There is a magical place, surrounded by two mountain ranges with the recognizable intoxicating scent of millions of blooming pink flowers. Only a few weeks a year, this distinctive aroma is carried through the 120 km long Rose Valley, territorially overlapping with the Valley of the Thracian Gods and Kings. It hides more than 1500 Thracian mounds (tombs), of which only 20 have been discovered and explored to this day! And it is in them that artifacts have been found revealing and confirming the words of the Roman historian Pliny the Elder that The Thracians in the Roman Empire grew roses, and one of them stood out for its intoxicating scent. It was called the "Thracian Rose." Today, this important cultural and historical area is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Hard work versus vacation
The intoxicating scent of the blooming Bulgarian Damask rose attracts the attention of enthusiasts from all over the world every year. The popular Rose Valley, or the Valley of the Thracian Gods and Kings, is a vast area between two mountain ranges, the Middle Mountain and the Stara Planina. For several weeks, this strip turns into a literally endless rose garden with millions of aromatic flowers. For one, it is an exciting vacation, and for the other, a long-awaited hard work. Damask roses bloom for only a few weeks a year. For all growers and rose distilleries, this is the only period when they are hand-picked and then produce the famous rose water and rose oil, which supplies the whole world. Yes, 95% of the annual production of rare Bulgarian rose oil, or rose otto, is exported. And to be more precise, its average annual export between 2020-2021 was 77 tons per year, out of a total Bulgarian export of 621 tons of essential oils. (For example, 68,000 tons of lavender flowers were collected in 2021, and the yield was 80-100 kg of flowers per 1 kg of lavender oil. This statistic demonstrates Bulgaria's first position in global lavender oil exports, but more on that in a future article.)
Everything has a clear order.
Rose flowers open slowly and gradually over 3-5 weeks. Every morning, pickers only pick flowers that are open. This is done until there is, literally, something to pick. The actual rose picking has its own clear order. Every grower knows that the blooming acacias are a sign of its approach. If these trees bloom, work on the rose fields will begin within 14 days. The fields are monitored and when the first blooming heads of damascus appear, pickers, drivers and technologists in the rose distilleries begin to organize themselves. Rose distillery is a term derived from Bulgarian. It refers to a so-called rose distillery, intended exclusively for the distillation of rose flowers, in which they undergo a double distillation. This specific feature makes Bulgarian rose water so unique. Its qualities are appreciated all over the world and Bulgaria is the world leader in the export of rose water and rose oil.
How much does 1 bag weigh?!
The flowers are collected immediately after dawn between 5 and 6 a.m., when they are sprinkled with morning dew and thus contain the highest percentage of essential components. They are collected by hand from dawn until noon (12 p.m.), only in case of rain can the collection be extended. In order to have free hands, the collectors tie the bags to their waists. After filling each of them, they take them to the so-called collection point, where an experienced worker is already waiting. Each bag is checked, weighed and recorded. The collectors have their own “card” and based on the records in it, they are paid every day. You may be wondering: How heavy is such a bag? You may be surprised. They weigh something between 10-20 kg. Again, it depends on the weather. Damascenes are very small and light flowers and collecting them by hand is really quite challenging. An experienced collector can fill one such bag in about 2 hours of work. However, in case of rain, they are actually lucky, because the roses are a little heavier due to the raindrops. After the required number of full bags are gathered at this location, drivers arrive and take the pink beauties to the pink distillery as an express. Time is of the essence. The maximum time the bags can be stored is 15 hours. And believe me, in this incredible hustle and bustle, the bags are constantly being brought in and taken away, so there are always a lot of them in front of the pink distillery. That is why they “go” to a two-shift operation so that they can process even the most recently brought bags during the night.
The story of the Damask rose
Nature leaves its inherent imprint on the resulting product every year. Factors influencing the resulting aroma are mainly the weather of the given year, the experience of the grower and the distillation technologist. In each year, we observe subtle nuances in the aromas. Everything that surrounds the rose bushes is reflected in it. Each batch tells its own story, which an attentive listener can listen to. Just close your eyes and immerse yourself in it with all your sensory perception. The story of the Damask rose tells of the beautiful land of the Thracians, who cultivated this variety 2500 years ago, as evidenced by current historical documents. This earthiness is a basic attribute of the scent of rose oil and rose water. Then you will be absorbed by its freshness, the same as the beneficial warm spring rains that the Damask rose needs so much to grow. And finally comes the sweetness, the reward for patient work and the investment of time and devoted love, without which they could not exist.
A thousand-year tradition
It is said that it takes 1 million human touches, 1 million caresses, to produce 1 kg of rose oil. Without human labor, this precious oil and its beautiful floral water could not exist. Roses are picked just as they were 2500 years ago, as if time had stopped. The power of the moment and the beauty of unity are omnipresent. Taste it in our unique products, they will whisper their magical story to you.
Information taken from:
Publicly available information from the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture (Министерство на жерелдето и храните), https://www.mzh.government.bg/bg/
"ЗАКОН ЗА МАСЛОДАЙНАТА РОЗА", lex.bg
"Import of essential oils from Bulgaria is accelerated", agri.bg, 13.1.2023
"HISTORICAL INFORMATION ABOUT ROSES AND ROSES", karlovobg.eu
"Червена казанлъшка роза, маслодайна роза, адресь и приложение на билката", bilki.bg
Анка Дончева – Маслодайна роза, 2020.
"Севт III, друга и ние", bnr.bg, 22.1.2016, Автор: Петра Талева
