Aromatic Adventures

I used my final remaining dried rose flower heads (including some leaves) and dislled using the copper alembic still (hydro distillation. I immersed the 40 gm or so of dried flower heads in approx 700 ml of boiling water and heated over the gas stove. I had cold water going over the condenser from the start as from prior experience disllate comes out very quikcly with my littles still. Sure enough with 5 mins. I had distillate coming out. In total I collected  approx 670 ml of decent hydrosol. I filled them in 125 ml bottles and labelled each with the time and number as the aroma varied from bottle to bottle. For the final amount I had a paper filter going from the still and was able to see a yellow staining on the paper (some precious otto perhaps). It really was at the end and I am sure all the water had gone from inside as the aroma was a sweet caramel, raw tobacco like with a slight hint of 'cooked. the final 50 ml was a cloudy yellow and I am going to put that bottle and th...

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: R...

Happy new year! Ahh, Osmanthus fragrans, one of the most delicious aromatics I can think of....my attempts to grow this wonderful flower for distillation has been spoken of here , and the subsequent knowledge that the plants I invested several hundred dollars in were mislabelled at the nursery was a heavy blow to my heart. Three years on they are still healthy and have doubled in size but no sign of ANY flowering. Anyway I have trying a one off 'plan B' to capture that wonderful aroma again just for myself. Three years ago I had secured a small amount of genuine osmanthus hydrosol which had been imported from India into New Zealand. I was using it for a range of natural skin care products for a client, but when the source of the hydrosol dried up I turned my last few litres into a gel to incorporate into other things. Just over 3 litres remained and due to the time frame I wouldn't want to use in skin care products now, even though it had been well preserved, so I hav...

Seasons Greetings! Here in NZ we are in the start of early summer and it really has not been a good start with cold weather, lots of wind and lots of rain! I met with Thomas Reisinger, owner at Lavender Impressions Lavender Farm in Manakau (Levin) today, 22/12/14. the day had been overcast with a light shower so gumboots were the order of the day as we walked around the fields! I had a visitor from Germany, Professor Bernhard Goebel, a soil scientist, who was very interested in seeing the organic lavender cultivations. the following are some snapshots of out visit. I hope you enjoy them. Hydrosols can be bought direct from the farm in 1 or 20 litre volumes  or Wendy sells in 1, 2 and 5 litre volumes. hydrosols purcahsed this way are the freshest and can last for up to 2 years. Lavender impressions selss oils from 10 ml upwards including bulk wholesale. Lavandin super _Lavandula intermedia (low camphor). These are about 6 weeks away from harvest- (approx 2/52 later than no...

love natural skincare: Coconut oil- the travel essential : This time last year I wrote about how you can create lots of beauty products using hotel amenities to help you out if you are caught short ...

Harakeke, Phormium tenax , isn't exactly an aromatic plant, but it does have plenty of healing properties. Nothing screams out 'New Zealand' more than an image of our native flax in flower! Further background about the plant can be found here Currently I am surrounded by a variety of them in my garden- planted as short a time as two years ago and they all have swung into a tremendous flowering action, some with spikes almost 3 metres tall. Like a triffid the spikes seem to appear almost over night.  My plants have a number of very practical uses- firstly to assist with drainage of a heavy clay soil with a high water table; secondly for shelter and privacy; thridly to attract more nativve birds (like our TUI ) who feast of the nectar; and lastly (but by no means least) I collect the seeds and use as a co distillation with lavender hydrosol to incorporate into products.   The uses of flax historically is entrenched in Maori culture and history, and early Maori could not ...

love natural skincare: Holiday Health planning- how much is too much?? : I was chatting with family recently about an up and coming holiday I am going on with my teenager and I was telling them of all the heal...