ALTEYA has its own rose fields and distilleries, confirming its status as a leading grower and distiller of pure Bulgarian rose oil, rose floral water and other essential oils and floral waters. At Alteya's fields, cultivation, harvesting and distillation are strictly controlled and extensive laboratory testing is carried out at every stage of production to ensure that our products exceed industry standards.

Rose distillation process

The rose bushes are very productive plants. They flower and produce rose buds for several weeks, so daily harvesting is possible. Picking roses is a very hard and labour-intensive process, which is done exclusively by hand. Moreover, the right timing is extremely important, because in order to obtain the highest quality rose oil, the fields must be harvested early in the morning, before the sun shines too brightly and causes the precious oil to evaporate from the flowers.

After the workers have collected the daily harvest, the fresh blossoms are taken to the distillery where the distillation process begins immediately. The rose blossoms are placed in a special distillation bladder. Low-pressure steam is then passed through them so that the essential oil is released into the steam. This aromatic vapour is then condensed by cooling. The third stage of the process is the oil separation - due to the difference in density, the essential oil is easily separated from the water.

Roses are very delicate flowers and it is very difficult but important to preserve all their valuable therapeutic properties. The improved distillation process used by Alteya is complex and costly, but ensures a higher quality of rose oil and its therapeutic efficacy.

Rose quality

For centuries, Bulgaria has been known for producing world-class quality rose essential oil. Our premium quality rose oil comes directly from our rose fields and has a deep multi-layered and sweet fragrance. There are many factors that contribute to the overall quality of this precious oil.