Otto is a Bulgarian word for "oil". It’s used to differentiate the steam distilled from the absolute. The production of this oil is vary labor intensive; the flowers are carefully hand picked at a particular time of day, when the fragrance of the flower is at its strongest. Since the oil is steam distilled, it only contains the natural essences of the rose petals as opposed to solvent extracted that possibly contains minute amounts of hexane. In aromatherapy the Rose Otto is more potent than the Rose Absolute, as it only needs a fraction of a percent to do wonders. The aroma of the oil grows intense as it ages if properly stored. When Rose Otto is cooled, it can congeal to a translucent soft mass which will liquefy by the warmth of the hand.

Rose Otto is a virgin -collected in the early hours of the morning before the dew falls, its scent remains pure and undiluted. 'Rose Otto' is a deviation of the term 'Attar of Roses', which simply means 'Rose oil'. The term is used to distinguish it from Rose absolute, which is solvent extracted rather than by steam distillation, CO2 extraction or enfleurage. Rose Otto derives from the Damascene Rose, which was originally cultivated in Persia. Like everything about Roses, the story of its discovery is linked to a tale of romance. Once upon a time at the wedding feast of princess Nour-Djihan and Emperor Djihanguyr, a canal was dug out to circle around the royal gardens. It was filled with rose petals and rosewater. When the couple set off on their scented ride they noticed an oily film of the most beautiful perfume floating on the water. The heat of the midday sun had separated the oilâ'¦and the rest is history. Today, Persia no longer produces significant amounts of Rose Otto. The largest region of cultivation is in a small area of Bulgaria, where the growing conditions seem to be just perfect. Some Rose Otto also comes from France, though most French Rose oil is Rose Absolute, which derives from Rosa Centifolia. Rose Otto is extremely concentrated: it takes about 40000 flowers to make an ounce of Rose oil, each individually picked before dawn.