Essential Olive Oil Tasting Kit

The essential tools for learning to evaluate olive oil with confidence—six official IOC tasting glasses, two complementary sensory wheels, and a guided tasting journal bundled with 15% savings versus open stock.

Start at the Tasting Bench

Whether you're discovering the remarkable diversity of extra virgin olive oil, developing your sensory vocabulary, or introducing others to the pleasures of tasting, this kit provides a thoughtful starting point using the same professional tools relied upon by experienced tasters.

It brings together six cobalt-blue tasting glasses made to the official International Olive Council specification, two complementary sensory wheels, and my American Olive Farmer tasting journal. Together, they provide a practical framework for tasting, describing, comparing, and recording the oils before you.

The Essential Kit is particularly well suited to individual exploration, side-by-side comparisons, and small-group tastings.

When purchased as this kit, you'll save 15% from the regular combined value of $132.00.

What's Included

6 Official IOC Olive Oil Tasting Glasses
One boxed set of six cobalt-blue glasses made to the official International Olive Council specification. Their distinctive shape concentrates aromas, while the blue glass minimizes visual bias during evaluation. Our glasses have been trusted by professional tasters, educators, and serious enthusiasts since 2010.

Recognose® Olive Oil Tasting Wheel by Dr. Richard Gawel
A carefully organized taxonomy of positive and negative olive oil sensory attributes. Developed by internationally respected sensory scientist Dr. Richard Gawel, the wheel helps tasters recognize, describe, and communicate the aromas, flavors, and sensations they encounter.

The Defects Wheel® by Susan Langstaff
The diagnostic companion to the Recognose® Wheel. Created by sensory scientist Susan Langstaff, this rotating reference connects recognized olive oil defects with their likely biological, chemical, and production-related causes, helping tasters understand not only what they perceive, but why it may have developed.

American Olive Farmer Olive Oil Tasting Journal — One Journal
My larger, guided format for thoughtful sensory evaluation. Developed from years of judging and leading tastings, it provides an organized progression through aroma, flavor, finish, complexity, harmony, and personal observations, with generous writing space for evaluating twelve olive oils.

Learning to Taste with Purpose

Good olive oil tasting begins with attention. The objective isn't simply to decide whether you like an oil, but to recognize its characteristics and develop the language to describe them.

Start with the tasting glass. Its carefully specified shape helps concentrate volatile aromas, while the cobalt-blue color removes the influence of the oil's appearance on your sensory judgment.

Next, explore the Recognose® Olive Oil Tasting Wheel. As you encounter familiar and unfamiliar aromas, the wheel helps you move from general impressions toward more precise sensory descriptions.

The Defects Wheel® introduces another dimension. It helps explain how undesirable sensory characteristics may originate in the orchard, during milling, or through subsequent handling and storage.

Finally, use the American Olive Farmer tasting journal to organize and record your observations. Over time, those notes become a valuable personal reference, revealing patterns in the oils you enjoy and helping you develop greater confidence in your evaluations.

Two Wheels. Two Different Purposes.

The sensory wheels are deliberately complementary.

Dr. Richard Gawel's Recognose® Olive Oil Tasting Wheel helps answer:

What am I tasting?

Susan Langstaff's Defects Wheel® helps answer:

Why might this defect have developed?

Together, they provide a foundation for understanding both the desirable attributes of extra virgin olive oil and the defects that can compromise its quality.

Who Is This Kit For?

The Essential Olive Oil Tasting Kit is particularly well suited to:

• Curious enthusiasts developing their sensory skills
• Olive oil sommelier students
• Producers and growers beginning sensory evaluation
• Culinary students and educators
• Tasting room staff
• Small olive oil clubs and tasting groups
• Anyone wishing to explore olive oil using authentic professional equipment

It also makes a thoughtful gift for someone who enjoys good food, appreciates the subtleties of flavor, and takes pleasure in learning something new.

Essential or Deluxe?

Both American Olive Farmer tasting kits include official IOC tasting glasses, the Recognose® Olive Oil Tasting Wheel, and The Defects Wheel®.

The Essential Kit is designed for individual study and smaller tastings, with six glasses and one guided American Olive Farmer journal.

For larger groups or more comprehensive sensory work, our Deluxe Olive Oil Tasting Kit expands the collection to twelve glasses, twelve laboratory-quality watch glass covers, and two complementary journal formats.

Watch glass covers are not included in the Essential Kit. Laboratory-quality covers are available separately in boxes of twelve.

Kit Details

• 6 IOC-specification cobalt-blue olive oil tasting glasses
• 1 Recognose® Olive Oil Tasting Wheel
• 1 The Defects Wheel® for Olive Oil
• 1 American Olive Farmer Olive Oil Tasting Journal, with space for evaluating twelve oils
• Regular combined value: $132.00
• Kit price: $112.20
• Save 15%

Availability

Stocked in Northern California, this kit typically ships within one business day.

Canada: Professional sensory supplies are available through our authorized Canadian representative, Emily Lycopolus of Olive Oil Critic. Ordering within Canada may reduce shipping costs, customs processing, brokerage fees, and delivery times.

Professional and institutional inquiries from outside the United States may be considered on a case-by-case basis.