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July 2009 Update from White Lotus Aromatics
Dear Friends-
Suzanne and I send our kind greetings with hopes that all of you are well and greatly enjoying your aromatic pursuits in whatever sphere they are taking place.
Summer in the Pacific Northwest has opened with lovely mild temperatures in the 60's and our modest home garden with all the plant denizens and the myriad forms of life that interact with them are growing happily, producing a rich tapestry of colors, textures and aromas. We love going out on our deck and surveying the garden from above. It is one of the grand treats of life to have a garden.
Twitter Announcements
For those of you who wish to be kept informed of the most recent arrivals you can now receive that information through our Twitter Notification System.
You can sign up for that at:
http://twitter.com/wlaroma
Often we will be announcing 1 day specials through Twitter which will occur on the day of arrival of those essential oils, absolutes, co2 extracts.
Sweet Birch Essential Oil
(I sent out the following note to those of you who order from us regularly and those of you who reserved some sweet birch at that time need not contact me again as your order has been noted.)
I just received word that I will be able to get an allottment of 10 kilos of Sweet Birch from Upper State New York. The elderly gentleman who distills this rare oilis still managing to distill about 100 liters a year the bulk of which goes to European essential oil market.
As most of you are aware their is relatively little genuine sweet birch essential oil being produced nowadays. It used to be a significant industry in the USA and parts of Europe but over time the industry has slowly died out. If any of you have access to Ernest Guenther's six volume classic-Essential Oils then you will find an indepth description of how Sweet Birch essential oil is distilled.
The very techniques he describes therein are still employed by the distiller in New York who is preserving this tradition.
The description of the sweet birch distillation is found in Volume 6-pages 11-15 of Essential Oil/Ernest Guenther.
The main component of Yellow Sweet Birch oil is methyl salicyclate which comprises over 98% of the oil and since this chemical can produced synthetically for very little cost, it is why it has come to replace the sweet birch oil. It is the many trace components that contribute to the unique vibrant odor of true birch essential oil.
Please note that sweet birch oil is one of the densest of the essential oils.
As many of you have requested this oil, please be sure to get in touch with me soon if you wish me to reserve some for you as I will only be getting 10 kilos.
Yellow Sweet Birch/Betula alleghaniensis
Prices
4 ounces-$44.64
8 ounces-$82.56
16 ounces-$151.68
32 ounces-$276.48
The Birch essential oil will arrive around mid to late July
Attars, Ruh Gulab, and Lavender
PLEASE NOTE: ORDERS FOR THE ATTARS, RUH GULAB AND LAVENDER MUST REACH ME BY JULY 7th.
***Parijata and Kadam Attars
We continue to discover new sources of essential oils, co2 extracts and absolutes. In the coming month I hope to be able to offer again the traditional attars of kadam(Anthocephalus cadamba) and parijata(Nycanthes arbortris-tis) Nowadays pure traditional attars have become a rarity and amongst the already limited selection of genuine attars, parijata and kadam are very rare. We are fortunate to have a well established connection with a colleague in Kannauj who keeps a couple of copper distillation units in his home for distilling khus(wild vetiver), motia(jasmin sambac), genda(tagetes minuta) etc and who periodically travels to other regions to distill gulab(rosa damascena), kewda(pandanus odoratissimus) and golden champa(michelia champaca) He now has a small amount of parijata and kadam to offer.
I am only planning to get 3 ounces of each as the price for attars based on pure sandalwood is now extremely high. They will be $150 per ounce.
If any of you are anticipating needing 1 ounce or more then immediately contact me and I will increase the number of ounces I order. I will be confirming the order on July 7th.
If you wish to know more about kadam and parijata flowers then you may enjoy reading the articles on them in the newsletter archives
http://www.whitelotusaromatics.com/newsletters/kadam.html
http://www.whitelotusaromatics.com/newsletters/parijat1.html
***Ruh Gulab-Rose Otto(Rosa damascena)/Himalayas organic
This year the Ruh Gulab/Rose otto produced in the plains of Husain Disrict in Uttar Pradesh was greatly reduced due to lack of Rosa damascena flowers caused by unfavorable climatic conditions. The price has consequently gone very high(and as you already know the price of Rose otto is already very high). So I will not attempt to get any this year as the price would run over $500 an ounce.
But we have a number of colleagues that are growing Rosa damascena organically in the Himalayas. There output is a few kilos per year. The quality is very fine. I have reserved 8 ounces. The normal price is $400 an ounce but if you order by July 7th the price will be $350 per ounce.
***Lavander (Lavandula angustifolia) /Himalayas organic
Lavender angustifolia grown organically at a high altitude in Kashmir is by far our most popular Lavender. At the same time I order the Rose otto I will be ordering more of it as well. For those who use this oil in larger quantities this would be a good time to preorder at a 20% discount over the internet price. It will be $220 per 32 ounces.
PLEASE NOTE: ORDERS FOR THE ATTARS, RUH GULAB AND LAVENDER MUST REACH ME BY JULY 7th.
Organic Blood Orange, Red Mandarin and Lemon from Sicily
I will be making a special order to colleagues in Sicily for the above mentioned organic citrus oils on July 7th.
Those who wish to participate in that order should contact me with the amounts they want before that time. The company from which we order these delicious oils was established at the end of the 19th century and continues to be family operated. They have been pioneers in the region for establishing organic horticulture practices for growing their citrus fruits. I place 1 order per year from Sicily so please plan your needs accordingly. Shipping costs alone are now at $40 per kilo with a 10 kilo minimum so I need to plan each overseas order carefully.
Mandarin Red-organic-It is the most delicious juicy, sweet mandarin oil we have encountered so far
( Expressed from Avana and Tardivo di Ciaculli varieties)
4 ounces-$34
8 ounces$62
16 ounces-$114
32 ounces-$207
Lemon-organic(Expressed from Femminello and Monachello varieties)
4 ounces-$26
8 ounces-$48
16 ounces-$88
32 ounces-$161
Blood Orange(Expressed from Tarocco, Sanguigno, Sanguinello and Moro varieties)
4 ounces-$26
8 ounces-$48
16 ounces-$88
32 ounces-$161
In the coming month we hope to be receiving new consignments of cocoa resinoid, chrysanthemum absolute, vanilla absolute, night queen(Cestrum nocturnum)absolute, mandarin petitgrain (organic) eo, red cedar heartwood(wild harvest) eo. We will post those arrivals on TWITTER (wlamora).
--Christopher