The word is derived from an Arabic word 'Itr' meaning a perfume. In Persian, 'atra jul' means the 'fat of the flower'. In general, the term is used to signify a concentrate essence of a fragrant material. These are normally stored in porous skin bottles known as 'kuppi'.

Floral Itra may be defined as the distillates obtained by the water distillation of flowers in Sandalwood Oil.Itra is still manufactured by the traditional 'Deg and Bhapka' method. The still is heated from below by lighting a fire, usually dried cow dung acts as fuel. (The benefit of using the cow dung is that it never gets as hot as wood and hence the risk of over heating is avoided).

The temperature and speed of distillation is oriented by regulating the fire and dose of fuel. The distillation set-up is managed by skilled workers, called 'Dighaa'. The water in the tank is changed continuously to prevent the temperature from rising too high. Managing the still is highly skilled job, as the operator must keep the boiling in the still at a level that is in accordance to the condensation in the receiver, in order to keep the pressure under control. The receiver is then allowed to cool.

The mixture of oil and water is then separated either directly from the receiver through a small opening at the bottom or an open trough. After the oil and water have separated into two layers, the water is then further removed in a similar manner. In the case of Rose, this water is cohobated. After required optimum concentration of the Itra has been achieved, the same is poured and stocked in leather bottles.

For the manufacture of floral attars, the flowers are required to be processed quickly upon being plucked. Hence, this work starts early in the morning because at that time flowers possess maximum aroma. The equipments used for this purpose are simple, light weight, easy to repair and the whole process takes place in remote villages. Brief description of the equipments used is as under:

Deg (Still):
The whole process has been traditionally carried out in copper (basically a mixed alloy of copper, known as 'phool') stills called 'Degs'. The lid of the still is called 'Sarpos' and it is also made of copper and has a connection for the 'Bhapka'. Copper has been the principal material for Deg and Bhapka because it is a good conductor of heat, easy to repair and also because of its malleability.

Bhapka (Receiver):
The receiver has a long neck and a round bottom. This receiver is connected to the Deg via means of equipment called 'Chonga'. An interesting feature of Deg & Bhapka system is that there is no separate condenser used and the receiver acts as condenser as well.

Chonga (Bamboo Condenser):
It is deployed to connect the still and receiver. It is a hollow bamboo, tightly wrapped with twine for insulation.

Bhatti (Furnace):
Usually, wood, cow-dung or coal is used for heating the still.

Gachchi (Tank):
A small tank filled with water where Bhapka is placed. It's purpose is to cool the distillate in the Deg.

Kuppi (Bottle): These bottles are made of animal hide possessing a very special quality of keeping the attars stored in them fresh by the removal of moisture from the attars. The reason is the semi-permeability of these bottles towards water. Attars may be categorized in many types based on the basic raw material used. Floral Itra are manufactured from single species of flower like Gulab, Keora, Motia, Chameli etc. where as Herbal and Spicy Itra are intuitive blend of vivid flowers, herbs and spices. There are some Itra which do not find place in the above mentioned classification; Itra Gil (Mitti) is one of them.