Rosa damascena · from field to bottle

Rosenöl.

Eine Blüte, im Morgengrauen gepflückt, eine kupferne Destille, die neunzig Minuten läuft, ein Spektrum von mehr als hundert Molekülen. Dies ist die lange Antwort auf eine kurze Frage — was ein Rosenöl ausmacht.

3,500 kg
of petals — to one kilogram of oil
1.5 h
distillation per copper still
100+
aromatic compounds in one drop
Our four products

Eine Blüte. Vier Ausdrucksformen.

Jede stammt aus denselben im Morgengrauen gepflückten Damascena-Blütenblättern — getrennt nach Methode, definiert nach Zweck.

Rosenöl (Otto)

Wasserdampfdestilliert in Kupferdestillen. Die Referenzessenz der Damascena, von den weltweit führenden Parfumeuren verwendet.

Conventional / Organic / Demeter

Rose Absolue

Lösungsmittelextraktion aus dem Rosenkonkret — tiefer, voller, näher an der lebenden Blüte, als Dampf tragen kann.

Conventional / Organic

Rosenkonkret

Ein wachsartiges aromatisches Zwischenprodukt. Der erste Fang aus der Lösungsmittelextraktion — zehnmal die Ausbeute der Destillation, eine ganz andere Palette.

Conventional / Organic

Rosenwasser

Das Hydrosol, das neben dem Rosenöl geboren wird. Reich an Phenylethylalkohol — das Molekül, das das Wasser dem Otto stiehlt.

Cosmetic / Food grade
The distillation

Neunzig Minuten in Kupfer, dreihundert Jahre Praxis.

Es gibt mehrere Wege, aromatische Substanzen aus einem Rosenblütenblatt zu gewinnen. Wir verwenden den ältesten, den wirtschaftlichsten und — mit großem Abstand — denjenigen, der das sauberste Otto erzeugt: Wasserdampfdestillation in Kupfer.

  1. 01

    Ruhen der Ernte

    Die Blütenblätter kommen in Säcken verpackt zum Destillenhaus. Sie ruhen kurz auf dem Fabrikboden — eine leichte, kontrollierte Zersetzung, die das Aromaprofil öffnet, bevor jegliche Hitze sie berührt.

  2. 02

    Beladen der Destille

    Eine 3.000-Liter-Kupferdestille mit Dampfmantel nimmt etwa 500 kg Blütenblätter und 1.500 Liter warmes Wasser auf. Dampf wird durch Spiralen im Boden erzeugt.

  3. 03

    Wasserdampfdestillation

    Neunzig Minuten lang strömen Wasser und Dampf durch die Blütenblätter nach oben. Hitze sprengt die Zellen; die ätherischen Öle diffundieren heraus und steigen mit dem Dampf als Gas auf.

  4. 04

    Condensing

    The vapour passes through a condenser kept at 35–45°C — cool enough to liquefy, warm enough that the rose waxes do not crystallise on the walls.

  5. 05

    Florentine flask

    The distillate — oil and water — collects in 200-litre Florentine flasks. The oil, being lighter, rises to the surface. The water below is not waste: that is rose water.

  6. 06

    First oil, second oil

    The decanted top layer is the first oil. The bottom water is re-distilled in stainless tanks to recover what stayed behind — the second oil, richer in monoterpene alcohols.

  7. 07

    The blend — rose otto

    After GC analysis, first and second oils are blended in a controlled ratio. The result is rose otto: a fragrance that no synthetic formulation has yet been able to match.

A quiet chemistry

A hundred molecules. One unmistakable scent.

A single drop of rose otto carries more than a hundred different compounds. Four of them — four — do most of the talking.

~38%
Citronellol

The defining marker of rose oil quality. Its share, set against geraniol, is what graders measure first.

~16%
Geraniol

The cooler floral counterweight. The citronellol-to-geraniol ratio (1.10–3.91) defines the rose's character.

~9%
Nerol

A gentler, sweeter alcohol — part of the rosaceous heart that makes Damascena unmistakable.

~3%
Phenyl-ethyl alcohol

Soluble in water, often lost to the still. What remains in our otto, lives on in our rose water.

Beyond these four, a constellation of trace compounds — α-guaiene, humulene, geranyl acetate, eugenol, methyl eugenol — each in fractions of a percent, each indispensable. The character of a rose oil is defined less by its dominant alcohols than by the precision of everything else.

02
Rose Concrete

Solvent extraction — ten times the yield, a different palette.

Where distillation gives us roughly one kilogram of oil from 3,500 kg of petals, solvent extraction returns one kilogram of concrete from just 375–400 kg. The mathematics change — and so does the aroma profile.

1
The wash. Fresh petals are submerged in a food-grade hydrocarbon solvent (typically hexane). The solvent dissolves the aromatic molecules — and the natural plant waxes alongside them.
2
The recovery. The solvent is gently evaporated under vacuum. What remains is a waxy, dark, intensely aromatic paste — the concrete.
3
The role. Concrete is rarely used directly. It is the raw material for absolute, but also a coveted ingredient in fine perfumery in its own right — prized for the depth solvent capture leaves behind.
03
Rose Absolute

From concrete to absolute — the perfumer's preferred form.

Absolute is what concrete becomes once the plant waxes are removed. It is the closest thing to the living flower that any process can deliver — fluid, deep, and with the full aromatic spectrum still intact.

1
The alcohol bath. Concrete is repeatedly washed in cold ethanol. The aromatic molecules dissolve into the alcohol; most of the plant waxes do not.
2
Chilling and filtering. The solution is chilled to below −20°C. Remaining waxes precipitate and are filtered out, leaving a clean ethanolic phase.
3
Recovery. The ethanol is gently evaporated. What remains is a viscous, deeply coloured, fully aromatic liquid — the absolute.
4
The role. Absolute carries notes that distillation cannot — the heavier, water-shy molecules a copper still leaves behind. This is why, for the world's leading perfumers, absolute and otto are not substitutes. They are partners.
04
Rose Water

The hydrosol — a by-product that refused to stay in the background.

Water has always known that rose oil is not entirely water-shy. During distillation, a small but stubborn fraction of the aromatic molecules — above all, phenyl-ethyl alcohol — dissolves into the steam condensate and never quite leaves it.

1
Born in the Florentine flask. When the distillate cools, oil floats on top, water sits below. That bottom layer is rose water in its native form — fragrant, slightly opalescent, ready.
2
The chemistry it carries. Roughly 200–300 mg of dissolved aromatics per litre, dominated by phenyl-ethyl alcohol — the molecule that gives rose water its sweet, slightly honeyed character.
3
Standardisation. Each batch is filtered, micro-tested, and standardised to a consistent aromatic load. We deliver in cosmetic and food-grade specifications.
4
The role. Cosmetic toners, fine confectionery, traditional baking, body mists, fragrance compositions — rose water moves easily between cuisine and skin care because it was never asked to be only one thing.
Annual production

What we make, in quantities you can plan a year around.

Capacities are real, batch-tested, and contractually committable. Lead times sit at four to six weeks for non-bespoke orders; sample volumes ship within ten working days.

Product
Conventional
Organic
Demeter
Rose Oil (otto)
150–200 kg / yr
50–100 kg / yr
On request
Rose Absolute
400–500 kg / yr
On request
Rose Concrete
~1,000 kg / yr
On request
Rose Water
Bulk · cosmetic & food grade
Bulk · organic certified
Every batch ships with full GC analysis, certificate of origin, and traceability to harvest field. Custom blends and partner-specific specifications welcome.

Request a sample. Or a season.

Tell us what you are formulating, the volume you need, and your preferred grade. We will return with a sample batch, a price indication, and a delivery window — usually within forty-eight hours.