Taif Rose Oil 'Tola' Production Season Begins

The production season of Taif rose oil, known as Tola, has begun, following a precise and time-honored process of distillation and preparation. Nearly 70 factories and workshops are currently operating across the high peaks of Taif’s mountains to extract and produce more than 80 derivatives of the Taif rose, which enjoy widespread popularity in local and international markets. Taif’s farms produce over 550 million roses annually, making the Tola of Taif rose a distinctive cultural and economic symbol.
 According to farmer Khalaf Al-Tuwairqi, families in the past began rose picking at dawn and continued until sunrise. He learned the art of distillation from his father, who had established a traditional workshop on their farm. Al-Tuwairqi explained that Tola is extracted immediately after harvesting, with 80,000 to 100,000 roses placed each day into special copper pots. The quantity depends on the pot’s capacity and is measured using a scale. The process begins by lighting a fire beneath the pot to produce steam, which passes through a pipe in the pot’s lid and into a container of water. This cools and condenses the vapor into droplets, which then flow into a narrow-necked bottle known as the Talqiyah, capable of holding 20 to 35 liters. The pure rose oil floats at the top of this container.
 Al-Tuwairqi added that their ancestors mastered the techniques of rose oil extraction, with one Tola requiring approximately 70,000 roses. Traditionally, this was done using fire pits built inside mud-brick structures ranging from one to three meters in length and about a meter in height. The vapor from rose petals was condensed into liquid form, which dripped into a glass container. The resulting oil was then bottled in small glass vials. This meticulous process yields fragrant rose oil and rose water, both of which are widely used for perfuming, culinary applications, and other purposes.