Guest guest Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 At 06:10 PM 3/5/2004 -0600, you wrote: >I live about 30 minutes from Sequim, where the lavender is grown. >Most of the lavender there is grosso, with a lot of hidcote, and >some of the others. But their main market is for the dried floral >wholesalers and I understand grosso has the best color retention and >stems for that market. And I must say that they do make lovely >dried flowers! And I love to make lavender wands from them. > >As for the distilling...Many growers are just becoming interested in >that as a new market possibility. I just attended a distilling >workshop last summer put on by the Sequim lavender growers >association. They have just recently (last year) started >experimenting with some bulk production of oils on a relatively >small scale. But they do have a trailer mounted unit and do seem to >be open to the possibilities that it could bring. > >In our class we distilled Melilot (sp?). It is a lavandin I >understand, but it is a VERY good oil producer. It's heads (excuse >my terminology as I am a newbie to this) where very floral and it >finished more green and herby, but I didn't notice any camphorus >odors at all during our distillation. To my knowledge there is only >one grower in Sequim who is producing this variety. I can't >remember her name right now, but could find it if anyone is >interested. Thanks for giving us more info on the Sequim area, Patty. I have some photos a friend took there last year when she visited family near there. The fields are beautiful! I'll upload them later today in the photo section. PS I'm just catching up on three days of posts, but I'll bet the Melilot/Maileltte question has been settled :-) Anya http://member.newsguy.com/~herblady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 <<Coumarin goes very well with lavender, and that is what some perceive as the sweet note. Synthetic lavender may have been enhanced with coumarin. Sweet coumarin notes are found in grasses, hay and clover.>> I have some coumarin on-hand and sniffed it alongside my Bulgarian lavender. Indeed...I think it DID recreate that " sweet note lavender " essence I was smelling in other products and was curious to re-create. I never would have guessed " coumarin " as the blend-scent I was looking for that I thought seemed so distinctly vanilla-like. But togther, the coumarin and lav. definitely have it! Thanks for the tip! ~Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 At 10:02 AM 3/7/2004 -0500, you wrote: >> Lavendin is generally from cuttings rather than seed for larger >> production. > >Not generally.... ALWAYS. > >We need to learn the differences between Lavender, Lavandin AND Spike >(and Mellilot, which is NOT the same family). OK, --- now since you opened the door, you have to show the way! Tell us your opinions on the differences, and excuse me, I'm off to lemming buy some Spike (I have some old, old spike, want to compare with new stuff), and as many other varieties of lavender and lavandin I can find :-) Anya http://member.newsguy.com/~herblady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 15:16:05 -0500, Anya wrote: >We need to learn the differences between Lavender, Lavandin AND Spike > > Tell us your opinions on the differences, and excuse me, I'm off to lemming > buy some Spike (I have some old, old spike, want to compare with new > stuff), and as many other varieties of lavender and lavandin I can find :-) 1) Spike is the most camphoraceous/cineol/borneol or medicinal smelling. We could say herbaceous, but to me that is green, and the oil does not have what I call a green note. 2) Lavender is the most floral, least camphor/cineol. If you smell camphor, I would suspect the product. 3) Lavandin falls right in between. Floral / camphor FWIW, most people equate Lavandin for lavender oil. This maybe due to the " lift " that cineol and camphor bring to the oil. Coumarin goes very well with lavender, and that is what some perceive as the sweet note. Synthetic lavender may have been enhanced with coumarin. Sweet coumarin notes are found in grasses, hay and clover. If your " good " lavender is medicinal or cineol (Eucalyptus like), something is wrong. Lavender, if anything has a mushroominess (sp. creativity here) due to ketones. It should however not be too mushroomy. Neither should it be very linalyl acetate, as this may be Bulgarian or grown in very good soil. The plant has to suffer! BTW, this mushroominess is most apparent in fresh oil, leaving the cap off will allow these " still " notes to dissipate over time. Airing time depends on quantity involve. Some, bubble nitrogen in the oil to remove these odor artifacts. BTW, name confusions: Lavande (French), Lavender, Lavandin, Lavandin Spike, Spike Lavender, Aspic (French) and other variations appear on the 'Net so it's difficult to know what is being addressed by some of these WEB sites. Odd site: http://www.exaflor.com/particuliers/english/htm/produits.asp?Products=hybrid Lavender is a small plant, Spike is a big plant, and Lavandin is a medium plant - size wise. Unfortunately, today, the whole plant is harvested (flower stalk and leaves, not the roots!) and this accounts for that herbaceous weedy character. Too brief? -= ß =- - Relurking- _______________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 On Mon, 8 Mar 2004 18:31:43 EST, ~Carol wrote: > I have some coumarin on-hand and sniffed it alongside my Bulgarian lavender. > Indeed...I think it DID recreate that " sweet note lavender " essence I was > smelling in other products .... <snip> .... Thanks for the tip! Glad it worked for you - AND coumarin should be OK in your soap, no color issues there. Don't over do it. Coumarin is very long lasting, a little goes a long way. -= ß =- _______________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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