It is about time; Savantes launches the Savourgram© which gives a visual profile of the intensity, persistence, and flavours of an Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Simon Field, founder of International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Savantes and creator of the Savourgram©, offers the new method as a practical visual aid to describing flavour to consumers. He said,’ Most of the descriptions of flavour are abstract, the flavour profile articulated but not defined, the positive characteristics are not quantified, and the length or persistence of the flavours is not timed. The Savourgram © profiles the oil and increases accountability’.
The process involves describing the aroma in terms of intensity and descriptors, then constructing a graph which gives intensity over time on the palate for the oil as a whole or, in an advanced version, for each of the characteristics of fruitiness, bitterness and fieriness.
The Single Wave Savourgram©
The first step is to assess and record the aromas as in Figure 1. The next step is to profile the flavours and intensity of the olive oil at one second intervals on the palate. The simplest profile can be created with a single line which represents the ebbs and flows, or ‘waves’, of intensity of the flavours on the vertical axis as the taster counts in seconds and profiles on the horizontal axis in one second intervals. When the profile line is complete the flavour descriptors can be written in where they occur on the palate. This simple Savourgram© (Figure 2), added to the aroma profile, gives a very good idea of the intensity, persistence, and flavours of an extra virgin olive oil. When using the profiling in Savantes programmes a workbook is created which has all the olive oils evaluated on separate worksheets so they can be compared with a simple click.
Figure 2. Single ‘Wave’ Savourgram© of an extra virgin olive oil
The graphical profile gives far more accountability than a simple tasting sheet as a group of tasters can compare their profiles covering intensity, persistence, length, and flavour descriptors. A presenter can no longer give some vague tasting notes; it is all there for everyone to see and discuss. Experience using the method in numerous Savantes training programmes shows that participants grasp the many dimensions of the flavour of extra virgin olive oil more quickly than with abstract descriptors.
Quantifying Flavour, the Savantes Flavour Scale
In an advanced development of the Savourgram© (Figure 3) the area under the curve is calculated to give the olive oil a score on the Savantes Flavour Scale (SFS). The graphical profile gives the intensity ebbs and flows and the spread of flavours over the palate, the area under the wave gives the ‘volume of flavour’. The combination gives a new and unique picture of the olive oil flavour.
By introducing the Savantes Flavour Scale (SFS) as the area calculated we have a unique method of quantifying and comparing extra virgin olive oils by their flavour.
Profiling Fruitiness, Bitterness, and Fieriness – The Savantes Flavour Ratio
For the Advanced Savourgram© (Figure 4) the process is carried out with different coloured wave lines for each of fruitiness, bitterness, and fieriness. The method will quickly reveal if one characteristic, such as bitterness, dominates to make an unbalanced product. In a tasting of several oils, each one can be profiled in a different worksheet in one workbook and an objective comparison made on intensity and persistence in real time. Two oils can be profiled on the same worksheet (Figure 5) which is particularly useful when assessing two oils destined for blending.
Figure 5. The Advanced Savourgram© comparing fruitiness, bitterness and fieriness of two olive oils from different years
For the technically minded who have time, the Advanced Savourgram© can be used to quantify the relativities of the fruitiness, bitterness, and fieriness of an extra virgin olive oil. Figure 6 shows a notional Savourgram© which gives this comparison. By subdividing this into a Savourgram© of each of the characteristics, the Savantes Flavour Scale for each can be calculated.
The calculation of the areas for the three characteristics in this example gives us the Savantes Flavour Ratio (SFR) of the three characteristics Fruitiness:Bitterness:Fieriness = 1.66:1.31:1.0
Flavour Value for Money
With further development the Savantes Flavour Scale and Flavour Ratio could become very useful tools in removing some of the subjectivity in olive oil profiling and blending. In a simplified form they could be used to give consumers a visual and numerical clue to the profile of the extra virgin olive oil they are considering buying.
An extension of the quantification of the flavour using the Savourgram© is the ability to compare the flavour profiles of two extra virgin olive oils divided by the price per litre, giving ‘Flavour Value for Money’ (FV).
To test this, two products from a supermarket were profiled, the Flavour Score calculated and divided by the price quoted online. Figure 7 profiles the two products. The flavour area was then calculated for each with olive oil A (the blue line) covering 223fu (flavour units) and oil B (the red line) covering 111fu – this indicates that oil A has twice as much flavour as oil B. The quoted price of product A was $34.10/litre and product B $25/litre. If we divide the flavour scores by the price in $/litre we get Flavour Values (FV) for product A of 222÷34.10 or 6.51FV, and for product B, 111÷25 or 4.44FV. In this comparison extra virgin olive oil A gives substantially more flavour value for money than extra virgin olive oil B, despite the higher price. Given that there is a correlation between flavour and the presence of healthy anti-oxidants or polyphenols, it could be argued that there will be greater health benefits per litre from consuming product A.
The calculation of the flavour value and possible health benefit provides a way for producers, purveyors, and consumers to estimate the comparable benefits of competing off-the-shelf olive oil products without sending samples to laboratories for analysis of polyphenols. While many products claim polyphenol counts from storage tank samples, or at the time of bottling, oxidation over time diminishes the polyphenol level. This means that the level at the time of purchase is likely to be lower – or even substantially lower. The Flavour Value calculation provides the means to estimate the polyphenols in the bottle on the shelf.
Aside from the commercial use of this system to assist producers and retailers promote their products in terms of value for money, a consumer service can be developed whereby a taster can develop and publicise a scale of Flavour Value for all the extra virgin olive oil products available from a retailer instore or online at a given time.
It may be possible to establish a correlation between the Savantes Flavour Ratio and the presence of health-giving polyphenols at the time of profiling. Given that the bitterness is mostly imparted by the presence of the polyphenol oleuropein, and fieriness by oleocanthal, the flavour ratio could give an indication of the ‘polyphenol’ profile.
Sharing the Savourgram©
In summary the Savourgram© profiling gives the taster an idea of how the flavour of an extra virgin olive oil manifests on the nose and palate, the comparative intensities of fruitiness, bitterness, and fieriness (SFR), their persistence, and the relative amount of each (SFS). For the consumer, Flavour Value, when combined with the other Savourgram© parameters, can give a comparison of the value and possible health benefits of different products.
The next step is to share and test the Savourgram© concept with the body of competent tasters on the Register of International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Savantes, and others, at a 2-day event in Seville, Spain, on September 10th and 11th 2026. Following any adjustments and amendments necessary, to give the authority to those participating to promulgate the method through their own enterprises.
For further information contact Simon Field This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Simon Field
International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Savantes June 2026 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.savantes.org