Portland,
Oregon—January 21, 2011—The Essential Oil Company is now approved as a
Certified Organic Processor of Essential Oils by Oregon Tilth
“I am very proud
to be approved by Oregon Tilth as an Organic Processor,” says The Essential Oil
Company President Robert Seidel, “because this enables us to distill quality
pure essential oils to meet the demand of our customers. Robert is internationally known as “The
Guerilla Distiller”, promoting small scale distillation around the world. The Essential Oil Company owns a
“Boutique Distillery” Located in Portland, Oregon, distilling organically grown
and wild crafted raw materials for hydrosols and essential oils. Premier certified organic essential
oils include Oregano (Origanum vulgare) and Sacred White Sage (Salvia apiana), which is traditionally used by Native
Americans in the US Southwest during purification rituals.
The Essential Oil
Company has been a Certified Organic Handler, approved by Oregon Tilth and NOP
(National Organic Program) since 2008. Meeting National Standards on Organic
Agricultural Production and Handling.
According to
Oregon Tilth:
“Oregon Tilth's
purpose is to educate gardeners, farmers, legislators, and the general public
about the need to develop and use sustainable growing practices that promote
soil health, conserve natural resources, and prevent environmental degradation
while producing a clean and healthful food supply for humanity.
Oregon Tilth
Certified Organic (OTCO) is an internationally recognized symbol of organic
integrity. OTCO provides a system that combines strict production standards,
on-site inspections, and legally binding contracts to protect the producers and
buyers of organic products. http://tilth.org/”
About The
Essential Oil Company
Since 1977 The Essential
Oil Company has been importing and distributing quality pure essential oils and
allied products, including distillation equipment. For more information about
The Essential Oil Company, visit www.essentialoil.com, call (800) 729-5912, or
stop by and visit our Sample Bar located at 8225 SE 7th Ave., Portland OR
97202.
I managed to locate an excellent source for wild crafted aromatic raw materials. This is very exciting to me, as it opens a door for access to some very interesting plants, some of which I've wanted to distill for a very long time. Included in that list is Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense), Arrow Leaf Balsam Root (Balsamorhiza sagittata), Pipsissewa - Prince's Pine (Chimaphila umbellata) and of course one of my favorites, Incense Cedar (Libocedrus decurrens-- aka Calocedrus decurrens)
I started distilling a batch of Incense Cedar Leaf. The leaf had been gently dried and there was minimal stem material. This is very good, because the twigs are unproductive and take up room and cost energy. I distilled for three hours and obtained less than 0.5% yield. Then it dawned on me that I had made an error.
As with all conifers, the scales of the "leaf" of the Incense Cedar are covered with a waxy coating. In order to break the coating down and get at the essential oils the coating protects, the "leaf" must first be soaked in room temperature water.
I turned off my distiller, and left the steam soaked plant material to sit overnight. When I distilled the next morning, the essential oil flowed easily.
I finally ended up with a 1.4% yield of essential oil and lots of interesting hydrosols.
When I do my next run of Incense Cedar Leaf, I will add copper to the system to reduce the sulfurous "still note". The last time I distilled Incense Cedar was in a copper still and the oil was "sweet" right from the beginning. I will also soak each batch for at least 12 hours prior to distillation.
Right now the oil and waters are breathing, like a fine wine.
I hope in the future to be able to increase the percent yield to between 1.5 and 2.0 %.
Cant' wait to distill Wild Ginger and Arrowleaf Balsamroot!
