Making of Peppermint Hydrosol – Distilling in Copper Still
A sunny memory from my summer. The making of peppermint hydrosol. Hydrosol is sometimes referred to as flower water, although the term flower water is imprecise as not all hydrosols are made from flowers, they can be made from leaves, whole plants, seeds, roots etc... A man has distilled plants in order to extract their aromatic core for thousands of years and there is evidence that all the major civilisations used this form of extraction.
I was really excited to get my handcrafted copper alembic still distillation unit. The process of steam distillation is magical, waiting for that moment when the first drops of hydrosol leave the still... Somehow another form of the plant is born… The herbal aroma and the resonance are extremely powerful, the plant expresses itself differently, it’s soul is revealed in a new way.
Water is heated to create steam, which rises and goes through the plant material, bursting the sacks containing the essences. These light aromatic molecules carried along by the steam into a coil surrounded with cold water (condenser), are then condensed. The steam converts back into liquid released at the end of the process in the form of a hydrosol and in certain cases, essential oil as well.
Copper still is by far the best distillation unit due to its excellent conduction, which diffuses heat rapidly and evenly, it also neutralises hydrogen sulphide and has catalytic proprieties.
It is great being in control of the whole process from A-Z, from carefully wild crafting the local plant material in the right conditions and at the right time, choosing the best water, distilling with healing intention, bottling and then, of course, using them in practice.
Hope you enjoyed the video and could feel the warm and loving energy coming through it. Please let me know if you have any questions and I would be more than happy to answer them.
Much love from my house to yours xx