At the Mecca of Aromas

We had heard about this place and no sooner had we arrived in the beautiful city than we started to ask the neighbors where that paradise, that treasure accessible to everyone, was located.

Meca started a fascinating story with nature and its scents years ago with a deep knowledge, not only of the smells, essences and aromas, but also of the healing properties of many ingredients found in these mountains, which have been mentioned to us more than once.

A beloved character in this small but delightful city, Meca’s work began in 1993, when he built his first still for the distillation of aromatic plants after a project mainly conceived for the distillation of resin from the pine trees grown in the region.

With the contribution made by technicians from the University of Río Cuarto and the knowledge of the members of Meca's own family, the project began to materialize and became a family business devoted to natural essences.

Gradually, various natural essences were obtained through handcrafted methods free of additives or any chemical processes, which obviously awoke the interest of many and great dedication to the subject.

Thus, essences, oils, creams and perfumes appeared. Most are made with natural raw materials growing in the mountains, like espinillo, lavender, peperina and many others, picked directly by the members of Meca’s family.

The most attractive feature for tourists is that this family business has become a tourist attraction itself in the City of Santa Rosa de Calamuchita.

This is mainly due to the fact that each of the processes that make up production may be observed by visitors through a guided tour.

The entire process goes from the moment in which the raw materials are combined to be cooked up to the point in which the oil is distilled, in order to be subject to various processes until the finished product is ready to be used.

The essences produced include cinnamon, eucalyptus, citronella, mint, chamomile, pine, melissa, vanilla, lavender, espinillo and peperina, which could obviously not be missing.

In addition to the essences described above, the endless list invites whoever feels like traveling around the aromas and smells to pay a visit to Meca.

This is one of those sites that cannot be erased from our memories…