Course Description

This course is a thorough introduction to the distillation of aromatic plants with the intent of producing essential oils and hydrolats. It includes a theoretical and historical introduction, intended to give the students a perspective on the history of distillation and strong bases on the physics of distillation, necessary to build a foundation that can be used later on to understand the nuances of practical distillation. The second module examines the different methods of distillation and translates the physics studied in the first in a practical understanding of what happens inside the still. we will be looking at the different methods highlighting strengths and weaknesses of each.  The third module is eminently practical, and involves a description of the different components of a typical still, with examples of stills of different sizes and different materials, from lab still to commercial ones. Each component is going to be described in detail and we’re going to look at different technical solutions and the importance of details of construction. Finally, the last module examines the practical, day-to-day problems of a distillation company, the flow of work, the documents and log-books needed, the issues of preparation of the material prior to distillation, and the post-distillation and conservation issues.  I will discuss practical suggestions on distilling various plant materials amongst those I have experience with.