set up in a sheltered spot in the garden. I have already cleaned it by distilling rye flour slurry. To do this I mix 450g of Rye Flour in 4 L of water and pour into the pot. I assemble the whole still and heat the rye flour mix until it boils. It becomes frothy and seeps out the joins. Once it comes out of the condenser bucket as distillate, I turn the heat off. When the Still is cool enough to handle, I dismantle it and scour it with Eco Cream Cleanser (it contains a citrus oil that cleans the copper). I rinse and dry it thoroughly, leaving it in the sun to finish the drying process. Before I start a new distillation I always distil hot water to check the distillate is tasteless, odourless and clear. I know I have a clean still.
Spring 2012 Journal of the New Zealand Association of Medical Herbalists AVENA
15
2. The pot is 2/3 filled with water and placed on a gas ring
to bring the water to the boil. Its important to have everything at hand for a distillation. I have my water pump on keeping a steady flow of cold water running through the condenser bucket, my sterile beakers and oil separators are ready to collect the distillate. I have a bowl of rye flour paste to seal the joins in my still so I dont lose precious steam.
www.alembics.co.nz
16
AVENA Journal of the New Zealand Association of Medical Herbalists Spring 2012
5. I work quickly now. If I lose any steam, I will lose precious essential
oil. I quickly but carefully seal the join between the column and the pot and the column and the onion dome with the rye flour paste. As the copper heats it bakes it dry and seals the joins. By the time I have done this, the onion dome is hot which means the steam has spiralled up the column, the heat burst open the cells of the plant and the volatile oils released and carried in the steam. The steam spirals in the onion dome, any particles of dust of physical matter falls back. The steam flows down the birds beak, through the connecting pipe and into the condenser coil.
of cool water runing around the condenser coil throughout the whole distillation. Actually it is even more important when distilling with steam, its a hotter faster distillation. The water needs to be boiling vigorously to create a good body of steam under pressure to burst the cellulose of the plants to release the essentail oil. The distillate will flow faster than a hydro distillation. The essential oil will be released in the first 200ml of distillate.
from the mass of water and floats to the top. The hydrosol is not as milky as in a hydro distillation and of course there is significantly more oil released. The aroma is stronger, sharper and more intense. I check the pH. Depending on my purpose I may continue distilling for hydrosol. There will be very little oil in the next 500ml but often the hydrosol is still of a good aroma, flavour and pH. As soon as the pH increases I stop the distillation.
Spring 2012 Journal of the New Zealand Association of Medical Herbalists AVENA
17
are my oil separators. One is 500ml and other 60ml. They both sit in rings and are clamped onto a retort stand. I use the larger separator when distilling botanicals that will yield between 3-10ml of oil on 500ml - Rosemary, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Clary sage, Manuka, Thyme, Peppermint. The smaller one is to collect precious drops Rose Geranium, Melissa, Rose, Lemon Verbena, Chamomiles, Yarrow..
9. I pour the hydrosol into my large oil separator. As I do this, the oil
is mixed with the hydrosol again. I watch in awe as it settles. Millions of miniscule bubbles stream to the surface. They are tiny drops of essential oil that the water has released like a sponge being squeezed. The oil collects at the top, often a golden colour. The hydrosol settles and clears. At this stage Im aware of the energetic lively nature of this process and feel a deep sense of respect and awe.
10.
A clean beaker is placed at the bottom of the oil separator. I carefully turn on the tap to release the hydrosol watching carefully to turn off as the oil collects at the bottom once the hydrosol has been released! There, now I have my reward, 3ml of precious essential oil! I will need to distil another 3 times to get my 10mls! However I will also have 2 litres of fragrant Rosemary hydrosol.
18
AVENA Journal of the New Zealand Association of Medical Herbalists Spring 2012
11. There is moisture still in the mix. I dont want to leave it in as it may cause a
bacterial growth and degrade my oil. I put my test tube with the oil in the freezer. This dries the oil out and freezes any moisture. I pour the oil off into an amber dripulator bottle. It goes into my precious collection of my own distilled essential oils. By this time next year I hope to have 25 of my own distilled oils. I already have 50ml Eucalyptus, 50 ml Peppermint Eucalyptus, 10 ml Rosemary, 3 ml Lemon Verbena, 10 ml Lime, 10 ml Manuka 10ml Ginger and 10ml Thyme In spring I will be harvesting German Chamomile, Rosemary before flowering, Orange, Grapefruit & Lime flowers, spring Manuka and Kanuka, Tarata, Rose Geranium, Bay leaves, Melissa. In summer it will be Lavender, Clary sage, Lemon Verbena, Basil, Peppermint, Helioscrysum, Yarrow, Angelica and some trimming of the citrus as the fruits form tiny balls for Petitgrain. Thats enough!
Table 1 Hydro-Distillation Plant is subjected to boiling water Distillation is slower and cooler Hydrosol is often milky The distillate shows little essential oil floating on the surface, most remains in suspension Aroma is complex as are the flavours Nothing has been separated from the distillate it remains complete Steam-Distillation Plant is subjected to pressure and steam Distillation is fast and hot Hydrosol is mostly clear Essential oil is evident on top of the hydrosol and is removed. When the oil has been removed, the aroma of the hydrosol is light and delicate, the flavour less intense Has a dual result Essential oil and the Hydrosol, however the hydrosol has lost an element the essential oil
Every distillation is different depending on season, soil, and climate. This table is an approximate guide to volumes and quantities. An idea of plant volume 3 mature Lavender augustifolia harvested flowering tops weighs 1kg approx. Lavender is a high yielding plant. 1kg of flowers yields approx 25-30ml of oil. Most other plants I distil yield a quarter to half that amount.
Table 2 Size 5 L column Plant Quantity 250g or 2-3 handfuls 500g or 5-6 handfuls 1.5 2 KG 5 KG 20-30KG Lavandula angustifolia 1 mature plant flowering tops 1.5-2 mature plants 4-6 mature plants 8-10 mature plants 60-90 mature plants Approx. ess. oil yield 1-2ml Hydrosol yield 250-400ml ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jill currently resides on Waiheke Island with her partner Charlie. Together they run distillation workshops and demonstrations throughout New Zealand and sell alembic stills worldwide. Go to their website for more information, to purchase an alembic still or see if there's a workshop coming to your town soon!
Spring 2012 Journal of the New Zealand Association of Medical Herbalists AVENA
19