EVOO Colour & Quality: Are They Related?

Extra virgin olive oil can be seen in a range of colours, ranging from pale gold to deep green and every shade in between. It's understandable to wonder if the colour of the oil relates to its quality or intensity. However, colour does not have anything to do with these characteristics and is more strongly related to external harvesting factors and fruit genetics. 

Factors Influencing Oil Colour

The colour of an extra virgin olive oil can be dictated by the olive genetics, harvesting time, and harvesting experience. Certain olive cultivars can tend to produce more intensely pigmented oils and some usually come out more pale, simply as a result of that fruit's genetic profile.

The time at which the fruit is harvested during the growing season often plays a large role in the colour of the oil as well. Fruit that is gathered early in the growing season typically produces more green olive oils, as that fruit it still relatively immature and green itself. Compare that with a late season harvest, when the fruit has ripened more on the tree and is more purple than green. These oils are often lighter in colour.

Additionally, small amounts of leaf matter can end up with the fruit during the crushing stage, and that imparts chlorophyll into the oil itself, making the oil more green. 

How Colour Can Bias Tasting

Professional extra virgin olive oil sommeliers taste EVOOs in blue glass tulip cups to help remove the subconscious bias of how they think an oil's colour relates to its taste. That way, all oils look the same in the glass and its flavour characteristics can be assessed free of preconceived notions. 

Ultimately, the quality of an extra virgin olive oil will be strongly dictated by the care that goes into every step of its production.