Taifska ruža

Origin

Each April, some 2000 farms in the uplands near Taif turn pink. For three centuries the rose has been cultivated there and processed into attar of roses and rose water.

No one is certain how the 30-petal Damask rose first came to Taif. That the rose of Taif is virtually identical to the Bulgarian kazanlik strain suggests that it may have been transplanted from the Balkans by the Ottoman Turks. The kazanlik rose has its own roots in the Persian rose plantations around Shiraz and Kashan. A legend among the growers of al-Hada says that the flower originally came from India.

Flowering and yield

Flowering lasts only the month of April. The pink blooms unfold only at dawn, and by midday unpicked blossoms contain only about half the oil they had at daybreak. At the peak of the crop, roughly the third week of April, an established bush could be topped with up to 200 roses each morning. A fully mature bush, perhaps 15 to 20 years old, can produce more than 3000 roses during the season.

It takes between 10,000 and 15,000 hand-picked roses to make a tolah of attar, depending upon climatic conditions. Well-defined temperature differences between night and day, relative humidity above 50 percent, calm air and clear skies lead to early-morning dews that encourage the rose to build up ample, high-quality oil.

Chemistry

Main constituents of the Taif rose essential oils studied were citronellol, nerol, geraniol and nonadecane. The monoterpene alcohols citronellol, geraniol and nerol were the constituents responsible for the odor of the oils analysed. In rose oil, the major components are citronellol (20-34%), geraniol (15-22%) and nonadecane (8-15%).

The key components of rose oil are beta-damascenone, beta-damascone, other damascones, beta-ionone and rose oxide. These compounds usually make up less than 1% of rose oil, yet slightly more than 90% of its odor content, because their odor detection thresholds are low. Beta-damascenone is a major contributor to the aroma of roses despite its very low concentration, and its presence is considered the marker for the quality of rose oil.

Oils from Taif rose plants treated with 500 ppm NaCl recorded the highest citronellol, geraniol and phenylethyl alcohol contents: 16.56, 8.67 and 9.87%, respectively. The high antimicrobial effect of Taif rose oils was confirmed on six types of bacteria and fungi, the strongest against the Gram-positive bacterium S. aureus.

Place and trade

Taif is very active in the manufacturing of traditional attar, and is known locally as the “City of the Roses. In 1997 Taif's production, though high in quality, was modest compared with the larger, export-oriented operations in Turkey, Bulgaria, Russia, China, India, Morocco and Iran. In 1997 a tolah of attar usually sold for between 2000 and 3000 Saudi riyals ($530 to $800), the price varying with the season and local demand.

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Related: 2 Phenoxyethanol · Alba Rose · Benzophenone · Beta Damascenone · China Rose · Citronellyl Formate · Desert Rose · Dried Rose