Damask rose
Rosa damascena
The perfumer's rose, picked at dawn before the sun carries off its scent: small pink buds for teas and macerations.
Portrait
The damask rose is not the florist's rose. It is a thorny, somewhat unruly shrub with semi-double flowers of a soft pink, blooming only once, in early summer, but with wild generosity: a single bush can give hundreds of flowers in three weeks. It is thought to have arisen from an ancient cross in Asia Minor, and the Crusaders are said to have brought it back from Damascus, hence the name.
The Valley of Roses
In Bulgaria around Kazanlak, and in Iran at Kashan, it has been grown for centuries for essential oil and rose water. It takes three to four tonnes of petals to make one kilo of oil, which makes it one of the most expensive raw materials in the world. Picking is done by hand at dawn, between five and nine, before the heat evaporates the scent. The fields smell so strongly it makes you dizzy.
The buds
What the shop offers are whole buds, picked before opening and dried in shade to hold their colour. Étienne chooses them organic, from Bulgaria and Iran, pink rather than brown, and smells them one by one on arrival.
In the workshop
Steeped, a few buds give a pale, delicately fragrant cup, paired with hibiscus, raspberry leaf or black tea. Macerated in oil they make a soft floral base for balms. In the kitchen they are scattered over desserts, Persian rice and jams.
Our products are artisanal plant-based preparations. They are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.