Olive Oil Varieties

At Origen Oliva, we select the best extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) by olive variety, origin, and harvest. If you’re visiting our offers today and want to make the right choice, this guide will help you pick the perfect oil according to your taste and favorite dishes.

The Global EVOO Map in 5 Key Points

The olive grove is inherently Mediterranean: the vast majority of olive oil is produced in Mediterranean countries.
Spain leads production on average worldwide; Italy, Greece, Portugal, Tunisia, and Turkey are also key players.
Global area: olive groves cover around 10–11.5 million hectares worldwide.
Variable harvests: climate causes each season to differ; that’s why we take care of early harvests and stock rotation to ensure you enjoy oils at their best.
Formats for every use: bottles for tasting, tin for preservation, and large format for everyday cooking.

How to Choose Your Variety (Quick Guide)

You enjoy intensity (marked bitterness and spiciness): Picual, Coratina, Frantoio, Koroneiki, Cornezuelo.
You prefer smoothness and sweetness: Arbequina, Royal, Arbosana, Taggiasca.
You seek balance and versatility: Hojiblanca, Empeltre, Blend.
You want something unique or “collector’s edition”: Nevadillo Blanco, Carrasqueño, Favolosa, Royal.

Picual

Profile: medium-high fruity, olive leaf, tomato, fig tree; marked bitterness and spiciness; very stable due to high oleic acid and polyphenol content. Ideal for daily cooking and preserves.

Where it’s grown: dominant in Jaén (around 97% of the provincial olive grove), also present in Córdoba, Granada, and Sevilla. Worldwide, it is one of the varieties with the largest area.

Shop now: EVOO Picual.

Arbequina

Profile: sweet/green fruity, almond, apple; low bitterness and spiciness. Perfect for mayonnaise, savory baking, fish, and beginners.

Where it’s grown: main variety in Catalonia (>55,000 ha), also in Aragón and Andalusia (>20,000 ha), and in the Americas and other countries, boosted by intensive and super-intensive systems.

Shop now: EVOO Arbequina.

Hojiblanca

Profile: aromatic herbs, alloza, artichoke; medium bitterness with sweet aftertaste. Great for pizzas, vegetables, and cheeses.

Where it’s grown: widely present in Córdoba, Málaga, and Sevilla; one of Andalusia’s major varieties by area. (See Andalusian varietal distribution in Junta de Andalucía publications.)

Shop now: EVOO Hojiblanca.

Royal

Profile: elegant fruity, notes of green banana, apple, and red fruits; mild-medium bitterness and spiciness. Ideal for raw use and dairy desserts.

Where it’s grown: native to Jaén, highly localized in the DOP Sierra de Cazorla; estimated area around 2,000 ha in Jaén.

Shop now: EVOO Royal.

Frantoio

Profile: aromatic, notes of freshly cut grass, artichoke, and nuts; balanced bitterness/spiciness.

Where it’s grown: originates from Tuscany, widely spread (Central Italy and international plantations).

Shop now: EVOO Frantoio.

Coratina

Profile: very high intensity and polyphenols; notes of grass, arugula, bitter almond. Perfect for lovers of strong EVOO.

Where it’s grown: originates from Apulia (Italy), especially north of Bari; now extended to new plantations outside Italy.

Shop now: EVOO Coratina.

Koroneiki

Profile: intense green, grass, green banana; high stability. Great for roasted fish and tomato salads.

Where it’s grown: Greece’s main variety, covering 50–60% of the olive grove; widely used in high-density plantations internationally.

Shop now: EVOO Koroneiki.

Empeltre

Profile: sweet, nutty, very smooth on the palate. Ideal for mayonnaise, mild gazpachos, and fine dressings.

Where it’s grown: predominant in Aragón and the Balearic Islands; estimated area in Spain around 80,000 ha.

Shop now: EVOO Empeltre.

Taggiasca

Profile: delicate, floral, almondy; low bitterness. Perfect for carpaccios, white fish, and savory baking.

Where it’s grown: emblematic variety from Liguria (Italy), especially Imperia and Savona.

Shop now: EVOO Taggiasca.

Arbosana

Profile: grass, artichoke, and nuts; greener and firmer than Arbequina, with good stability.

Where it’s grown: originates from Penedès (Catalonia); increasingly grown in super-intensive systems in Spain and other countries.

Shop now: EVOO Arbosana.

Nevadillo Blanco

Profile: green fruity with grass and leaf; historically related to Picual in certain areas.

Where it’s grown: present in the DOP Montoro-Adamuz (Córdoba), accepted as a synonym for Picual (“Nevadillo Blanco”) alongside Nevadillo Negro.

Shop now: EVOO Nevadillo Blanco.

Carrasqueño

Profile: green fruity, balsamic, medium-high persistence; very interesting in early harvests.

Where it’s grown: traditional in Jaén (Alcaudete, Martos, Sierra Sur); estimated area ~4,000 ha.

Shop now: EVOO Carrasqueño.

Cornezuelo

Profile: highly aromatic oils, with notes of leaf, green almond, and grass; traditionally also a table olive in some areas.

Where it’s grown: minor variety in Jaén and Córdoba, associated with specific areas and limited production. (Information from DOPs and provincial publications.)

Shop now: EVOO Cornezuelo.

Lucio

Profile: very harmonious and smooth, with notes of leaf, apple, and almond; strong personality in early harvests.

Where it’s grown: historically linked to Western Granada; references estimate ~10,000 ha in the province.

Shop now: EVOO Lucio.

Favolosa

Profile: green, leaves, and alloza, well-balanced with high productivity in hedgerow systems.

Where it’s grown: modern Italian selection, widely adopted in new plantations. Tolerant/resistant to Xylella fastidiosa (subsp. pauca), promoting adoption in affected areas.

Shop now: EVOO Favolosa.

Blends

They combine virtues: the stability of Picual with the sweetness of Arbequina, an herbal touch from Hojiblanca, or the intensity of Coratina. Discover our EVOO blends and filter by early harvest, organic, or large format.