Hydrosols
FLORAL WATERS
“Hydrosols contain all of the plant in every drop … Here we have the water-soluble components, the essential oil molecules, the very fluid that was flowing through the plant cells when the plant was collected. It’s all there in a matrix of water that is so much more than water …”
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Suzanne Catty (2001) “Hydrosols: The Next Aromatherapy”.
Hydrosols
WHAT ARE HYDROSOLS?
“Hydrosols, or plant distillates, are the exciting new branch of aromatherapy for the 21st century, with many applications for cosmetics and body care. Hydrosols are produced along with essential oils, being steamed-distilled from fresh organic plants, but with an important difference: distillation for essential oils starts with air-dried plants, whereas distillation for the hydrosol starts with freshly picked plants with their moisture intact”.
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Ann Harmon “Harvest to Hydrosol” 2023.
Distilling Plant Materials
FLORAL WATERS
Plant materials which encompass fresh leaves or fruit are collected from Little Mountain Farm and distilled in Portuguese Alembic Copper Distillation Pots either by hydro-distillation (bath) or steam distillation (column).
The Copper Pots (being an Earth-based metal rather than a man-made metal such as stainless steel) removes the undesirable yeasts and sulphates from the Hydrosol during the distillation process.
Capturing the Essence
HOW IT WORKS
Hydrosols are created by applying heat and water to plant materials creating vapour which is then cooled to transform the aromatic vapour into liquid. Through distillation the volatile organic compounds from the plant material are liberated during the steaming process, then cooled through the condenser to become a mix of essential oils suspended in plant cellular water.
Anne Harmon in “Harvest to Hydrosol 2023” describes the process best by imagining the Earth’s hydrological cycle:
“Imagine the copper alembic pot (representing Earth) where the plant material blends with water as it heats; the water vapours (evaporation and transpiration) rise up to the hat (Sky). Next they are cooled in the condenser (atmosphere, condensation) where they once again become liquid (like Rain).”