I never thought I’d be drinking tasting olive oil for breakfast. Never in a million years.

Let’s face it: when the Foodbuzz session sign-ups began, the most attractive ones were easily the cheese tasting and the sparklers. The seats on the former were taken before I could even finish saying, “Chee…eeh…s” and I signed up for the latter because a girl loves her sparklers, be it in sparkling diamonds or liquid bubblies. ;-) I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the olive oil tasting, but at least I love using olive oil.

Saturday morning I darted from the Ferry Building a few ticks before the hour because I signed up for the 9:00 am session, instead of one two hours later. That’s an insane move, considering that I’m not a morning person — which was proven again when I almost hit Fuji Mama with the door on my way out from our cab (I thought she was going out from the other side…whoops) because I left my brain in the hotel. Sorry, Rachael!

Chef Michael Tuohy (he blogs!), Executive Chef of Grange Restuarant at Citizen Hotel in Sacramento, led us through the olive oil tasting. Here’s Foodbuzz’s own Alexa Malott introducing him:

When I entered the conference room tables, they were already prepared for the flight of tasting (and I was running late!). Each of us attendees had 6 extra virgin olive oil samples in front of us, sealed in plastic containers on top of separately coded circles. For a second, it brought me back to my practical exams in chemistry where we were asked to identify solutions and determine the molality of solutes. Gulp. Sweat.

We were instructed not to open them until told to do so. Yes, Chef!

Aside from water to cleanse the palate, there was a plate of green apple slices (especially used for their acidity) to reduce the oil’s residue after each sample, and bread for those who would like to taste the oil with it. To the right is a handout on olive oil tasting. I was going to scan and share it with you but it’s copyrighted by Nancy Ash, of Strictly Olive Oil. However, I found most of the information on the California Olive Ranch website. Go check it out!

I hadn’t put much thought into choosing olive oils before. I have never seriously considered it in terms of different varieties of olives, region, soil type, extraction temperatures, etc. But wow, what an eye-opener Saturday morning has been!

Olive Oils are tasted using this 4-S-Step Procedure: Swirl, Sniff, Slurp and Sip.

Similar to wine tasting, you SWIRL the oil either in a wine glass or small cups, to release the aromas. Chef Michael is cupping and swirling the container here to warm it up, ideally, to 70°F on a cold day:

Once it’s warmed up, the container is opened and placed it under the nose. SNIFF immediately. Depending on the oil, the scent can be as peppery, buttery, nutty, woody, fruity, minty, grassy, etc.

Next, a small amount is sipped with air: SLURP it like you’re told not to slurp your soup. Slurping combines oil with air. Take note of “retro-nasal” aromas through the back of the nostrils.

You meditate on it to forget about how inappropriate the sound is in other social scenarios.

You can’t see it too well, but Chef Michael is slurping here as he puts a cup down on the table…

The last thing you need to do is SWALLOW. Notice the peppery or stinging sensation down your throat. You might get a cough or two depending on the intensity of the oil. In fact, olive oils are also distinguished by the number of coughs!

Then it was time for the reveal. My mind turn to mush at this point, I don’t know if it’s the olive oil and the lack of breakfast prior to the tasting, but my photos have become either blurry or information retention has become non-existent. Is it possible to get tipsy from extra virgin olive oil?

But I wanted to document the names of the oils and do more research on them later, thus the photos. Olive oil pr0n!

My favorite, the one that made me think of ‘bruschetta in olive oil form’, was the 2nd sample, from California Olive Ranch. Luckily, they were our sponsor for the tasting so we went home with the limited and seasonal 2009 Olio Nuovo, which was bottled directly from the press the week before our tasting. I almost squealed when I found out we were getting one.

Our flight of extra virgin olive oil progressed from the mild to the 2-cough level oils. Mmmm…tasty!

I have to say, I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed — and got — from this session. It made me appreciate olive oil more and give it its due credit and attention. It’s slowly turning into an obsession since we left San Francisco. Now I’m searching for places where olive oil tastings are held and scouring the internet for books about the subject. I turn into a total nerd when I learn something new — this time, I’ve developed a thirst for more olive oil knowledge! Ha ha. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Here’s our Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting Flight (in order) if you’re interested. I included links to stores** and prices, because I’m a shopper like that.

(1) Tenuta di Capezzana Extra Virgine Olive Oil Harvest 2008 ($39.99/500ml)

(2) California Olive Ranch Olio Nuovo 2009 ($15.97/500mL)

(3) Pons Arbequina Extra Virgin Olive Oil ($27.50/16oz)

(4) Olio Verde Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2008 ($36.39/500ml)

(5) CastelaS Huile d’Olive A.O.C. de la Vallée des Baux de Provence ($24.99/16.9oz)

(6) Katz Rock Hill Ranch Ranch 2008 ($24.00/375ml)

** We do get a few pennies from the Amazon links above (1,4,5,6) when you purchase.