CBD. Olive. Oil. Could there be anything better? We take CBD daily to keep our mood leveled, our inflammation down, and our body aches at bay. Combining this potent plant medicine into an edible ingredient we’re already using daily is kind of genius. Why? CBD works best when we let it accumulate in our systems, so by drizzling a little CBD olive oil onto every meal we’re using the healthy ingredient in a savvy way.
Professional foodie and cookbook author, Kat Odell has done the noble work of testing some of the most exciting CBD olive oils on the market right now. Take a peek at her findings…
One of the hottest buzzwords in the wellness world is CBD or cannabidiol (the non-psychoactive compound found in the cannabis plant), and it’s everywhere right now, for good reason. You’ll find it in skincare products, drinks and, of course, food. Ongoing scientific research continues to link the plant to a laundry list of health benefits, from combating inflammation to improving sleep and countering pain.
High-quality olive oil seems to be the preferred delivery vehicle for a number of CBD brands, such as Plant People, House of Spain and Lily. “These oils are intended to be lifestyle products,” explains House of Spain co-founder Amanda Gillies. She hopes her customers will use CBD olive oil as one would any other olive oil.
How To Use CBD Olive Oil
In terms of dosing CBD oil, everyone’s body is different, so there is not one right answer. Pot d’Huile founder Yannick Crespo suggests a starting dose of around 20 to 30 milligrams of full-spectrum CBD, but he calls out the importance of use over time: “The key here is that [one] use[s] CBD regularly for it to be more effective.”
Full-spectrum CBD means that the oil contains not just CBD, but the hemp plant’s other naturally-occurring terpenes and flavonoids. CBD isolate is just that, the isolated CBD compound. Legally, CBD can not contain more than .3 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the compound that will get you high. Full-spectrum CBD is believed to offer a higher level of relief thanks to the entourage effect, which is teamwork between the plant’s myriad terpenes to yield a stronger product.
Below are five great CBD olive oils to drizzle on avocado toast or toss into a summer salad:
Plant People (100ml/$35)
Strength: 200mg of CBD — full-spectrum
Varietal: Arbequina, sourced from San Joaquin Valley, CA
Tasting notes: Smells rich and buttery, tastes smooth, creamy and mildly buttery.
House of Spain (250ml/$49)
Strength: 250mg of CBD
Varietal: A blend of Picudo and Hojiblanca, harvested from 500-year-old olive trees in Andalucía, Spain.
Tasting notes: Smells buttery and spicy, with a butter-flavor characterized by a hint of bitterness.
Pot d’Huile (125ml/$37)
Strength: 125mg of CBD — full-spectrum
Varietal: Frantoio, sourced from Santa Cruz, CA
Tasting notes: Smells creamy, rich and fresh. Tastes bright, vegetal, buttery with a bitter tingle in the back of one’s throat on the finish.
Wonder Valley x Lily (100ml/ $39)
Strength: 150mg of CBD — full-spectrum
Varietal: A blend of Leccino, Frantoio, Maurino, Pendolino and Coratino. This collaboration oil was produced with California olive oil brand Wonder Valley, who sources olives from Lake County.
Tasting notes: Smells like cannabis with a rich olive note in the background. The cannabis flavor overpowers the olive oil’s more delicate flavor due to the oil’s high-potency, full-spectrum nature.
Grass Valley Orchards (250ml/$45)
Strength: 250mg of CBD — isloate
Varietal: Arbequina, soured from organically-grown olives in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Tasting notes: Creamy, vegetal.
