JEDDAH: The production season for Tola, the renowned Taif rose oil, has begun in Saudi Arabia.

Almost 70 factories and workshops are now operating across the high peaks of Taif’s mountains, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The traditional distillation process is followed to extract and produce more than 80 derivatives of the Taif rose, which enjoy widespread popularity in local and international markets.

The region’s farms produce more than 550 million roses annually, making Tola a distinctive cultural and economic symbol.

According to local farmer Khalaf Al-Tuwairqi, families in the past began rose picking at dawn.

He learned the art of distillation from his father, who had established a traditional workshop on their farm.

In an interview with the SPA, Al-Tuwairqi said 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 “talqiyah,” capable of holding 20 to 35 liters.

The pure rose oil floats at the top of this container.

Al-Tuwairqi added that his ancestors mastered the techniques of rose oil extraction, with one Tola requiring about 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 one 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.

The meticulous process yields fragrant rose oil and rose water, both of which are widely used for perfuming, culinary applications and other purposes.