- The Source
- The Press
- Shipping and Handling
The Tree
Olive trees varieties offer different olive oil, depending on the region some trees excel over others. Tunisia is known for its Old Chemlali and Chetoui olive trees, Italy best will be Frantoio, Greece Koroneiki is their favorite while if you go to Spain Andalusia Picual and cornicabra are the most dominant Olive trees.
We can find other varieties like Zalmati, Coratina, Leccino, Arbosana, Maurino, carbonel but if you ask the experts Robust Chetoui is ranked #1 in Polyphenols while infused Chemlali cannot be matched.
The Climate
The more Hydraulic stress the better the olive oil, with high ratio of Anti-oxidant and Anti-inflammatory. Zarzis is located in the south of Tunisia at the gates of the Big Sahara, with its 320 days of sunshine a year make the weather very dry. The Olive Trees are spread 70 feet away from each other to allow each one more space due to low rainfall. The Mediterranean help moisturize the trees and give the fruits a unique taste.
The Farming
ZARZIS uses the Baâli Farming technique (dry farming), no irrigation whatsoever, that puts the Olive tree under extreme hydraulic stress needed to produce higher quality olive oil.
Trees are trimmed to get large and short which allows it more sunshine. Every harvest trees are carefully trimmed by the Nagay (a specialized olive tree trimmer).
No irrigation can take place, and no insecticides are used as the dry weather does not allow many insects to survive. Natural cattle manure is used to fertilize the soil around the Olive Tree Sayal (the Olive tree main root).
Shipping and Handling
After lab testing Premium Zarzis Extra Virgin Olive Oil gets stored in the Zindala (an olive oil ancient underground cistern) that keeps the olive oil cool and away from humidity and UV light.
EVOO gets shipped in stainless steel Sansone Drums to ZARZIS Olive Oil stores to serve fresh olive oil to our larger family.
We bottle our olive oil in the store to keep it fresh away from UV light and oxidation that differentiates us from mass distribution brands, especially in the United States away from major world producers.
In ZARZIS Olive Oil stores you eat like family.
The Press
Olives are hand picked during the day then collected in Henchir Ziane Organic Mill. The press takes place the same day to get fresh olive oil not letting the fruit ratten.
Doctor Miladi, the family Biologist supervises the whole process with his in-house lab team. We use the latest technology to produce the best EVOO of Tunisia and the world.
In order to maintain flavors and nutrients for a long time we filter our olive oil to prevent chemical reactions that can degrade the olive oil quality within 6 months.
We also use a two-way press technique for our Robust Chetoui TRIUMPH where no water is involved in the Olive Oil extraction process.