Where Our Rose Comes From: Sri Lanka, Bulgaria and Guatemala
One thing I don't want Mother Earth to lose as we grow is knowing something about where the products come from. It's very easy to write ‘premium botanical’ on a pouch. That doesn't tell anyone much about the people involved.
Rose is a good example of why I prefer the more straightforward story. We don't have one universal ‘Mother Earth Rose’ product. The petals, tincture and rose-infused cacao are different things, with different suppliers and uses.
Our rose petals and Sri Lanka
The loose 28g Rose Petal Tea and 50g Rose Petal Tea sit within our Sri Lankan sourcing relationship with Mithula, who helps us with a number of teas and botanicals. I like keeping that connection visible rather than treating every pouch as a nameless ingredient.
These are products sold as rose petal tea. The flavour is naturally floral and delicate. Check the individual pack for its preparation directions, ingredients and the current batch information.
Ivanka and our Bulgarian Rose Tincture
The Bulgarian Rose Tincture 30ml is made for us by Ivanka in Bulgaria. This is one of those small supplier relationships I really value. There's a person at the other end and an actual product I can ask questions about.
It is important not to treat this bottle as though it were the same thing as loose tea or food-use powder. A tincture is a separate preparation, and the appropriate use is whatever its current bottle label sets out. Don't assume it can be added to a drink simply because we also sell cacao and rose together.
Rose powder and how people use it
Our Rose Petal Powder 70g is a finely milled food-use format. That makes it a different proposition from the whole petals. It can be handy in cacao, lattes or suitable recipes where its directions allow, particularly if you don't want loose petals in your cup.
If you want to know which format makes sense, our guide to rose petals, powder and tincture compares them without turning them into something they're not.
Rose-infused cacao from Guatemala
There's another connection in the Rose Infused Ceremonial Cacao 100g. The cacao comes from our Guatemalan sourcing story, linked with women's collectives around San Marcos La Laguna, and is blended with rose petal powder and organic vanilla extract. It's a food product with its own ingredient list, not a tincture mixed into cacao.
That blend is one option. If you want to taste cacao on its own first, have a look through the different cacao origins and our comparison of plain and rose-infused cacao.
Why bother telling the story?
Because the name on the front of a product shouldn't be the only information available. Knowing the source helps us have sensible conversations about ingredients, formats and what a product actually is. It doesn't guarantee a medical benefit or make one product superior to every other rose product out there.
You can see the petals, powder, tincture, cacao pairings and Katie's separate learning course together in the Mother Earth Rose collection. Take a look at the format that interests you, and follow that specific product's directions.
