Essential Oil Distillation is an Alchemy.

 

There is a time honored artisan process of essential oil steam distillation that has been used for thousands of years, and is the method used in all the oils I have sourced for my blends.  Plants are harvested in the fields, collected, and brought to stills that are nearby in protective structures right on the land.  The flowers and plants are heated in water slow and low over long periods of time, days even, so the plant matter begins to sweat.  The sweat, that is the life blood of the plants and flowers, becomes steam and rises, traveling up through the first still, down a swan neck tube, into another still, where it turns back into condensation and drips down, becoming a slowly accumulating liquid known as hydrosol, or flower water, which is the first by-product of heating the plants.  The essential oils begin to emerge as tiny iridescent glimmers on top of the water, and when there is enough hydrosol made, the oil will slowly begin to separate and sit on top of the water.  This is the precious and hard won essence of the plants, the most potent magical life blood composed of tiny molecules with incredible healing properties that pass through our skin and with a sentient intelligence go where they are needed.

​

I have spent the last 10 years searching for the Artists and Artisans who are still coaxing the oils out of the plants in this patient, alchemical way.  I source only organic and unsprayed essential oils from small family businesses that are harvesting in sustainable ways.  Oil availability may change from season to season,  and batch lab testing is available on request.