The best extra virgin olive oil will taste mildly of olives, but not green olives, think the taste of a good, non-cured, black olive (my grandmother used to can the best ones I ever had). It will not be over powering. If it has any kind of aftertaste or bitterness, it's spoiled. Good olive oil has a long shelf life if it is stored properly (away from light and heat). Good olive oil never tastes bad.

We have a local grower/presser who makes the best I've ever tasted. They have a 150-year-old stone grinding wheel and some of their trees are almost as old. And they also don't filter their oil so all the wonderful anti-oxidants are still there too, although I had to get used to the slightly cloudy look.

If you're in the Sacramento, CA, area, their name is Bariani and you can get their oil at Corti Brothers Grocery (local specialty fine foods grocer) and a few other places I don't know about. They also sell their oil at our local farmer's market. It is only sold locally.

I used to love their olive oil with balsamic vinegar on extra sour french bread. Yum! But now I enjoy it on my salads and in my cooking, although it's best used at the end of the cooking process so it's flavor is retained.

;-Deb