Essential oil sits as microscopic pockets (or deposits) on the different parts of the plant. This means that essential oil is not 'manufactured', but extracted directly from the plant. The pockets need to be opened so that the oil can be released, collected and bottled.
There are a few different extraction processes for essential oils. Below we describe two of the most common: steam distillation and cold pressing.
Steam distillation:
- The plant parts (flowers, leaves, bark, twigs, stems - all depending on the type of plant) are collected together and placed in a container.
- Under the container there is a separate vessel with water, to which heat is added.
- The steam from the water vessel fills the plant container. This causes the microscopic essential oil deposits of the plant parts to be released into the steam.
- The vapor with the essential oil is allowed to flow further into a cooled tube. The cold causes the vapor to condense back into liquid form. So does the essential oil.
- Water and oil are dripped into a final container. The essential oil has a lower density than the water. So we get a container filled with water, with a small layer of pure essential oil floating on top.
- A tap at the bottom of the vessel is used to drain the water. Finally, only the essential oil is left - ready to be bottled.
Another common method is cold pressing. Cold pressing is mainly used to extract essential oil from citrus fruits. Their oils are heat-sensitive, so to get the finest and most unaltered product possible, they are extracted cold.
- Citrus essential oil is present in the form of microscopic deposits, just under the outermost layer of the peel.
- Passing the citrus fruit over a type of raspar punctures the peel and these small deposits, releasing the oil.
- Water is sprayed over the fruits,. We now have a mass of fine shell parts, particles, water and essential oil.
- The pulp is filtered and centrifuged to separate the pure essential oil. The oil is then bottled, ready to scent your home.
At Evoroma we have a wide range of essential oils! Discover a world of fragrances now.