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DISTILLATION OF ALBERTA ESSENTIAL OILS: A WONDERFUL LEARNING ADVENTURE
by Christine Hopkins
I feel I need to give a bit of history as to how my husband, Richard, and I ended up driving North from the Calgary Airport to Olds, Alberta late one frosty night at the end of March. We were on a quest for information about distilling EO (Essential Oils) from native plants and crops grown specifically for EO distillation.
I had met two of the organizers for the ACNC (Alberta New Crops Network) Workshop previously in San Francisco at the International Conference sponsored by the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy in Oct. 2002. Heather Kehr and Jean Channon-Simpson were presenters on the 'Distiller's Panel' and did an excellent presentation on the ANCN- also passing around some of their Alberta EO for people to experience. [There was also a BC Distiller on the Panel- Kent MacKay from the Island who also gave a very inspiring presentation.] Since it was wonderful to meet up with fellow Aromatherapists from Canada - I ended up spending evening time together with Heather & Jean and some of our BC reps - giving me the opportunity to 'pick their brains' and make good networking connections. This later paid off with an invitation from Heather Kehr via email to attend their wonderful training workshop.
I have had an abiding interest in the possibility of beginning to distill our own Native and field-grown plants, specializing in organic or wild-crafted, for quite a long time, so finding out there was a group in Alberta already organized and proceeding was truly exciting for me. What had begun as a 'seed' of an idea in Provence the previous Summer had begun to 'germinate'.
Earlier we had followed our obsession to Provence, France last summer to meet up with a friend from a previous San Francisco Conference who is the Interpreter and International Rep for a Provencal Farmer's Cooperative (representing over 400 French farmers growing or wild-harvesting the herbs for EO. We were, of course totally dazzled with the beauty and richness of Provence - surrounded by Wild Lavender and a multitude of other wonderful Mediterranean herbal treasures. (Not to mention wine, olives, and phenomenal food! I do regret not doing an article on our wonderful experiences in Provence [I was even able to be involved in distilling Wild Lavender with Bob & Rhiannon Harris in their Training Institute in La Martel] - I had fully intended to write something last Fall but life just got in the way again!) An unforgettable experience.
Paradoxically, after our memorable adventures in Provence - we returned home to the Island inspired to learn more about our own native plants (and herbs & trees that grow easily and abundantly in our own 'terrain') -especially those used historically as medicinals and by First Nations peoples.
And so...back to Alberta. There is, indeed, a connection between our 'voyage of discovery' to Provence and our amazing learning experience in Alberta. The thread that runs through is the connection to the plants themselves- the farmers and others who work intimately with the plants - the seasons and the earth.
The topics covered at the From Field to Finished Product workshop in Olds, Alberta are difficult to summarize since it was such a smorgasborg of resource people and information. It started where our precious oils start - looking at the plants themselves, the soil, climate, growing conditions, exactly which parts of which plants distill into the EO with the desirable chemical profiles for their destined markets. With a growing awareness of the range of participants and their background, it was particularly interesting to me to follow the discussions with farmers and others from the Agricultural businesses around managing weeds and pests since it was clear that not all participants came with an understanding of 'therapeutic grade' EO. Many of these farmers have been trained to focus on the large markets in the food and drug industry where historically there is little or no concern if crops have been sprayed with pesticides, etc. Since the EO being distilled through the Alberta project are being extensively chemically analyzed, there has been a significant 'learning curve' for many growers. Of course, in this group there were also a large number of long-term, committed organic farmers and others in the AT realm emphasizing the critical importance of organic methods.
Next was our leap into being involved in the actual distillation of Picea mariana - Black Spruce, with an introduction to the ANCN Mobile Distillation Unit. For this our large group (40 or more people) were led to a huge farm equipment hangar to learn about this large, custom- built system on a flat-deck trailer so that it can be moved from crop to crop. Several of the team were demonstrating and explaining different components and steps in the process (some people were attending to learn to operate the Unit on their own so it needed to be very detailed) - all the steps from thorough cleaning and sterilization to loading the material [chopped branches and tips]. We learned it is critical not to contaminate a new distillation with material from the previous run, etc.
And it began... the unit was turned on- the steam began to work it's way up through the Spruce branches and slowly the distillate beginning to rise up through the condenser and into the glass tubing where we could begin to see the EO forming on the top of the AH (Aromatic Hydrosol). It's hard to explain how exciting it can be with a whole group gathered around watching a few drops of aromatic oil begin to separate and rise.
And the Fragrance! - it was wonderful to smell and very amusing to observe to what degree our group who had been so intellectually focused became animated and enthusiastic. The presenters also warned of the need to use great caution distilling some plant material due to such intense exposure. Of course, Spruce was predictably stimulating - and certainly helped enliven people for lunch time which followed. Given the huge, open-air space we were in with all that fresh late-winter Alberta air coming in it was still a phenomenal impact that was experienced.
As the Spruce EO collected in the top portion it was able to be carefully poured off so that we could see and smell it. Our next surprise...the top portion of the Hydrosol (AH) was poured off and help
Sorry folks, all the text below in bold needs to be re-arranged. So much for OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software! It has problems with columns…will get this fixed for you soon.
(Continued from page 20)a dorm room was a new experience forThe Future of Essential Oils in Alberta
Richard and I! I kept trying to rememberRobert is also a Master Herbalist/Author
ers began to fill individual bottles for eachwhat a great bargain it was in the morning,and Teacher and showed a slide presenta-
of us to have our own to keep. (I have towaiting with all the other women for thetion of Native plants which he or others
comment that Richard and I had been verysfng/e bathroom. Apparently there werehave attempted to distill with some sue-
ill in the two weeks prior to this and proba-multiple facilities for the men...go figure!]cesses. The slides were beautiful and the
biy would have cancelled if not for ourThere were so many excellent presenters;list impressive. Not all of the plants would
booked airfare, etc. The amazing effect ofbut time and space don't allow so here is abe classified as aromatic plants but I be-
the distillation and continuing to sip the AHquick summary of some of my favorites:lieve all were considered to have medici-
in water, herb teas, etc. for the next 2 daysEssential Oils: From Plant to Product bynal/therapeutic values.
and beyond - had a dramatic effect on ourFrancois Garneau, Chemist from LaseveReiterating a point made by Jeanne Rose
recovery. Both of us suddenly had in-Labs, University of Quebec at Chicoutimiand others, Robert talked about distilling
creased energy and stamina. We clearlyFrancois is a retired chemistry professorfor the Hydrosol from many plants when
experienced the positive effect of the adre-who now does extensive chemical analysisthe EO is not easily extracted. Yet another
nal nourishment which Spruce is consid-in his Lab at Laseve. His presentationsinspiring and exciting presentation. So
ered so valuable for. My own personalwere so professional and his informationmany possibilities out there!
oepiphany' was from the impact of usingclear and understandable.but his manner
the AHs. They seem so much more subtlewas very open and receptive. Although heAs I hope is apparent from this article, our
but can have a truly dramatic impact.)comes from a purely scientific backgrounddual trips in search of knowledge about
he seemed very interested in learningdistillation certainly served their purpose
The distillation was a hard act toabout therapeutic uses.(and more !). We learned so much which I
follow but Jeanne Rose, well-knownHe presented a session called Martketinghave been keen to share. Although space
Aromatherapist & author and dis-Your Product Using GCMS on Sunday us-didn't allow expanding on our experiences
tiller of EO from San Francisco -ing a very fine-tuned approach to chemicalin Provence, but we really appreciated the
was up to it. Jeanne has spent many yearsanalysis of EO to target certain markets,perspective we were able to find and what
exploring the plant world and experiment-GCMS is Gas Chromatography/Mass Spec-we learned from the people we met there.
ing with the distillation of many nativetrometry.The primary message we learned in the
plants. She is the inspiration behind theFeasibility Study of Essential Oil Productionend was to value what can be grown locally
Aromatic Plant Project, which she hasin Alberta- Interim Report bv Kirtsv Piquette(or already has grown for centuries!) with
worked on for many years. Jeanne's 2 top-from Business Development (of the Albertasimple, long-trusted methods.and obtain
ics were: Market Development for Oils &Government) a very thought-provokingplants, etc. from people known & trusted.
Hvdrosols on Native Plants and an eveningpresentation stimulating good discussionOne of our friends in Provence calls it "pre-
session on Hvdrosol Production . Storageamong many of the participants,industrial" methods...
and Marketing. Jeanne has a wealth ofReplenish the soil with natural mineral,
experience to share and her own uniqueWinding down to the end of our 2 packedmanures, & compost and mulch
style of presentation but it is clear that shedays was a tour of the brand new Labs at(sometimes with rocks, oyster shells, etc.!)
loves the plants, the process, and espe-Olds College and their new facilities andor cultivate to keep weeds and pests man-
cially the oils and hydrosols. Her emphaticstaff. OCCI (Olds College Centre for Innova-ageable and no use of pesticides or herbi-
comments which rang true for me were:tion) represented by Lead Research Scien-cides to ensure the purity of the plant ma-
"Grow what you know" and "Grow what thetist, Dr. Paul Kolodziejczyk , and his newestterial and EOs & AHs.
Earth wants you to grow". Jeanne waschemist, Daise Lopes Ph.D., recently ar-
also available at our social time on the Sat-rived from Brazil, both did brief presenta-Many of the discussions in Alberta cen-
urday evening to sign her books and wastions and then escorted us on a short tourtered around re-discovering thses simple
very generous sharing her time and knowl-of their Laboratory. This was truly fascinat-methods that had stood the test of time.
edge.ing as we were able to watch an analysesThe chemists helped us to understand the
taking place (all automated) and also ob-value of the testing to help identify and
Speaking of social time - it included anserve another type of distillation- a hydro-'fine-tune' the distillation and to confirm
assortment of snacks and desserts anddistillation (water is mixed with the plantthat the EO & AH are pure, unadulterated
three wonderful punches and the 'punch'material- not just steam). I had great diffi-& close to the expected chemical profile for
was from being 'spiked' with A. Hydrosols.culty hauling Richard out of the Lab be-the chemotype.
AH used in the recipes were posted in frontcause Daise was willing to answer his mul-
of the punches. The other 'goodies' hadtitudes of questions about the Labs andOur friends in Alberta have lead the way in
also had AH & EO included in the recipes,procedures. The OCCI scientists will cer-exploring this new eco-agriculture, sup-
All of us began cheerfully 'drinking trees'tainly be qualified for very complex analysisported by beneficial science. We sincerely
and other aromatic plants and networkingof many products besides EO - but all theappreciate the inspiration they have given
with so many others from different back-chemists were clearly enjoying learningus to begin to move forward with our own
grounds. Again- the AH visibly enlivenedmore about our therapeutic and experien-exploration of potential therapeutic plants
the group - keeping those of us staying intial use of EO. One of the final presenta-suitable for distillation which we have in
the dorms on campus chatting fairly late.tion was by Robert Dale Rogers, Vice Presi-our environments.
[Please note: in 35 years together sharingdent of ANCN
Christine Hopkins, Aromatherapist
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