Re: cindy, dabney, distillers - I'll be needing your advice

[Guest guest]

> The lovely of A Little Ol'Factory gifted me with a

> fabulous distillation unit.

I really want to hydrodistill some of my exotic flowers at

> low temp, low pressure. Right now, I'm getting lots of Brugmansia

> (angel trumpet)

> I'm very excited and I'll really need to draw on

> your expertise to help

> me with this!

>

> --

> Sincerely, Anya

>

FOR PEOPLE in the SF Bay Area

Ranch 99 the Chinese grocery store in Pacific Region Mall turn off Central AVE.

at Peirce St., El Cerrito had two Michella Alba plants about 4 or 5 feet tall

for $108

which, from what I have seen is a good price, local garden stores sell for

$175but they are bigger when available.

Anya i am collecting the beautiful petals of Buddha Finger Citron and their

leaves. What would you suggest for processing? They are so wonderful the

fragrance.

Bb

Bb

[Guest guest]

>

> The lovely of A Little Ol'Factory gifted me with a fabulous

> distillation unit. I'll post pictures of it soon. I have lots of

stuff

> I'm interested in distilling that I have on hand, either growing

in the

> garden, or in my botanicals stash, like over a pound of Hojari

> frankincense. In the garden, I have several different

petitgrains, from

> lemon to kumquat to lime to thai lime, etc. I have an incredible

HUGE

> bush of Satureja viminea - the stuff that goes into Kama Sutra

Luxury

> Mint Tree Bath Gel and Body Wash. It is an incredibly clear and

intense

> peppermint scent. I'll have to distill all this outside, since I

can't

> stink up the house ;-)

>

> The unit is supposed to be stovetop, but I'll get a burner for

outside,

> and I need to buy a submersible pump.

>

> I really want to hydrodistill some of my exotic flowers at low

temp, low

> pressure. Right now, I'm getting lots of Brugmansia (angel

trumpet)

> flowers, four o'clocks (smell like grape soda), Michelia figo

(smell

> like ripe bananas), some jasmines, osmanthus (small plant), oh,

and

> galangal leaves and roots. And cardamom leaves - soapy, suave,

yummy.

> Oh, and curry leaf plant. Neighbors have the anise-scented avocado

> leaves, and I have a lead on pandanus flowers from a

horticulturist.

> There's so much available around here I can't remember it all!

>

> I'm very excited and I'll really need to draw on your expertise to

help

> me with this!

Anya, i am green with envy at what you can grow down there!!!!!!!!!!!

and i would be honored to help in any way i can.

dab

>

[Guest guest]

Subject: cindy, dabney, distillers - I'll be needing your

advice

Date: Saturday, 25 October, 2008, 8:39 PM

The lovely of A Little Ol'Factory gifted me with a fabulous

distillation unit. I'll post pictures of it soon. I have lots of stuff

The unit is supposed to be stovetop, but I'll get a burner for outside,

and I need to buy a submersible pump.

I really want to hydrodistill some of my exotic flowers at low temp, l

pressure.

I'm very excited and I'll really need to draw on your expertise to help

me with this!

 How fabulous Anya...... I am drooling in anticipation ....you are incredibly

lucky to have such a wealth of diverse plants in your neck of the woods. I can't

wait to read all the new adventures you shall be experiencing with your

distillation unit. How generous of to gift this to you... very speciallove

Janitahttp://www.janitahaan.com

[Guest guest]

Anya - I don't have any expertise but I have willing hands to help - callon

me!Elise

[Guest guest]

> I really want to hydrodistill some of my exotic flowers at low temp,

low

> pressure. Right now, I'm getting lots of Brugmansia (angel trumpet)

> flowers, four o'clocks (smell like grape soda), Michelia figo (smell

> like ripe bananas), some jasmines, osmanthus (small plant), oh, and

> galangal leaves and roots. And cardamom leaves - soapy, suave, yummy.

What a nice gift! Have fun with this.

I am curious though about the distillation of Brugsmansia as that

plant is moderately toxic so I thought. Are the poisonous components

(Solanaceous compounds) not water soluble?

Have fun and, I am too envious of your accessibility to some of those

botanicals!

Ron

[Guest guest]

Oh Anya, another addiction! How exciting. Sounds like a fairly big

unit. Rather than buying a pump (that can be expensive) can you get

the condensing coil to pass through a plastic bucket that you fill

with ice? Without seeing it its hard to know. Is it glass, metal ???

There are two books that I like alot; " Understanding Hydrolats " by

Len an dShirley Price and " Secrets of the Still " by Grace Firth -

this one unfortunately is rarel available.

Basically to get started just put something in there, cover it with

water and start boiling. Things to be careful of - don't let the

water level get too high or you will get boil over rather than

steam, you get a much better quality if you strip you material to

use only aromatic parts, eg, leave out stems. Once it starts boiling

just keep the heat down low enough that it just keeps boiling

lightly. Too high a heat will give you distillate a 'burnt' smell. A

general rule of thumb I use is that I collect one third of the

volume of water I use. After that the distillate tends to be lower

quality - but taste and smell because all are different.

Sagescript Institute, llc

Colorado Aromatics

http://www.sagescript.com; http://sagescript.blogspot.com

Microbiology, Distillates, Botanicals, Skin Care

[Guest guest]

>

> Anya - I don't have any expertise but I have willing hands to help -

callon me!Elise

wish i were close enough to offer that myself!

dab

[Guest guest]

Ron, I don'g know anything specifically about Brugsmansia, but

regardless of what has been written and said by some, distillation is

not a way of obtaining all the water soluble components of a plant. A

tea or water infusion is how you would obtain the most water soluble

plant componenets. Distillation is a way of obtaining molecules that

have a boiling point near water (assuming you are talking about

distillling with water). Yes, some of these are water soluble and some

are oil soluble but most of the water soluble components are left

behind because they have a higher boiling point

You could try searching for the boiling point of the compounds you are

concerned about.

Sagescript Institute, llc

http://www.sagescript.com

[Guest guest]

>

> Ron, I don'g know anything specifically about Brugsmansia, but

> regardless of what has been written and said by some, distillation is

> not a way of obtaining all the water soluble components of a plant. A

> tea or water infusion is how you would obtain the most water soluble

> plant componenets. Distillation is a way of obtaining molecules that

> have a boiling point near water (assuming you are talking about

> distillling with water). Yes, some of these are water soluble and some

> are oil soluble but most of the water soluble components are left

> behind because they have a higher boiling point

> You could try searching for the boiling point of the compounds you are

> concerned about.

>

> Sagescript Institute, llc

> http://www.sagescript.com

>i haven't actually tried it so maybe i shouldn't open my month but

something tells me this is a plant whose fragrance heat would totally

destroy.

dabney

[Guest guest]

BB wrote:

> Ranch 99 the Chinese grocery store in Pacific Region Mall turn off Central

AVE. at Peirce St., El Cerrito had two Michella Alba plants about 4 or 5 feet

tall for $108

> which, from what I have seen is a good price, local garden stores sell for

$175but they are bigger when available.

>

> Anya i am collecting the beautiful petals of Buddha Finger Citron and their

leaves. What would you suggest for processing? They are so wonderful the

fragrance.

> Bb

> Bb

The M. albas are pricey. Cheaper here in south Florida, though, a 4' is

$50 - when you can get them.

I suppose the processing would depend on your end use for the Buddha -

oil or alcohol perfume? You can tincture them easily, replenishing the

raw material as many times as possible - or to achieve the scent level

you want. All citrus leaves and flowers give up their scent beautifully

to alcohol. If you have a distillation unit, ditto - well, from what

I've heard, I haven't done that yet! Soon, soon....

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden http://AnyasGarden.com - perfumes, aromatics, classes,

consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild + blog with daily updates

http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.blogspot.com

1600+ member Natural Perfumery group -

http://health./group//

[Guest guest]

dabney rose wrote:

>

> Anya, i am green with envy at what you can grow down there!!!!!!!!!!!

> and i would be honored to help in any way i can.

> dab

>

>

>

I got your phone number, Dabney, and 's - thanks for emailing them.

This week is going to be nuts, and already, today is off the charts.

There must have been 12 people in and out of the house, dozen phone

calls, and had to take my mother for a ride, she got - what's the word?

Feeling housebound.

I tried to inventory the distillation unit parts, but got confused.

Tried to watch the *horrible, incompetent, unprofessional* video that

came with the unit yesterday, and gave up. He uses silicon grease on

some of the joints, and then he got grease in a " hole " as he was warning

not to, and had to wander off to find a " wire " to clean it, and came

back with a wire from a loaf of bread -- I mean this was beyond amateur.

I think I started growling. If there was a drinking game for the phrase

" let's take a break " , I'd have been drunk in the first 7 minutes!

Turned it off and will put time in with you guys, get a diagram and get

going. Maybe this weekend, I have to take my mother to three doctors

this week, and with her new walker, she's hell on wheels, lol. I have to

take her to the library tomorrow, first time she's felt confident going

there in a year.

I'm exhausted!

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden http://AnyasGarden.com - perfumes, aromatics, classes,

consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild + blog with daily updates

http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.blogspot.com

1600+ member Natural Perfumery group -

http://health./group//

[Guest guest]

Janita wrote:

> How fabulous Anya...... I am drooling in anticipation ....you are incredibly

lucky to have such a wealth of diverse plants in your neck of the woods. I can't

wait to read all the new adventures you shall be experiencing with your

distillation unit. How generous of to gift this to you... very speciallove

Janitahttp://www.janitahaan.com

>

>

>

Hi J I'm not going to limit myself to local plants - I'm going to

distill spices and purchased botanicals, like that pound of primo hojari

I've been holding on to.

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden http://AnyasGarden.com - perfumes, aromatics, classes,

consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild + blog with daily updates

http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.blogspot.com

1600+ member Natural Perfumery group -

http://health./group//

[Guest guest]

Elise Pearlstine wrote:

> Anya - I don't have any expertise but I have willing hands to help - callon

me!Elise

>

>

Called and drafted.

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden http://AnyasGarden.com - perfumes, aromatics, classes,

consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild + blog with daily updates

http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.blogspot.com

1600+ member Natural Perfumery group -

http://health./group//

[Guest guest]

Ron wrote:

> What a nice gift! Have fun with this.

> I am curious though about the distillation of Brugsmansia as that

> plant is moderately toxic so I thought. Are the poisonous components

> (Solanaceous compounds) not water soluble?

> Have fun and, I am too envious of your accessibility to some of those

> botanicals!

> Ron

>

Won't be the first time I've played with something dangerous. Matches,

fire, hitchhiking cross country solo, taking on Merrill Lynch...we'll

see how the Brugs go and take it from there.

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden http://AnyasGarden.com - perfumes, aromatics, classes,

consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild + blog with daily updates

http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.blogspot.com

1600+ member Natural Perfumery group -

http://health./group//

[Guest guest]

wrote:

> Oh Anya, another addiction! How exciting. Sounds like a fairly big

> unit. Rather than buying a pump (that can be expensive) can you get

> the condensing coil to pass through a plastic bucket that you fill

> with ice? Without seeing it its hard to know. Is it glass, metal ???

> There are two books that I like alot; " Understanding Hydrolats " by

> Len an dShirley Price and " Secrets of the Still " by Grace Firth -

> this one unfortunately is rarel available.

>

There was a pump in the bottom of the box! I have the Firth book ;-)

> Basically to get started just put something in there, cover it with

> water and start boiling.

Oh, aren't you the funny one! Lol. The glassware with all the angles and

joints and tiny bits is like Rube Goldberg to me. Don't forget - I have

no diagram with this unit.

> Things to be careful of - don't let the

> water level get too high or you will get boil over rather than

> steam, you get a much better quality if you strip you material to

> use only aromatic parts, eg, leave out stems. Once it starts boiling

> just keep the heat down low enough that it just keeps boiling

> lightly. Too high a heat will give you distillate a 'burnt' smell. A

> general rule of thumb I use is that I collect one third of the

> volume of water I use. After that the distillate tends to be lower

> quality - but taste and smell because all are different.

>

Promise not to burn the botanicals!

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden http://AnyasGarden.com - perfumes, aromatics, classes,

consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild + blog with daily updates

http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.blogspot.com

1600+ member Natural Perfumery group -

http://health./group//

[Guest guest]

dabney rose wrote:

> something tells me this is a plant whose fragrance heat would totally

> destroy.

> dabney

>

>

>

The Brugs are going to be distilled at a very low temp for a short time.

When they're pumping out the scent at night, they seem like one of the

strongest-scented flowers ever. We shall see.

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden http://AnyasGarden.com - perfumes, aromatics, classes,

consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild + blog with daily updates

http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.blogspot.com

1600+ member Natural Perfumery group -

http://health./group//

[Guest guest]

> > something tells me this is a plant whose fragrance heat would

totally

> > destroy.

> > dabney

>

> The Brugs are going to be distilled at a very low temp for a short

time.

> When they're pumping out the scent at night, they seem like one of

the

> strongest-scented flowers ever. We shall see.

>please let me know how that one goes, Anya!

dab

[Guest guest]

> > something tells me this is a plant whose fragrance heat would

totally

> > destroy.

> > dabney

>

> The Brugs are going to be distilled at a very low temp for a short

time.

> When they're pumping out the scent at night, they seem like one of

the

> strongest-scented flowers ever. We shall see.

>please let me know how that one goes, Anya!

dab

[Guest guest]

>

> Won't be the first time I've played with something dangerous.

Matches,

> fire, hitchhiking cross country solo, taking on Merrill

Lynch...we'll

> see how the Brugs go and take it from there.

>

hey, i'm a hitchhiker too, Anya! solo back and forth across the

country...

dab

[Guest guest]

start with something that won't matter...you can even do cheap dried

lavender just to figure out the mechanics.

call when you need to.

dab

>

[Guest guest]

dabney rose wrote:

> start with something that won't matter...you can even do cheap dried

> lavender just to figure out the mechanics.

> call when you need to.

> dab

>

I just spent an hour researching units on the internet. I want to ask

informed questions and have everything lined up first. I'm going to lay

out the parts and take pictures to send to you and before I get

started.

I think my OCD is showing! ;-)

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden http://AnyasGarden.com - perfumes, aromatics, classes,

consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild + blog with daily updates

http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.blogspot.com

1600+ member Natural Perfumery group -

http://health./group//

[Guest guest]

I just spent an hour researching units on the internet. I want to ask

> informed questions and have everything lined up first. I'm going to

lay

> out the parts and take pictures to send to you and before I

get

> started.

>

> I think my OCD is showing! ;-)

ask an uninformed question if you want to, shucks. i did my first

batch of nutmeg today, which didn't come out smelling as nice as the

grated aroma, maybe too strong..but i think it will prove very

interesting energetically. hydrosols are magic genies to me.

dab

[Guest guest]

anya wrote: that pound of primo hojari I've been holding on to.

Had to look up hojari - - -

I get outstanding Boswellia Sacra incense from Seattle

incense and Myrrh.

http://somfrankincense.com/

Kiler