Our story
We come from a long line of olive oil people. In our family, the culture of the olive tree is not something you learn: it is passed down to you, like a mother tongue.
For half a century in Hajeb El Ayoun, our family has lived to the rhythm of the mill: the autumn harvest, the crushing of the olives, the new oil tasted on a slice of warm bread. This know-how has been handed down like a relay, from one generation to the next.
Today, the fifth generation of oil makers carries the torch, with one wish: to share this oil far beyond our village. It now reaches homes through Sika, and professionals through Odyssey: one oil, two ways of bringing it to the table.
Terroir
Long before Rome, the Carthaginians grew olive trees on these lands, and the agronomist Mago was already writing down their secrets. Under the Empire, the province of Byzacena, in today's Tunisia, was one of the great olive oil granaries of the Mediterranean. That culture has never stopped being passed on.
Each season, we select the finest harvests of Tunisian varieties. The eye and the palate of five generations guide this choice: it lets us offer more oil, without ever compromising on quality.
Much of Tunisia's olive groves are still grown the traditional way: widely spaced trees, little irrigation, generous sunshine. The olive tree draws on its own resources and gives concentrated fruit, and you can taste it in the oil.
Tunisia's native olive varieties have adapted to its climate over centuries. By choosing the moment of picking, from green olives to fully ripe fruit, we draw three fruitiness intensities from them: mild, balanced and intense.
Craft
The olives are picked exclusively by hand, at the right ripeness for each oil. Unbruised fruit makes a flawless oil.
The olives are pressed on the day they are picked, before any fermentation or oxidation can set in.
Extraction by mechanical means only, below 27 °C, to preserve polyphenols, vitamins and aromas.
The oil rests away from air, light and heat, then goes into Sika bottles or Odyssey tins.
Quality
Only an oil that meets strict chemical and sensory criteria may be labelled extra virgin. Ours does, whether it comes in a Sika bottle or an Odyssey tin.
| Per 10 g | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 370 kJ / 90 kcal | 3,700 kJ / 899 kcal |
| Fat | 10 g | 100 g |
| of which saturates | 1.4 g | 14 g |
| of which trans fats | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 0 g | 0 g |
| Protein | 0 g | 0 g |
Store away from light and heat, in a cool, dry place. Close carefully after each use and avoid prolonged contact with air. Best enjoyed before the date shown on the container.
