Classic Techniques vs Advanced Technology: Enfleurage vs Distillation

Flower Life with Time, Effort and Thoughtfulness.

When considering being in a long distance relationship, one has to contemplate, how are we going to keep in touch? Should we write lengthy hand written letters to one another? Send them out by post mail, stamp and all? Or should it be all digital, all day (literally)? This is the age of the all inclusive, Internet, why write letters when there's access to video chatting and instant messaging?

Setting ourselves aside, we bring to you this thoughtful blog, advanced technology at it's best. A way to share our thoughts with one another, with out being bogged down by the typical communication politics than can arise when communicating long distances. That said, there's something romantic about receiving a note from the one you love, it looks like them with their handwriting, it might even smell like them. So who's to say we're doing it right? But we're trying.

Getting to the goods; I parallel this thought process into my industry. Should the fragrance industry be extracting with the newest, most technical machinery to date in order to create the purest fragrances, or would it be worth it for the industry to look back into older processes of sourcing?

Merci beaucoup chimistes français. Yup, your about to get a French Lesson! In Enfleurage (a la the French), flower petals are laid out on trays of fat, where they remain until the fat has absorbed most all of the fragrance, at which point the flowers are changed out and fresh flowers lay on the same bed of fat. After time, the fat becomes saturated with the floral aromatic, which then is sponged off the fat with baths of alcohol.

The process is all done by hand and can take quite awhile. Main components are the flowers, fresh from harvest; the fat or the coprs - which means, the body (french 101 people), which is composed of purified tallow and two parts lard; chassis that are specialized wooden frames that house the processes described above. It also takes a boatload of patience, time and effort - as do all, good things - right?

Distillation, most commonly used today, is a very simple process (that I'm sure most are familiar with, so I wont bore you with more than this): converting essential oils into vapors and then back in to liquid form. There are three types: water distillation;
water and steam distillation; and direct steam distillation. True that Distillation is not technically, advanced technology, as it's been used and perfected in the fragrance world for decades, however, there are some new wild distillation processes and technology that are indeed, technical.

Direct steam distillation, is the most costly, but the most effective. It's Amount of steam can be readily controlled and there is no thermal decomposition of oil constituents, or essential parts. Because steam is generated in a satellite boiler, the plant material is heated no higher than 100° C and, consequently, it should not undergo thermal degradation. See it's all very technical, scientific and complex. But I, like you, are learning.

A Modern Steam Still aka Super Duper Advanced Technology

I am not so sure that there can be a conclusion drawn here, but you tell me. I am satisfied with the distillation lesson and hope you are too. Hopefully your next lesson will relate to the distillates industry, their classic techinqiues vs. advanced technology. As always, feel free to email us at headsheartsandtails@gmail.com with any questions or comments!