Olympia Oyster Flavor Profile

Farmer
Hama Hama Oyster Co & Calm Cove Shellfish Co

Location:
Hove Cove, Totten Inlet, or Skunk Island

Method:
Bag or "Oyster Condo" 

Description:
The native oysters to the West Coast, Olympias were eaten for thousands of years by Indigenous people, and then harvested nearly to extinction during the California Gold Rush. Nowadays, hatcheries produce Olympia seed for both restoration and farming. These oysters are very small - usually about the size of a half dollar - and don’t have much of an adductor muscle, which means they have a shorter shelf life than Pacifics. What they lack in texture they make up for in flavor, finish, and general attitude. Famously coppery tasting, they can have really lovely notes of citrus and are sometimes nicely grassy, but don’t ever expect the fruitiness of a Pacific or the friendliness of a Kumamoto.

This oyster is a different species from most of our other oysters. We harvest it from several locations without changing the name, for three reasons: 1) Olympia flavor appears less sensitive to merroir than Pacific flavor and 2) we grow and sell such a tiny quantity. 

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