I hope the results of the great NatureDoc olive oil blind taste test were helpful for you! The NatureDoc team had so much fun doing this together, and it has been wonderful having the luxury of so many olive oils to choose from in my kitchen ever since! I wonder what whacky Christmas present Christopher will come up with next year?!