08/01/13

Lavender Essential Oil or Martini?

distillation and decanting lavender essential oil and hydrosol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c11Cp6HUvT4

What’s going on here?

Is this the newest drink craze or is this science? As much as we love a lavender cocktail, this is actually an artisan lavender farm called Lamborn Mountain Farmstead on the western slope of Colorado decanting his distillation of lavender. This lovely farm raises goats for goats milk soap and lavender for high quality lavender essential oil. And, yes, the two can mix!

A small distiller is run at harvest time to process the beautiful bundles of lavender into hydrosol (floral water) and essential oil. As the liquid comes out of the distiller, the lighter essential oil floats on the very top of the cooled liquid. In this video clip, the owner is decanting the distilled liquid so that he can separate the essential oil and the hydrosol, both to be bottled for use in their products and for sale to the adoring public.

In the not so distant past, distillers would separate the oil from the hydrosol then throw the hydrosol away! We now know that the hydrosol has great healing properties but at a milder level (great for children, pets, the elderly and the sick) for a more gentle action than the essential oil.

Depending on the variety of lavender being processed, the quantity of essential oil will vary, as well as the scent. Some cultivars (cultivated variety) have a higher camphor level and will smell stronger, almost evergreen-like, and others will release a sweeter, more floral scent. Each has its own appeal and use, including culinary.

The Lavender Association of Western Colorado has received a research grant to test the therapeutic levels of the constituents that make up lavender. By next year they will be able to prove, with luck, that they grow one of the highest grades of therapeutic essential oil. High altitude and harsher growing conditions (less water, more wind, drier climate) slightly stress the plant and in response it produces more essential oil.

Want to grow lavender? Check with your local County Extension office for information. Here’s a link for Colorado. If you love lavender, be sure to visit the lovely farms, vineyards and orchards that are growing by leaps and bounds near Palisade, Colorado. A great trip to experience agritourism at its finest. Be sure to check out all the lovely lavender products we carry as a tribute to our favorite botanical. Because who doesn’t love lavender?

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