Our first memories of Alwana bring us back to the summer vacations in northern Morocco. These are the moments when we stayed with the family in the mountains at a young age. This stay in the mountains was the highlight of the holiday. It is the place where uncles and aunts live side by side in self-built houses and nature is still untouched. It is the place where you just walk into an uncle or aunt’s house and enjoy freshly made bread, sweet minty Moroccan tea with nuts and delicious fruit and vegetables from own kitchen garden. It is the place where our parents were born and feels like home.
Cornflakes, peanut butter and kale made way for traditional (organic) meals. These are the dishes that our parents and grandparents have been brought up with. Behind every dish is a piece of history. Alwana was the absolute taste maker. Sometimes a drizzle of Alwana with fresh eggs and other times just simply with homemade bread from the clay oven. Our cousins and nieces often told us that Alwana was only put on the table when someone special comes to visit.
The Alwana specialist in the family is the oldest son of our grandfather. He responds to the name Cherif and he is the one who inherited the passion for Alwana from his father. Cherif can go on for hours telling about the careful picking of the olive, the perfectly roasted olive and how this all results in the authentic taste of Alwana.
At the end of the summer holiday we would always get a liter of Alwana in a glass soda bottle as a goodbye gift from Cherif. This little bit of Alwana was cherished all year round and brought the family that lived far away a bit little closer with its characteristic flavor. Cherif’s passion and love for Alwana has always fascinated us. The unique taste, healthy qualities and the family tradition that has been preserved for over 100 years makes us very proud and driven to let everyone know about Alwana.
Cherif (1947-2021), Jamal, Mohamed and Ismail