In late September, outside of a 12th century finca (an estate) in the agricultural region of Mallorca, I sat on a patio under the protection of trees, just before clouds rolled in for a mid-day shower. The setting was idyllic, and the conversation was interesting and fun with Tiffany Blackman, manager of Aubocassa which makes premium olive oils in a unique way. A life-long olive oil consumer, I thought I knew quite a lot but I learned so much more from Tiffany and I know Real Food Traveler readers will too. Read on for a teaser of my podcast conversation with Tiffany which you can hear by clicking on the player below. 

Save this podcast article to Pinterest, and click to listen too, to our conversation with Tiffany Black, Manager of Aubocassa olive oil in Mallorca. Graphic and photos by Real Food Traveler.

If you love olive oil, you need to know about Aubocassa in Mallorca

Click the player below to listen to this podcast:

Tiffany Blackman, guest on the Real Food Traveler Podcast, is the manager of Aubocassa.

Aubocassa celebrates 25 years in 2024 as makers of extra virgin, premium olive oil. The product is sold to about 28 different countries around the world. As Tiffany points out in our discussion, a lot of people are familiar with olive oil but don’t really understand what goes into making a premium product. She enjoys explaining the process, starting by showing visitors around the 12th century property and the olive groves, the operation itself and the tasting room.

Visitors to Aubocassa get to stroll the olive groves to see where the olives are grown. Photo courtesy of Aubocassa.

Making olive oil is an ancient craft, going back thousands of years. But the way Aubocassa makes it is different in several ways, all of which makes them pioneers in the industry:

1. Tiffany explains that there more than 1000 types of olives in the world and, typically, olive oil is made from a variety. However, Aubocassa grows and uses one type of olive, the Arbequina. The olive varies depending on its climate so the Arbequina grown on the estate is specific to Mallorca and, therefore, the qualities of the olive oil from Aubocassa are specific to the Spanish island.
2. Typically, olives are harvested and pressed when they are dark and very ripe. Aubocassa picks their olives when they appear in three younger stages on the tree – green, yellow-pink and dark red (but not when black). They never let the olives touch the ground and, within one hour of harvesting, they press the olives into a fresh, extracted olive juice. They use state-of-the-art equipment that they were the first to use in all of Spain. Combines, this results in olive oil with wonderful flavor and aromas.
3. Aubocassa doesn’t try to get the maximum amount of oil out of the olive, using far more olives than is typical. But, as Tiffany explains, they extract the best, resulting in a smooth, elegant taste and feel in the mouth.

Aubocassa uses only Arbequina olives which are harvested at three early stages to make “olive juice,” versus using olives at an older stage. Photo courtesy of Aubocassa.

When I asked Tiffany about uses for their olive oil, her response was that one has to ask “What is it you want your food to do.” She explained the food and the olive oil should not compete with each other, but the olive oil should let the flavors of the food be enhanced. She gave the example of Japan, one of their largest exporters, saying that Aubocassa is so popular there because it doesn’t overwhelm the delicate, elegant flavors of their fish. She says we want to avoid a situation in which the olive oil can take over the food and not let you taste it.

Tiffany recommends only having one or two bottles of olive oil open at a time, knowing that people often like to have lighter and more intense flavors on hand. But, she says, once you open the bottle, consume it, don’t save it for “someday.”

“It’s the same with wine,” Tiffany says. “Olive oil oxidizes much slower than wine but it will oxidize. Don’t have four bottles open and use them over the year. Keep them in the dark. Light and air are the two enemies of olive oil which is why premium olive oil companies usually have them in dark bottles.”

Here’s something that really surprised me – the color has no influence over the flavor of olive oil which, to combat preconceived notions, is why olive oil tastings at Aubocassa are done in a blue glass so tasters can’t see the color.

“Very often, I hear people say ‘oh, I love dark olive oil’ but the color comes from the olive and has no effect on taste and smell,” explains Tiffany. “You can have very dark olive oil that is tasteless and doesn’t smell of anything and you can have a beautiful golden color that is very flavorful and aromatic.”

Aubocassa olive oil is based at a beautiful, 12th century estate in Mallorca, an island off of Spain.

Visit Aubocassa’s website to learn more about the company, the property, the products and how to book a visit and tasting. Until you can go to Mallorca to purchase bottles of Aubocassa olive oil directly, if you’re in the United States, it’s available online through Despaña.

-Story and photos (except where noted) by Courtney Drake-McDonough, publisher and managing editor of RealFoodTraveler.com and host of the Real Food Traveler podcast.