Olympia
Ostrea lurida
The rare native Pacific treasure. Tiny but mighty, with intense copper, sweet cream, and celery salt flavors in a firm, creamy bite.
Flavor Profile
Finish
Long, intense, coppery-metallic
Expert Notes
The Olympia is the only oyster native to the Pacific coast and packs an overwhelming punch despite its quarter-sized stature. This rare gem delivers sweet cream and celery salt up front, followed by pronounced copper and metallic notes that linger for minutes. A smaller cousin to the European flat, it offers full, complex flavor with a firm, creamy texture—a perfect reduction of intense Pacific terroir. Origin & Characteristics
- Species
- Ostrea lurida
- Native to
- Pacific Northwest
- Grown in
- Totten Inlet, WA, South Puget Sound, WA, Hood Canal, WA, San Francisco Bay, CA
- Size
- Small (1-1.5 inches)
- Shell Color
- Gray-brown with purple streaks
- Meat Color
- Ivory white
What Experts Say
Across 9 sources, tasters describe this oyster as:
Unique notes: mushroom, fresh cut grass, sweet cream, deep, coppery
"rich copper and mushrooms notes, with a celery salt brine and very lengthy finish on the palate"
coppermushroomcelery saltbriny
"Connoisseurs consider Olympias gods among oysters; the flavor is coppery and deep, conjuring up an ephemeral connection to the land and the culture that dates back thousands of years. To slurp an Olympia is to take in the water of Puget Sound and experience the same sensations as a native tribesman five hundred years ago"
copperydeep
"Olympia oysters have a sweet, metallic, celery salt flavor with a copper finish."
sweetmetalliccelery saltcopper
"Taste profile - ocean sea salt, light sweet cream, fresh cut grass"
saltysweetcreamgrassy
"European Flat AKA Belon (Ostrea Edulis) Medium, Metallic with a trace of caviar and hazelnut. This has the loudest flavor of the bunch. The wine equivalent would be a super Tannic Barolo. Complex and intense."
metalliccaviarhazelnutcomplexintense
About the Farm
Taylor Shellfish Farms
Est. 1890sTaylor Shellfish Farms is the largest grower of shellfish in North America and continues to be one of the world's largest suppliers of Olympia oysters, requiring careful cultivation over at least three years.
- Cultivation Method
- bottom culture
History & Background
Originally called the 'Native Western' oyster, they were renamed in 1889 shortly after Washington received statehood. In a competition over the location of the state capital, those in favor of Olympia held a series of public meetings to persuade voters. At the culmination of these meetings, an oyster dinner was served. The oysters were so appealing that Olympia won the bid and from then on, they were known as Olympia oysters. By 1900, the native oyster was wiped out in Willapa Bay, which is why it got officially named for Olympia, where it still existed.
The Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) is the only oyster native to the Pacific Coast of North America, ranging from southeast Alaska to Baja California. It was a staple of Native Americans of many tribes and credited with playing an important role in their diet. The local indigenous peoples of Budd and Henderson Inlet known as the Squaxin tribe called it 'Kloch Kloch.'
Did You Know?
- Takes at least three years to grow to the size of a 'four-bit' piece (about 1-1.5 inches)
- Lewis and Clark feasted on these incredibly small oysters when they reached Puget Sound
- Requires around 2,000 oysters to make a gallon of meat
- No longer cultivated anywhere but the Olympia area, primarily Totten Inlet
- The beginner half-shell eater often chooses the little 'Oly' as an introduction before progressing to larger varieties, but after developing a more sophisticated palate, they always humbly return to the mighty Olympia oyster
Sources & References
This information was compiled from 9 sources.
- Olympia Oysters (30 pcs) - Taylor Shellfish Farms — taylorshellfishfarms.com
- Olympia Oysters as Food — olympiaoysternet.ucdavis.edu
- Olympia Oyster - Skagit's Own Fish Market — skagitfish.com
- Olympia Oyster Pacific Oyster - Seacore Seafood — seacoreseafood.com
- Olympia - Hood Canal and Southern Puget Sound — oysterguide.com
- Olympia Oyster Restoration — nwstraits.org
- Cultural History of the Olympia Oyster, by Ed Echtle — olympiahistory.org
- Willapa Bay and Oregon - The Oyster Guide — oysterguide.com
- The Olympia Oyster - Protect Henderson Inlet — protecthendersoninlet.org
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