Everything You Need to Know About Our First Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil

100% Real Extra Virgin Olive Oil Organically Grown & Allergy Friendly. Unlike ANY Other!

The word around our shop is certified. Our collection of gourmet olive oil is certified 100% true extra virgin!

Our extra virgin olive oil is always first cold pressed immediately following harvest. To maintain our reputation for the finest quality, we source our olive oil from a few family-owned/operated groves in Greece, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, and California. Each oil is pressed on the estate where the olives are grown, and we maintain close, personal relationships with every grower, ensuring that our oils are not only the highest quality but also internationally award-winning.

We're always searching for the Best of the Best and the Freshest which is why we offer the most recent crop for our in-house bottling.

For more information on our oils and current crop dates, please contact us.

What is Cold Pressed Olive Oil?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions we get at Olive Oil Divine—and one of the most important!

What do we mean when we say "cold pressed" olive oil? Does it actually make any difference, or is it just another fancy marketing gimmick? Let’s find out.

While heat has many beneficial uses in our daily lives, namely killing bacteria, it can also have harmful affects. In the context of olive oil, heat can make it easier to extract the oil from the olives by thinning it out. However, heat can also destroy many beneficial properties and nutrients of the olive and can cause the oil to become rancid if it gets too hot.

Cold pressed olive oil refers to olive oil that is extracted without added heat. In addition, cold water is added during the crushing process to help keep the olives at optimum temperature during the press. To be considered first cold pressed, it is necessary for this process to begin as soon as possible—ideally within hours of harvest.

Cold pressing naturally affects the quality of the olive oil, as well as its flavor profile. The best olive oils in the world are all cold pressed and always extra virgin.

What is Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)?

Along with the 'cold pressed' classification of olive oil comes another classification known as 'extra virgin'. If you’ve ever shopped for olive oil before, you may have noticed that not all oils are labeled 'Extra Virgin'. Some are labeled only as 'Virgin'. While others lack any classification at all.

But what does "Extra Virgin" olive oil mean exactly? Glad you asked! According to the California Olive Oil Council, the term "Extra Virgin" represents the highest grade an oil may receive. Well, that's certainly vague, isn't it?

The council goes on to explain that in order for an oil to receive the coveted title of "Extra Virgin", it must pass certain laboratory tests, as well as certain human-sensory tests:

The oil's chemistry, tested in a laboratory, meets or exceeds specific parameters that indicate the careful handling and storage of the olives and oil. No chemicals or extreme heat may be used during the extraction process.

"Extra Virgin" also denotes that the oil is free of defects of flavor or odor. This is evaluated by a trained sensory panel and cannot be detected by laboratory tests.

What Does Extra Virgin Mean? by the California Olive Oil Council

So you see, the term "Extra Virgin" is not simply a marketing gimmick. It denotes important benefits of olive oil.

What may be less obvious to you while you're shopping for olive oil this week, is whether or not the bottles of olive oil labeled as "extra virgin" contain olive oil that was certified according to the guidelines of the California Olive Oil Council.

Why is this certification so important? Well, for starters, at least here in the United States, manufacturers are not required to obtain this certification in order to label their olive oil as "Extra Virgin". Go figure, right? But rest assured that here at Olive Oil Divine, we hold ourselves to a higher standard than your big-name, mass oil producer. 

We don't believe in selling anything that would undermine our own reputation, which is why we're committed to bringing you only the best, highest-quality oils this world has to offer. Just another way we Make YOU a Kitchen Hero with Olive Oil Divine!