Our final winner!
Congratulations to our Day 10 winner from Tallahassee, FL! Thanks to everyone who followed along and participated in our daily quiz.
June 1st, 2008
Enter to win $50 worth of Aura Cacia Goodies (day 10)
Thanks to all who participated in yesterday’s quiz. The winner has already been notified – for everyone else here are today’s questions for another chance to win…
Q1. How late are bars open in Bulgaria?
Q2. What can happen to a couple in Morocco if they are caught holding hands in public?
Q3. What do you love about essential oils?
Think you know all the answers? Submit them now! The first person to respond correctly to all three questions will win todays giveaway - a selection of Aura Cacia goodies, worth $50! (See todays selection here).
If you’re our lucky winner, we’ll contact you via email by the end of the day. If not, don’t forget to come back tomorrow to play again!
Terms & Conditions:
1. There can only be one winner per day. The first person to answer all three questions correctly wins.
2. In the interest of fairness, the same person cannot win twice.
May 29th, 2008
Day 10 - The Last Day
As I mentioned yesterday, we had a big last night planned in Bulgaria and I am quite happy to say that it did not disappoint!
The woman who runs the rose project that we visited the day before had made reservations for us at well-known restaurant in the heart of the city. We dined on the patio while a few musicians entertained us.
After dinner, we walked down to the square of the city where there are numerous restaurants, shops, and bars. We stopped in one bar and this was when I learned about a fun drinking game from one of our French hosts. I use the term “game” loosely here. It really is more about just doing a shot and making it a little more fun. How it works is that you light the shot on fire. Then after a few seconds, you place your palm over the top of the glass to extinguish the flame. In doing so, the glass is suppose to suction to your hand. You then pick it up and shake it with it the glass hanging off of your hand. You then pull the glass off, smell the drink, and shoot it back. As I type this, it does seem crazy, but when you are drinking and out for an evening of fun, it seemed so sensible.
We then had yet another special reservation at a local whiskey bar. Again, on the patio. I did forget to mention that the temperature in Bulgaria the last few days has been blazing hot. Today it was 102!! We were definitely in need of showers by the end of the day.
I absolutely loved the whiskey bar! Not because there was whiskey but because there were two really great things about this place. The first one is that they had drinking hats available for people to wear while at the bar. We each put on a hat and promptly wore them the rest of the time we were at the whiskey bar. The other thing that is really cool about bars in Bulgaria is that you can purchase a bottle of vodka or other liquor and then they bring you an assortment of fixins in order to make your own drinks. We had juices and Red Bull as well as olive juice and carrot sticks soaked in olive juice. All very fun stuff.
At this time, it is about 2:00 am. You would think that we would be calling it a night by now. But nope. Not us. And not in Bulgaria. Most bars and drinking establishments are open until the wee hours of the morning. We decided we would finally check out a club and see what we thought. Although it wasn’t a very busy night at the club, we danced our hearts out for about 2 hours and finally decided to head back around 4 am. Our intent was to walk around the city for a few hours this morning before heading the airport but most of us had a little trouble getting up early.
We did encounter another interesting airport situation today. I think I am going to have to have a very stern talk with our company’s travel agent after I get back. All of our flight schedules indicated that we were to be on a 3:20 pm flight to Paris. Upon check in, we discovered that I was the only booked on that flight and that all others had been booked on a 4:20 pm flight to Paris. Now, as if that wasn’t crazy enough, we discovered that the 4:20 pm flight was actually on a different airline all together. And here is the totally crazy thing….Bulgarian airlines (the new airline that everyone else was surprisingly booked on) doesn’t even fly on Thursdays!!! Luckily, we found some very helpful ticket agents who got all of the rest of the group on my flight even though it was overbooked. Funny how those things can work out.
This trip, like all sourcing trips, has far exceeded my expectations. Morocco, although a very interesting atmosphere, produces some wonderful essential oils and I am thrilled that I was able to experience that country and its’ culture.
We have been discussing the last few days the extreme contrast between Morocco and Bulgaria in terms of the cultural experiences. It was quite a change to go from one to the other. Morocco was so conservative and, for a woman, even more so. I can’t remember if I mentioned this or not but couples in Morocco can be fined for holding hands or publically showing affection to one another. The wife must also walk behind her husband when in public. Bulgaria, on the other hand, is much more similar to any other European country. Public displays of affection are typical and there is no problem with showing skin. As a side note, Bulgaria is now a part of the EU and are working towards transitioning many things, such as their currency, to be in line with the rest of the EU.
I want to take the time here to say thank you so much to all of our hosts and farmers and growers that took the time to meet with us, share their homes and facilities with us, as well as educate us about the products they produce. It is those experiences that make these trips so very beneficial and wonderful.
Congratulations again to all of our daily prize winners and I hope you all learned some things you didn’t know about essential oils by following along with us on our journey.
We leave Paris in the morning and head back to Iowa. It is almost hard to believe that we will return and fall back into the same routine that existed prior to this adventure. I feel inspired by the people and experiences. I hate that I am not fluent in a second language and want to make that a goal for myself if I am going to continue to travel internationally. I also have a renewed inspiration about the products that we sell. From time to time, even I need to be reminded that 100% pure essential oils are incredibly important. Not only are they a sustainable alternative to petroleum-derived synthetic fragrances but they all come with their own unique story that touches so many people along the path from the source to the shelf. There literally is nothing in the world like it.
-Dave and Mindy
May 29th, 2008
We have another winner!
Congratulations to Becky G from Inverness, FL! She is our Day 9 Winner. Only one more day to go.
May 29th, 2008
Enter to win $50 worth of Aura Cacia Goodies (day 9)
Thanks to all who participated in yesterday’s quiz. The winner has already been notified – for everyone else here are today’s questions for another chance to win…
Q1. What are some common botanicals found in the mountains in Bulgaria?
Q2. What is the difference between organic and conventional juniper essential oil?
Q3. How are juniper berries harvested?
Think you know all the answers? Submit them now! The first person to respond correctly to all three questions will win todays giveaway - a selection of Aura Cacia goodies, worth $50! (See todays selection here).
If you’re our lucky winner, we’ll contact you via email by the end of the day. If not, don’t forget to come back tomorrow to play again!
May 28th, 2008
Day 9 - Last Day in Bulgaria
We started off this morning with a mile hike in the mountains of Bulgaria. This area is rich in wild-crafted botanicals including something known as smoke tree, yarrow, Bulgarian thyme, and more. The hillside was absolutely amazing and we had a beautiful view of the village down below. In addition to the products mentioned above, there were wild strawberries, rasberries, rosehips, and more. It was a wonderland!
From here we drove further into the mountains to see juniper berry. Again, a wild-crafted product, juniper berry typically grows at an elevation of 1700-1800 meters. We were able to see some at about 1000 meters today but it was not plentiful at this location.
This particular wild-crafter produces both organic and conventional juniper oil. However, the organic is solely produced from the juniper berries and the conventional is produced using both juniper berry and branches.
The harvest of juniper berry occurs in September. The collectors lay tarps underneath the trees and literally shake the berries from the branches and let them fall onto the tarps. One ton of juniper berries produces approximately 5 kilos of juniper berry essential oil. In previous year’s the supply of organic juniper berry has been low but it appears to be rebounding slightly at this point. On a side note, juniper berries are also used to produce gin.
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that overlooks a mountain lake. We all ordered our favorite Bulgarian salad…tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and some yummy cheese that we all want to be able to now purchase in The States. This time they even added roasted red peppers!
The afternoon was spent visiting a potential dried herb supplier. We saw some of his fields as well as his processing facility.
The best thing ever is that we returned to the hotel at 6:30 pm!!! This is a first on this trip to be here this early and we will actually have time to blog now before we go to dinner at 8! Tonight we are going out for dinner and will attempt to go “clubbing” here in Bulgaria. When I say that, I don’t mean that we will look for clubs, I mean we will see if we can hang with it.
Tomorrow we return to Paris and will fly home on Friday. I am hoping to summarize some of the key events of the trip tomorrow and hit anything I have missed.
May 28th, 2008
We have another winner!
Congratulations to Stefanie S., from Nevada, who won our prize for Day 8! There are still 2 more chances to win - so please check back later today and tomorrow for new questions. Next time, it could be you!
May 28th, 2008
Enter to win $50 worth of Aura Cacia Goodies (day 8)
Thanks to all who participated in yesterday’s quiz. The winner has already been notified – for everyone else here are today’s questions for another chance to win…
Q1. What is the region called in Bulgaria where the marjority of roses are grown?
Q2. What are the two different types of rose aromatherapy products that are produced?
Q3. How do the production methods differ?
Think you know all the answers? Submit them now! The first person to respond correctly to all three questions will win todays giveaway - a selection of Aura Cacia goodies, worth $50! (See todays selection here).
If you’re our lucky winner, we’ll contact you via email by the end of the day. If not, don’t forget to come back tomorrow to play again!
Terms & Conditions:
1. There can only be one winner per day. The first person to answer all three questions correctly wins.
2. In the interest of fairness, the same person cannot win twice.
May 27th, 2008
Day 8 - Valley of the Roses
Beautiful Bulgarian roses! Whew! Not sure that words will be able to do today justice but I will try. I will start at the beginning and take you all of the way through the process. Hopefully it will not get too technical at some points but I think it is valuable information about some confusing specifics in our world of aromatherapy.
The first rose field we visited was 8 years old. Harvesting of roses can begin 3 years after the roses have been planted. Roses are harvested by hand, in the early morning hours of the day, typically from about 5 am to 11 am. This is done in order to capture as much oil as possible in the rose petals. The rose harvest lasts for about 30 days and is non-stop during this time both for the harvestors as well as the distillation facility. Upon arriving at the field, it was immediately apparent that we were in a rose field. The aroma was overwhelming pleasant!
As a result of this short-term work schedule, it can be difficult to secure laborers. Harvestors or collectors are paid by the kilo of raw material. This usually equals about $20/day. The manager of the rose operation in Bulgaria, who is female, is even considering bringing in migrant workers as a result of challenges with securing help for the rose harvest. Although the rose harvesting pays more than the minimum wage in Bulgaria, it is still difficult to find the necessary workers.
I spent some time harvesting flowers today. I was mentored by a senior rose collector but clearly, I have a long way to go in order to meet their efficiency levels. As I was trained, the very best rose for oil content is one that is slightly opened but that still has the center of the rose folded and intact. This type of rose has the highest oil content. All other open roses are also harvested by using one hand and pulling at the base of the flower to remove just the flower and small amount of stem. Closed roses are left on that day and will be harvested on another day when they are open.
This particular field was about 18 hectares and produces approximately 6-8 tons/harvest season. Three tons of picked roses produces approximately 1 kilo of oil.
One important thing to note about Bulgaria is that people responded to us in a very different way than they had in Morocco. Very friendly and very willing to be photographed compared to Moroccans who would ask to be paid for any pictures that we had taken.
As I mentioned, the roses are hand-harvested and placed into aprons first. From there, they are emptied into plastic bags. Horse-drawn wagons pick up the bags of roses and carry them to the truck that then transports them to the distillation facility. I would like to mention, though, that at one point a wagon driver stopped for us to take a picture and shortly after received a call on his cell phone. Gotta love it!
Rose is interesting in the sense that it can be both steam distilled as well as solvent extracted. The steam distilled rose is done in a very similar method to what we saw for neroli. This distillar is also using a double distillation method to ensure that they are catching every drop of that very precious essential oil. The steam distilled rose is the most pure rose essential oil available but is also the most costly (about 5x the amount).
Rose absolute, a solvent extracted version, is more widely available but utilizes an extraction method to obtain the oil. I will have to try to add more to this when I have more time as it requires a great deal of attention.
Today, we also saw an organic lavender field which smelled unbelievably sweet and floraly. There are major differences in the amount of oil that each botanical yields. The field is just starting to bloom right now. Harvest for the lavender will come in early July but the sweet aroma was readily apparent now.
I wish I had more time and energy to cover many more specifics right now but it is late here. It is now 1:00 am and this girl needs some sleep.
Not completely sure what tomorrow will bring as our hosts have been keeping it a secret but I am sure it will be fun.
I guess I want to make sure that everyone’s take away from this day is that rose oil, similar to neroli oil, is extremely expensive and this is due to the great lengths that are taken to harvest this precious oil and effectively process it to produce this 2nd best selling floral oil (only to lavender).
May 27th, 2008
We have another winner!
Congratulations to Kami S., from California, who won our prize for Day 7. Everyone else - please check back later for another chance to win!
May 27th, 2008