Bali - Frangipani flowers

Bali is home to tropical flowers and the Balinese people use a large variety of flowers for their daily offerings.

Frangipani flowers are very often used in the banten, or religious offerings. In almost every house in Bali, people will plant various species of frangipani trees adorned with colorful flowers in various hues. After praying most woman put a flower behind their ear.

 But now, people also pick the flowers as a profitable commodity. Nowadays, frangipani flowers are one of the most sought after items and their price has rocketed on domestic and international markets. The dried flowers will be shipped to China to be used in a herbal tea called Liang Tea. The herbal tea had great medicinal potency, including high fever, coughs, constipation and other sicknesses.
In other areas, frangipani flowers are used as the raw material for spa and cosmetic products, incense sticks, fragrant candles, perfumes, essential oils and mosquito repellants. The price of frangipani flowers is now set at Rp 150,000 per kilogram, far higher than the price of cloves, vanilla and even coffee. The export quality consists of dried frangipani flowers with a water content of no more than 10 percent. In the past, the price of frangipani flowers was only Rp 30,000 per kilogram. Now, the flowers have become an export premium for Bali.

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