What we’d leave: There are no real cons here, unless what you’re looking for is something super punchy.
Flamingo Estate
Pros:
- Balanced flavor
- Tinted glass bottles to prevent oxidation
- Frequency options
- Flavored option
Cons:
- Lacks harvest date on the bottle
Flamingo Estate is a California-based olive oil company named after founder Richard Christiansen’s home and orchard in the hills of Los Angeles. The brand also makes candles, soaps, moisturizers, and olive oil using ingredients from a network of partner farms.
Tester and reviewer: Alaina Chou
What subscription options are available? Flamingo Estate currently has two olive oils: their Heritage Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a limited-edition Garlic Olive Oil. Both can be purchased on subscription, which gets you 5% off the regular oil and 15% off the garlic. You can choose between delivery every four, six, or eight weeks.
What we loved: Flamingo Estate’s Heritage Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a great middle ground for people looking for an oil with gorgeous grassy notes and a balanced peppery kick, without being so assertive that it’s only applicable for certain uses. I thoroughly enjoyed dipping hunks of bread into it, but it would be equally welcome in an olive oil cake, salad dressing, or roasted veg side dish.
Garlic lovers, you’ll want to turn your attention to the limited edition oil made from the winter 2025 harvest. Infused with oil extracted from artichoke garlic, it packs a punch and tastes incredibly fresh—more like true, raw garlic cloves than a garlic powder. Use this one to finish soups, toss with pasta, or on a cheese board with fresh bread.
What we’d leave: While there is some information available about harvest months on the brand’s website, the actual bottles do not display any form of harvest date—something we generally look for when purchasing high quality olive oil. They do list the date the oil was bottled.
Brightland
Pros:
- Beautiful bottles
- Multiple distinct varieties
- Opaque bottle protects from light
- Harvest month available on website
- Free shipping
Cons:
- The Duo might be a lot of olive oil for a single person to work through
Tester and reviewer: Kate Kassin, editorial operations manager
Founded in 2018, Brightland is a woman-owned company making olive oils, vinegars, and honeys in California. Their cold-pressed extra virgin olive oils and infused olive oils are made from olives grown on family-run farms in CA’s Central Coast and Valley.
What subscription options are available? All of Brightland’s products are available by subscription. The brand currently offers eight olive oils: two extra virgin varieties in different intensities and six flavored options. There are also a few sets that combine multiple oils.
What Kate loved: Brightland wins points in my book for its beautiful, minimalist bottles. It also helps that the brand’s extra virgin olive oils and vinegars are some of the best I’ve ever tried. The Brightland Subscription features their best-selling oil duo of Awake and Alive, both made from cold-pressed olives grown at family farms in California. The Awake has a bolder flavor profile and is the better of the two for cooking, while the Alive is smoother and plays well in salad dressings and baking. I like that the subscription gives you a choice between receiving your oil restock once every one, two, or three months for the flexibility it affords you, and I appreciate that subscriptions come with free shipping.
What we’d leave: While the two varieties of olive oil—each with their own use cases—are one of the selling points of Brightland’s Duo subscription, some might find it difficult to work through that much oil in three months (especially those who live alone). That said, if this is you, know that Brightland also offers subscriptions for single bottles of the Awake or Alive oils. We’d recommend trying both before settling on a favorite.
California Olive Ranch
Pros:
- Fresh tasting
- Transparent labeling
Cons:
Tester and reviewer: Wilder Davies
California Olive Ranch has been producing extra virgin olive oil since 1998, long before many of the companies on this list. You may have seen them on shelves at your local grocery store, which would make sense: They’re California’s largest grower of olives for extra virgin olive oil.