It is important to bear in mind that the tongue is only able to perceive four primary tastes: acid – in the sides and the base of the tongue-, salty - at the edges, but not in the central surface-, bitter- only at the back- and sweet- it is sensed at the tip of the mouth. The other tastes are combinations of these mentioned four. The peppery, astringent or bitter feelings are just tactile sensations. For instance, pungency is not a taste, but a sensation perceived by the whole of the mouth: it is in the throat where it is best perceived, and its intesity increases with time..

Our oral and nasal cavities are internally communicated, so that when the oil is inside the mouth it is still possible to perceive smells via the retronasal passage. The aroma is made of the smells we perceive retronasally as well as directly. The flavor is made up of the olfactory, gustatory, tactile and kinestesic sensations produced by organoleptic properties in the oral and nasal cavities.

In oils, the organoleptic characteristics are the joint sensory qualities which reflect four main factors:
1- The state of the raw material ( olives),
2- the olive extraction process,
3- the olive storaging process in the olive mill,
4- the stages the olive goes through until it gets to the final consumer ( this includes: filtering prior to packaging, packaging process and type of packaging, and the subsequent circumstances). The sensory characteristics of a virgin olive oil are the reflection of these four factors.

Olive oils must be tasted at a temperature of 28ºC. The oil is distributed in blue-coloured balloon glasses. The glass shape allows the odors to concentrate and the temperature is ideal to release the volatility of the aromatic compounds. The glasses are blue because in olive tasting the colour is not important. Unlike with wine tasting, colour is not directly correlated to its organoleptic characteristics.

As in any tasting, the final result is a combination of various stages, as: visual, olfactory, gustatory, tactile and last, the grade of balance/harmony, appreciating the positive and negative attributes. The oils with no defects will get the maximum score. Many types of oil get the maximum score, but they are not equally appreciated by consumers due to their own taste and not to the oil´s defects.

Visual analysis: attributes which are cosidered to be positive: clean, filtered, veiled, opalescent veiled. Negative attibutes: dirty, dark, murky.
Olfactory anlysis: positive attributes: fruity from ripe olive, fruity from unripe olive, apple, green grass, fig tree, green leaf, other fruits, etc. Negative attributes: vegetable water (alpechín), winey, rancid, lees or rotten, overstored, musty or humid, pressing mat and metallic.
Gustatory analysis: positive attributes: fruity, clean, fresh, fruits, bitter, healthy, sweet, almond, pine nut, vegetable, medium-soft pungent. Negative attributes: intensely pungent, dry leaves or Hay, acid, pressing mat, heated or burnt, metallic, rotten, intensely bitter, winey, frozen olives, lees, wood/firewood, rancid and grubby (from olives attacked by olive fly).
Tactile analysis: based on consistencies: pasty, acqueous, fluid, smooth. Any non-typical tactile consistency or sensation is considered as a negative attribute.
Balance/harmony: When smelling we usually expect to feel certain flavours in the taste. If the actual flavours are the ones we expected for, then the oil is balanced or harmonic.