Newsletter Archive ewsl
November 2008 Update
Dear Friends-
Kind greetings!
Suzanne and I hope that all of you may be enjoying a lovely Autumn season. In the quiet and beauty of the Pacific Northwest we are enjoying a vibrantly colorful October and we hope that wherever you may be that you are also surrounded by scenes of beauty, great and small.
Christopher and Suzanne
" Dark hills against a hollow crocus sky
Scarfed with its crimson pennons, and below
The dome of sunset long, hushed valleys lie
Cradling the twilight, where the lone winds blow
And wake among the harps of leafless trees
Fantastic runes and mournful melodies.
The chilly purple air is threaded through
With silver from the rising moon afar,
And from a gulf of clear, unfathomed blue
In the southwest glimmers a great gold star
Above the darkening druid glens of fir
Where beckoning boughs and elfin voices stir.
And so I wander through the shadows still,
And look and listen with a rapt delight,
Pausing again and yet again at will
To drink the elusive beauty of the night,
Until my soul is filled, as some deep cup,
That with divine enchantment is brimmed up. "
An Autumn Evening by Lucy Maud Montgomery
November Specials
Specials for November-all prices quoted here are 15% off the internet prices and are valid only for the specific quantities. Please note that all orders must still meet our normal $100 mininum(combined price of all oils ordered)
Essential oils
Sandalwood/New Caledonia/wild harvest-1 ounce-$60
Balsam copiaba/South America/wild harvest-8 ounces-$35
Balsam gurjun/Indonesia/wild harvest-8 ounces-$30
Balsam Peru/South America/wild harvest-8 ounces-$42
Cistus/Morocco/wild harvest-1 ounce-$47
Elemi/Phillipines/wild harvest-8ounces-$35
Frankincense/India/wild harvest-8 ounces-$53
Frankincense/Somalia/wild harvest-4 ounces-$63
Frankincense/Oman/wild harvest-4 ounces-$95
Galbanum/Iran/wild harvest-4 ounces-$48
Guaicwood/Paraquay/wild harvest/8 ounces-$35
Mastic/Morocco/wild harvest/1 ounce-$47
Myrrh/Ethiopia/wild harvest/4 ounces-$82
Sandalwood Australia
For some time customers have been asking us if we might eventually offer a high quality sustainable resource Sandawlwood oil from Australia. We have located an artisan distiller in Australia who specializes in distilling very high quality sandalwood heartwood sourced from a particular area of the country where the alpha santalol content is 25% + instead of the standard 15% which is standard. We are awaiting a sample from them and if it proves as lovely as they have told us, we will start to offer it in the coming month.
New consignments that have arrived in October
Essential oils
Plai/Thailand
Western Red Cedar Leaf/Canada/wild harvest
Eastern Cedar Leaf/Austria/wild harvest
Ho Wood/China/wild harvest
Camphor, White/China/wild harvest
Lavender, Fine Population/France
Spruce, Blue Hemlock/Canada/wild harvest
Cedar, Virginia/USA wild harvest
Sandalwood/New Caledonia/wild harvest
Ylang Extra/Madagascar/organic
Geranium, Rose/South Africa/organic
Rosemary verbenone/South Africa/organic
Mandarin, Red/South Africa/nonsprayed
Peppermint/South Africa/organic
Myrrh/Ethiopia/ wild harvest
Petitgrain sur Fleur/Morocco
Cabreuva/South America/wild harvest
Hydrosols
(This short note on hydrosols was inspired by a bottle of raspberry hydrosol which one of our friends and customers, Dabney Rose sent us. It was lovely and amazing and made me aware what a unique role these special distillations play in the world of natural aromatics.)
During the course of the past 30 years or so there has been a wonderful awakening of interest to the gifts of the botanical world in the form of roots, herbs, spices, resins, etc and the many fine products that can be created from them. Such fine people as Jeanne Rose(herbs and essences), Robert Tisserand(Aromatherapy), Mandy Aftel(Natural Perfumery) and Suzanne Catty(Hydrosols) all opened windows of awareness on how we might incorporate these treasures into our lives. Countless people have drawn upon their creative work and the work of others like them and one can never be grateful enough for the opportunities that have been afforded to us through their inspired aromatic innovations.
I would specifically like to mention the continuing work surrounding hydrosols as it is a sphere that lends itself to distillation activities that can take place on a local level right here in the United States and indeed almost any country where aromatic plants grow(which is everywhere) For the distillation of essential oils one needs huge amounts of materials which yield just a tiny amount of oil but a relatively large amount of elegantly scented hydrosol can be generated by a manageable amounts of aromatic herbs, fruits, spices, resins, etc Indeed the range of hydrosols that can be produced from wild growing and garden cultivated plants is amazing. In short if one feels inspired to enter into the world of distillation even on a very small scale, it is possible to venture in that direction by distilling hydrosols.
One very important thing regarding hydrosols as compared to essential oils is that they should ideally be used within 6 months. It means that people working in their local communities can promote their products to great advantage over imported materials which may not be as fresh, hence vibrantly charged as ones freshly out of the still. Hydrosols contain from 10-15% percent of water soluble aromatic molecules and when a person distills specifically for the hydrosol(many hydrosols are a byproduct of distillation of essential oils) they can get a distinctly superior product.
When buying any hydrosol it might be wise to be in regular contact with the distiller and buy as soon as any new hydrosol is distilled so that you procure it as fresh as possible. Getting to know your local distiller and their time tables for distillation of their specific crops is a key to getting full benefit from the treasures they offer.
A few of the people I know of that are distilling high quality hydrosols are listed here. If you are aware of others then please inform me and I will post them in future newsletters:
Suzanne Catty
http://www.acqua-vita.com/
Suzanne hosts distilling workshops and offers and extensive range of hydrosols many of which are procured from artisian distillers
Jeanne Rose
http://www.aromaticplantproject.com/
Jeanne has for many years spearheaded the Aromatic Plants project which includes distillation workshops, etc
Dabney Rose
http://www.dabney-rose.com/
Dabney sent me a small bottle of her Raspberry hydrosol and it inspired me to write this small piece on the subject. Check out Dabneys website to get an idea of how vast a selection of hydrosols can be distilled from one local area. She offers basil, echinacea, evening primrose, lemon verbena, roasted pecan, pawpaw and others
Anne Harmon
http://www.celestialbody.com/
Anne and her family have farm in Missouri where they grow aromatic plants and distill hydrosols for them. She offers cedarwood, cucumber, st john'w wort and others
Morning Myst Botanics
http://www.morningmystbotanics.com
A Washington based farm that distills 30 organic hydrosols including blue chamomile, peppermint, clary sage, bee balm, yarrow and golden rod
Norfolk Essential Oils/England
http://www.neoils.com
A farmers cooperative in UK which offers self distilled hydrosols for eucalyptus, fir, spruce, geranium, jasmine and lemon balm
Kent McKay
Essential Aura Aromatherapy
www.essentialaura.com
Kent is a very devoted distiller of hydrosols and essential oils who resides in Canada but also does distillation work in Costa Rica. He offers helichrysum, lavender and rosemary hydrosols
The Lavender Farm
http://www.lavenderfarm.com/index.htm
The Lavender Farm in Northern California distills hydrosols of Rosemary, Geranium, Lavender etc
Prairie Land Herbs
http://prairielandherbs.com/hydrosols.htm
This farm located in Iowa has a lovely range of unique hydrosols which they distill including comfrey, chocolate mint, catnip, candy mint, and white sage
Wildroots Botanicals
http://wildrootbotanicals.com/html/essential_stan.html
A Washington farm distilling cedar, spearmint, sage, etc hydrosols