When a story becomes History.
Passion and devotion to agriculture for more than a century define the tradition of the Aqallal Family originating in the ancient city of Fès, the historical city of Morocco and spiritual capital of the Kingdom. Our Family is known for its engagement to development and perfection of agriculture, and for an ancient olive-growing tradition. Ancestor of several generations of oliverons, Boujida Aqallal was named at the end of the 19th Century “Amine El-Fellaha” of the area of Fès, which is an honorary title meaning “The wisest of the Farmers” considering his great experiment of the soil, his wisdom and his piety. He had several olive groves at Ras-El-Ma, Zalagh and Lemta and operated his own olive crushing mill. For four generations this passion has guided us in the production of our extra virgin olive oil making the History of oil in Morocco today.
The numbers of quality.
Atlas Olive Oils is an integrated-production farm. We are structured to produce only extra virgin olive oil of superior quality. Three farms located at the foot of the Atlas mountain chain at an altitude ranging between 300 and 450 meters, a total area of around 1000 Ha of which 800 Ha are cultivated with olive for more than 1’400’000 olive trees of the best quality. Constant monitoring of the cultivations and mechanized picking at an optimal ripeness with only a 20 minutes lapse between harvest and grinding. The olive oil is exclusively extracted through a mechanical process in a low temperature continuous line to get about 1’500’000 liters of excellent extra virgin olive oil with 0.2° maximum acidity. The distinctiveness of our oil lies also in the attention to detail during every phase of the production process, the selection of our highly skilled workforce and the use of European technology and know-how. All this gives life to a wonderful olive oil you can find only in the best international gourmet stores. Atlas Olive Oils represents the highest quality of Morocco around the world.
The excellence of Moroccan Extra Virgin.
Respect for territory and people, love for tradition and passion for innovation are the fundamental values our extra virgin olive oils hold and retrieve for the real gourmet of all the world. But we are not satisfied with it. We always aim to the highest possible quality to achieve this excellence. That is our belief, our commitment, an ever new direction towards which we want to go.
Atlas Olive Oils represents a business figure of excellence for Morocco and expresses the best of culinary culture of this country in the world. To make the best extra virgin olive oil in Morocco is a great honour for us and a high responsibility. It is a challenge we face every day because we believe in the value of our workforce and in the good quality of the fruits of our terroir.
The secret of an ultra-premium.
Olive Oil has been our family tradition for more than a century. In order to produce a nectar fruit juice made of the best olives, we have concentrated on a few important parameters. At Atlas Olive Oils, we are convinced the respect of these parameters is the key to obtaining ultra-premium quality: environment, soil preparation, grove management, processing, storage and blending.
The ideal site
Our olive groves are clean and free from disease since they are far from any kind of industrial activity that could pollute the surrounding environment. Atlas Olive Oils is located at the foothill of the Atlas mountains where succulent fresh fruits and vegetables are celebrated all over the world for their tastiness. The water used to irrigate our orchards comes from the Atlas melted snow. It is pure and has been accumulated in huge aquifers for centuries and trapped inside a calcareous reef. Health and taste of a product starts from the environment.
The soil is like a cradle
Preparing the soil is the most important step before planting olive trees. Like our great grandfather Boujida Aqallal, we kept removing stones out of the soil to allow the olive roots to develop freely. In order to obtain this result we have removed more than 600,000 cubic meters of stones and integrated a special volcanic rock in to the soil able to keep water available for a longer time. Good care for the soil always bears fruit.
The most up-to-date cultivation system
At Atlas Olive Oils we know very well that tree management is critical to fruit quality. Thanks to the latest research and development achieved in Spain by our partners who closely cooperate with the University of Cordoba, trees are constantly monitored to ensure optimum health. Detailed fertilizing, irrigation and pruning programs were implemented to ensure the trees produce only the finest fruit. Our trees are shaped to allow for overhead harvesting. This ensures that the fruit can be picked at the optimum time and is not left to degrade while waiting for slower traditional central shaking harvesters. Once harvested the fruit is immediately taken to the mill and turned into oil in less than twenty minutes. When innovation respects nature you get the best results.
A perfect processing
The ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil is primarily a food product and must be treated with all the requised hygiene and care. This can only be achieved by processing olives in a food grade facility and storing oil away from heat, light and oxygen. To that end, we place our oil in a dark bottle with no air/oxygen between the neck and the cork in order to reduce oxidization.
We keep precise records at each stage of the production process so that for each bottle, we know its complete history and traceability: parcel number where the olives have been harvested, nature of soil, amount of water given, manual operations brought to the trees during the campaign, temperature at the mixer and decanter, etc. At Atlas Olive Oils, we can guarantee our oils because we know exactly their story. Only someone who knows the exact history of his own oil can guarantee this quality.
The pleasure that comes from the senses
At Atlas Olive Oils we do not use chemical analysis to make our blends. Instead, and much more naturally, we rely on sensory analysis: fruitiness and aromas detected by the nose, amount of bitterness at the palate, degree and kind of pepper felt when swallowing our ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil. We are advised by fine food actors, including chefs, industry experts, oil connoisseurs and food identities from across the Mediterranean Sea to blend our varietal oils in obedience to our tradition. Blending experts have determined for us optimal master blends giving birth to our exclusive ultra-premium extra virgin delicate, fruity or robust olive oils. You can achieve the best results with naturalness.
What you see is what you get
At Atlas Olive Oils we guarantee and commit ourselves to produce only extra virgin grade and never a combination of extra virgin olive oil with virgin oil or refined oil. We refuse to produce for outside parties bringing low quality olives to our crushing mill. We are highly concerned about achieving the highest quality standards: we prefer to produce smaller quantities of high end prestigious olive oils rather than large quantities of medium and cheap olive oils (lampante, refined, or only virgin). In this context, our usually maximum acidity is 0.2° level. We use the cold-press method and add no chemicals and almost no heat assistance. We test our extra virgin olive oil using the Olive Oil Council accredited methods which allow us to select and retain only the highest rated olive oils coming from our own groves. Integrity is the key to our success and only by strictly respecting what is written on the bottle’s label can we keep up with our centenary tradition and authoritativeness that built our reputation. These are the secrets of an ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil that cannot be substituted.
The gardeners of the desert.
Agro Health is our Group’s Company dedicated to olive plantations and olive growing belonging to the Aqallal Family since the end of the 19th century.
Our estates are located in the dry areas of Morocco where we cultivate 600 Ha of olive orchards for over one million olive trees. Our goal is to reach the highest quality standards through sustainable development and an integrated production.
Our estates of El-Borouj, Marrakech and Beni-Mellal are located at 300 to 450 meters heights at the foot of the snow-covered Atlas, majestuous mountains at the crossroads of Greek mythology and Roman civilization. On these areas considered by the Romans reputed soils for olives growing we created one of the most important realities of Morocco for the production and cultivation of high-quality olives.
El-Borouj estate
An oasis in the desert
Marrakech estate
One century of quality & tradition
Beni-Mellal estate
Blessed by the King
Atlas
Proud of my Italian oils I had a little reticence in trying a Moroccan oil. With my big surprise I found it really delicious. I used it raw, but I’ve to admit, it’s great for frying too. It has very hi smoke point that makes my ‘fritto misto’ lovely golden and crunchy. I highly recommend it!
Les Terroirs de Marrakech
I bought this oil as I was attracted by its elegant and unusual bottle. Such a precious container had to contain a very special product and I was right! The bottle on your table is a pleasure for your eyes and when you pour it, pervasive perfumes invites your dining companions to taste it and they feel privileged to savor such a rare nectar. My guests are special and I love being a perfect gracious hostess.
Desert Miracle
I discovered this great oil when looking for a good oil for my olive oil ice cream. It resulted to be the best one. Now I use it as a topping to add savory complexity to many of my sweet treats. Delicious!
110 Bd. Yaacoub El Mansour, 20370 – Casablanca – Morocco
T. +212 522 981125 or 26 – F. +212 522 982485
info@atlasoliveoils.com