Pour

Pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a small dark glass.

Swirl

Cup the bottom of the glass in one hand and cover it with the other. Hold it, warming it for a minute or so, then swirl gently to release the oil’s aroma.

Smell

Put the glass to your nose and smell the olive oil.  You may notice the smell of grass, cinnamon, fruits or the aroma of ripe olives.

Taste

Take a sip of the oil. Ideally you want to coat the entire inside of your mouth.  The characteristics you may notice include nutty, buttery and other ripe flavors, and a fuller spectrum of green fruity notes.

Swallow

Swallow the olive oil. It may be quite bitter.   Because olive oil is made from uncured olives, different degrees of bitterness will be found; oil made from ripe fruit will have little to no bitterness, oil made from greener fruit can be very bitter.