Violet vs rose
Two perfumed florals whose aroma is far more delicate than their reputations, and both lose it to careless drying. Violet has the stranger property: its scent disappears from the nose as you smell it.
botanical
What is being compared
Point by point
| Aspect | Violet | Rose |
|---|---|---|
| Aroma | Powdery and iris-like, and characteristically fades and returns as you smell it. | Full and perfumed, holding steadily rather than coming and going. |
| What survives drying | The colour easily, the scent barely. Cheap material has none of the aroma. | More of the aroma survives, though heat browns the buds and costs the perfume. |
| Where it is drunk | Iran and Afghanistan as banafsa, a spring infusion; candied across France and Italy. | Iran, China and across the Middle East, alone and blended into black tea. |
| The industry behind it | Toulouse and Grasse for perfume and confectionery from the nineteenth century. | Bulgarian, Turkish and Iranian oil production, which dwarfs the drinking trade. |
| Buying | Buy on smell, never on colour. Purple survives and scent does not. | Whole intact buds with good colour, and a clear rose smell in the packet. |
The short answer
Rose is the more reliable purchase because more of it survives the supply chain. Violet is worth the trouble only if you can smell it before buying.
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