Rose De Mai

There are over 10,000 types of cultivated rose and several subspecies of R. centifolia. The essential oil that we obtain from cabbage rose is actually a rose absolute which is a refined, liquid extraction of fragrant compounds from the fresh blossom. Although absolutes contain essential oil compounds they differ from distilled essential oils. An absolute is a refinement of a concrete, which is a thick, fragrant material extracted from the plant using a hydrocarbon solvent. The concrete contains essential oils, fatty acids and waxes. Absolutes are extracted from concretes with pure alcohol. The alcohol dissolves and absorbs the fragrant material from the concrete. Waxes, fats and other non-aromatic contents precipitate out and are removed by filtering. The alcohol is removed through evaporation. What’s left behind is the pure, fragrant absolute – a concentration of aromatic compounds including essential oil constituents. Cabbage rose oil production is strictly a hybrid involving R. x centifolia, R. gallica and a few other roses. This particular rose can grow to a height of 8 feet and has a mass of pink or rosy-purple flowers. Most rose absolute is produced in Morocco in the valleys between the High Atlas and Jbel Sarhro mountains east of Marrakech.