I am in Andalucia, the region with the highest production of olive oil in the world! Everything I eat is drizzled with it, cooked in it, fried with it…. and I’m loving every drop. Olive trees create a tapestry of green on the landscape. The groves vary from traditional, older single trees with 12 meters between them, to intensley planted young trees jockeying for a feet of space. Wild trees laden with overripe fruits, streets spattered with olives that squish under your feet. These are the welcome mat of Andalucia, a familiar marker as you pass through the landscape.

Today we introduced ourselves to the wonderful world of spanish olive oil via a tour at LA Organic, a local producer in Ronda.

Our guide was lovely and informative. Sunshine warmed our backs as we strode around the grove. Dotted with art, vegetable gardens and a wading pool for respite in the summer this farm lures you in to bucolic Spain.

The tour ends with a tasting where we learned the proper way of warming the oil to get it’s full bouguet then rolling it on the tounge while sucking in air for the full flavor. Fruity on the lips, bitter on the tounge, spicy in the throat. I have a new reverence for this fruit and its juice!

The machinery used to make their olive oil – no refining!
Lunch on the terrace after the tour and tasting

There are some 2,300 species of olive trees. Today we were exposed to a handful. The flavors range from fruity and smooth to spicy and bitter. There can be nutty notes, herbal tones or hints of apple and almond. When mixed these notes play upon each other giving rise to a myriad variety of flavors. To say all olive oil is the same would be heresy to olive growers! As a fun way to end this post I have included a smattering of Spanish olive species. May this guide you in your future olive oil purchases.

And if you, like me, want to know what is the best olive oil to buy…. It’s cold pressed extra virgen machine only manufactured. This translates to: olives processed at a cool temperature to preserve the flavor and aroma only passed through machines one time and no chemicals used. Happy olive oil buying.