Chemlali olive oil from Tunisia: gentle and harmonious, notes of almond, artichoke and aromatic herbs. Specifications and bulk availability.
Chemlali is the variety that made Tunisia an olive oil country. It covers the centre and the south, where it tolerates heat, poor soils and little water better than most cultivars — the exact conditions of our region. At CHEBLA it is the backbone of the harvest, and the reason our oils are recognisable from one season to the next.
A variety is not a quality grade. Chemlali describes which fruit the oil comes from; extra virgin, virgin or organic describe how it was produced and what it measures. The two are stated separately on every offer, because a buyer choosing a sensory profile and a buyer checking a specification are not asking the same question.
Chemlali gives a gentle and harmonious oil. Tasters find notes of almond, artichoke and aromatic herbs, with a bitterness and a pepperiness that stay moderate. It is round rather than assertive.
That profile is a commercial argument, not only a pleasure. An oil that does not dominate is the one buyers choose for wide retail ranges, for markets new to olive oil, and for food manufacturing where the oil must not fight the recipe. Where a buyer wants the opposite — a green, peppery, polyphenol-rich oil — we point them to Chetoui olive oil instead, and many blends use both.
Chemlali trees are widely spaced in our region, a response to rainfall rather than a style choice. The fruit is small, and it takes a large volume of olives to make a litre of oil — which is why handling matters so much on this variety.
Harvest date decides much of the result. Picked early, Chemlali keeps more of its herbal character and more polyphenols; picked late, it yields more oil but loses freshness. The olives are transported to the mill and pressed without an intervening delay, because the clock between picking and extraction is the single factor that most affects free acidity — and no later step can undo it.
The grove, the mill and the laboratory are within the same area of Sidi Ali Ben Aoun; the region itself is described on olive oil from Sidi Bouzid.
Chemlali is supplied in our three ranges. The figures below are the ceilings we commit to; the certificate of analysis issued for your lot gives its measured values.
| Range | Free acidity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Organic Premium | ≤ 0.2% | CCPB certified, limited production |
| Extra Virgin | ≤ 0.3% | Cold-extracted, unrefined |
| Virgin | IOC-compliant | Everyday culinary use |
Peroxide value, UV absorption and the organoleptic assessment are reported on the same certificate. What each figure means, and why it is measured when it is, is set out on olive oil laboratory analysis.
Chemlali is available in bulk — tankers, flexitanks, food-grade drums or a full container — and packed in glass at 250, 500 and 750 ml, in metal tins at 1, 3 and 5 litres, and in food-grade PET on request. Labels are produced in French, English and Arabic, and under your own brand where required.
Volumes and terms are quoted per project rather than published, because they depend on the season, the range and the destination. Tell us the market and the format and you get a written offer with the analysis attached.
Bulk logistics are detailed on bulk Tunisian olive oil, packing on olive oil packaging solutions, and own-brand production on private label olive oil.
Give us the volume, the range and the destination market: we reply with a price, the lot analysis and the available formats.