Orientation:
First, you can grab a beverage, listen to Catmandu – your animated character’s orientation, and read the lesson. Then, when you are ready, make your way to the Ship’s Distillation Deck.
Descend to Deck 2 using the aft stairwell. The Distillation Deck is located at the end of the corridor, the second door to your right You will see our onboard pirate, Pierre and his helper, Pepe the Parrot. They originally brewed a hydrosol. But have we caught him whipping up some rum in the distillation lab? Try Pierre’s concoction at your peril🙀.
When you are ready, you can watch the fascinating PowerPoint presentation and videos on distillation. Five videos, including a Voki by Merlin and one PowerPoint, are on this page.
Introduction:
Robert and some Practical Potions Students who are onshore are visiting Gordon’s Herb Farm for this lesson. They have brought back ideas and pictures to enjoy.
Later, you may want to try distilling yourself! The Practical Potions Journal may also be downloaded at the end of the page. Please make sure you touch in with your Facebook group to discuss the potential and magic of this process.
Steam Distillation
The distillation of essential oils and hydrosols is an alchemical aspect of aromatherapy. Steaming distills the plant material, and watching it become essential oil is fascinating. The preciousness of each drop of essential oil becomes apparent when you witness the amount of plant material it takes to create these potent elixirs. It is also fascinating to see the floral water or hydrosol collected. This, too, is a valuable gift of distillation.
What is Distillation?
Distillation is an ancient technique using plants to create oils or hydrosols. It is the same technology used to make alcohol so that many people will recognize it. Some stills are made from copper, stainless steel or glass, while others are microwaveable. Some stills we saw in France were portable and could be wheeled into lavender fields, where the lavender was made on the spot.
How are Essential Oils Distilled?
Growers extract potent oils from specific plant parts—bark, leaf, root, berry, or sometimes flowers—with steam. Water is heated, and steam passes through the plant material. Volatile parts of the plant turn to vapour. As the vapour moves through a condensing coil, it cools and turns into liquid. The oils that emerge from this process are called essential oils. The oils are low-yield and highly concentrated.
Please let us know which part of the plant produces scent. Needles and branches are used when distilling conifers. Flowers are used from yarrow and lavender. The bark is distilled from cinnamon to make cinnamon bark or the leaf to create cinnamon leaf oil. Sometimes, as with oranges- the fruit peel, flower and twigs can all be used to produce essential oils.
A still is set up and filled with plant material. Different plants yield varying amounts of essential oil, and the price range of oils is reflected. Generally, oils float on top of the hydrosols.
It is a learning curve to determine whether the plant yields better when distilled fresh, wilted, or dried. The amount of oil obtained from various plants also differs hugely. But it is stunning to most first-time distillers how much plant material is needed to produce the magical oil that emerges. It becomes evident why a little bottle of essential oil is expensive when witnessing the labour and plant required to make it.
Video- Lavender Distillation
This video is linked in from Clarimont Farms- It features a sizeable farm-based distillation unit.
Hydrosols or Floral Waters
Taken from Scents of Wonder- Aromatic Solutions for Health, Beauty, and Pleasure
One gets much more product when distilling for hydrosols or floral waters. So, if you have a limited plant supply, creating a hydrosol rather than an essential oil is often a better choice.
Hydrosols (or floral waters) have slightly different properties than essential oils. They contain the plant’s water-soluble components, comprising a milder concentration of natural chemicals than essential oils. Hydrosols are usually softly scented and can be applied directly onto the skin, although personal allergies may still exist. Many of them are perfect for facial steams, as toners and refreshers.
Merlin on Hydrosols- Video – Press Play
Some of our aromatherapy students have made artisan products from catnip, black spruce, dragon’s head, sweet grass, and yarrow. Their hydrosols are fresher and more distinct than anything you can buy elsewhere. Like handcrafted beer or specialty foods, the individualistic hydrosols are made in small amounts. Learning how to use a still effectively requires some tricks; every type has its peculiarities. There is a learning curve in becoming a producer.
Creating Hydrosols is an Alchemical Experience- True Wizardry!
Watching the still turn plant material into magical elixirs—oils and hydrosols—is a great delight. Caution: once bitten by the alchemical bug, there may be no turning back. You will want to distill everything in sight.
Some people advocate drinking hydrosols. I do not unless I make them myself or watch the operation unfold. Hydrosols (also called floral waters, if made with the flowering part of the plant) made in less pristine conditions can be contaminated with bacteria. Do not go sipping the waters if unsure of their origin, as they may be laden with bacteria. Overall, however, hydrosols are wonderful companions to essential oils.
Floral water’s disadvantage is that it has a relatively short shelf life. If floral water is refrigerated and stored in a cool place, it may last 1 to 4 years. It is in its prime in the first year. Floral water is also more difficult to ship and store than essential oils, as it is bulkier. Although pleasant, adding essential oils to water does not create a hydrosol, as hydrosols contain more water-soluble aspects of the plant than essential oils and water mixed.
Steam Distillation-
PowerPoint Adventure
from Elaine Doucette and Paula Pesonen on Vimeo.
Home Distillation Video – With Robert
How to use the Oil Ex Tech, which Robert used in his video Microwave Essential Oil Distillation.
Deep Dives and Transformations Video for Unit 3- Please Press Play
You can scroll down the page to download your Practical Potions Journal for Distillation.