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Co Distillations with lemon Geranium parts 1 and 2

I use lemon geranium hydrosol, commercially produced by Lavender Impressions in a lot of my skin care products. For a few very special products I use a co distillation made of out Rosa damascena flowers which I grow organically and these are co distilled with the lemon geranium hydrosol as the base. I produce so few of the flowers at the moment so I dry the flowers until I have enough to use.

I downsized from my column alembic still (where the plant material is encased in a metal basket and not immersed in the water) to a smaller still where it is in the water. This was my first distillation using plant material this way. I think aromatically the steam distilled has a nicer aroma, softer and fresher and I feel the colour of the distillate is clearer. I have found that some plant material ends up in the condenser so next time I will do smaller volumes and see what happens. I am going to do redistill the left over liquid (not distillate) and see what I get.

Wendy 
Part One: Rose Co Distillation with Lemon Geranium Data
50 gm dried Rosa damascena flowers
3 Litres lemon geranium hydrosol (added to still boiling already)
1910 still start time
1913 condenser hot and distillate coming out (initially quite discoloured, sharp aroma, rosy notes)
1933 honey sweet aroma, less rosy, clearer distillate
1945 still turned off- aroma now very faint in distillate
1200 ml usable hydrosol (double filtered through coffee filter)
1500 ml waste + spent plant material
5=pH
50 gm dried rosa damascena flower heads

rosa damascena flower heads after distillation plus spent hydrosol (not distillate from condensor)











double filtered Rosa damascena and lemon geranium hydrosol


























Part two: Fresh Rose scented pelargonium spp. co distilled with lemon geranium hydrosol
I used fresh picked rose geranium flowers and young leaves and stripped them off the stalks so I had 100 gm of cut up plant material. Approximately 50/50 flowers leaves.

Rose Geranium and lemon geranium co distillation Data
100gm fresh plant material
3 litres lemon geranium hydrosol (added to pot boiling)
2120 still started 
2124 first distillate appeared
2150 still stopped
pH 5-6
approx 1100 off white/brown liquid, disitinct rose and lemon geranium aroma, a bit sharp and 'alcohol smelling'. 
 
Fresh picked rose geranium flowers and leaves

100 gm leaves and flowers- no stalks

In the still covered with 3 litres lemon geranium

filtered through coffee filter x 2
 

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