Rose absolute (rosa damascena)

Its easy to become poetic when talking of the flower of the heart the Rose.

For my birthday (June 16th) I travel to Sofia. From here its an easy drive to Toundja and Struma the two "valleys of the roses". The soil here is ideal being underlain by gravel, limestone and sand. Sp's rose oil supplier is located in Zimnitsa near to Kazanlak. The oil comes from fields near Shipka. Keeping the rose fields is labour intensive.

Rosa Damascena or 'pink damask rose' is part of the Rosa Centifolia Group. True Rosa Centifolia L or 'light pink cabbage rose' is very hard to get hold of. Most is extracted with volatile solvents which yield an absolute or concrete. Rosa Alba 'white rose' is kept as hedging to protect the pink roses and can be found in coarser Rose oils.