Re: Anybody planning on distilling or tincturing their Christmas tree?

[Guest guest]

>Share your stories, tree species,...

Pistacia atlantica: close to chios mastic tree, growing wild, its

fruits are red lentils like size, gathered in clusters all around the

tree, by end September I noticed small tears (transparent colorless

drops) forming on the fruits that I picked up with a tweezers and

diluted in alcohol. Then I got a sweet green balsamic olibanum with a

faint musky background.

> are you going to recycle your tree in the most fragrant manner?

I don't dare, coz Last year, I tried to tincture Santa Claus using a

bucket of water topping the door, but I got a busted nose (it was my

wife and she got angry ...)

Merry Christmas to All

antonin

[Guest guest]

Anya <anya@...> wrote:

>

> Time for a headcount of group members who are rabid tincturers and

> distillers - are you going to recycle your tree in the most fragrant

> manner? Share your stories, tree species, special plans.

Anya,

I bought a Frazier Fir this year and am going to try to distill some

oil from it. I'll be using a homemade distiller that I made this summer

from the plans in the files. I'm hoping to get good results even

thought the tree is not newly cut. I'm interested to hear what others

are doing as well.

Kathy

http://stringersrandomscience.wordpress.com

[Guest guest]

> I bought a Frazier Fir this year and am going to try to distill some

oil from it. I'll be using a homemade distiller that I made this

summer from the plans in the files. I'm hoping to get good results

even thought the tree is not newly cut. I'm interested to hear what

others are doing as well.

> Kathy

My experience with fir was easier: Old trees go long and resins flakes

are spread all over their trunks. Picking up these resins using a

screw driver was no difficult and when I diluted it in alcohol it gave

me a nice conifer woody earthy scenting solution.

Antonin

[Guest guest]

Anya <anya@...> wrote: Time for a headcount of group members who are

rabid tincturers and

distillers - are you going to recycle your tree in the most fragrant

manner? Share your stories, tree species, special plans. I don't get a

tree (the cats are crazy in my household) but I'd love to hear what

others are planning.

--

Sincerely, Anya

Anya's Garden of Natural Perfume http://AnyasGarden.com - rare and exotic

aromatics and artisan perfumes,

perfumery classes and consultation

Natural Perfumers Guild http://NaturalPerfumersGuild.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------

We don’t usually buy a cut evergreen tree. A couple of years ago we put lights

and ornaments on a potted palm that is now in the front yard. This year we

found a great funky hibiscus tree that’s about 6 feet tall with drooping

branches. The double red flowers make a great additional ornament to all our

glass balls and lights. It’s also going in the front yard after Christmas.

Elise, in Florida

http://www.tambela.com

---------------------------------

Never miss a thing. Make your homepage.

[Guest guest]

>

> Time for a headcount of group members who are rabid tincturers and

> distillers - are you going to recycle your tree in the most fragrant

> manner?

Hi Everyone,

Although I love the smell of fresh cut pine and fir I will not be

distilling any christmas trees this year. I live in Oregon where I

grew up in an area surrounded by Christmas tree farms. An immense

amount of pesticides and herbicides are used as standard practice by

farmers here. I am looking for Organic growers of Christmas trees to

see if I can distill any sheared material at other points in the year.

Most plants that are not organically grown get sprayed with some kind

of chemical to kill bugs or disease, christmas trees just get sprayed

soooo heavily -- especially if they are imported to another country

where they are furth treated with chemicals in quarantine.

There are so many evergreens here that can be wildcrafted....I am

working on a mens cologne that will echo of a memory I have of playing

with my brothers in the " Christmas Tree Fort. "

Happy Holidays!

Jess Ring

>

[Guest guest]

> grew up in an area surrounded by Christmas tree farms. An immense

> amount of pesticides and herbicides are used as standard practice by

> farmers here. I am looking for Organic growers of Christmas trees to

> see if I can distill any sheared material at other points in the year.

> Most plants that are not organically grown get sprayed with some kind

> of chemical to kill bugs or disease, christmas trees just get sprayed

> soooo heavily -- especially if they are imported to another country

> where they are furth treated with chemicals in quarantine.

hey jess....wow, i never gave this any thought

thank you darling for enlightening me./

i am still swamped here, but should be able to send you some goodies

soon.

xoxo

L

Libby /510-290-4028

http://web.mac.com/libbypatterson

http://www.angelicaromas.com

http://www.priestessofalchemy.com

[Guest guest]

Sorry I'm reading this a bit late, but I too am distilling my Nobel fir this

year. I soaked the needles and cut branches in purified water to capture as much

of the sap as I could and then used that water with some fresh needles to

distill. I have a tiny stove top distiller, but so far I have spent a total of 4

hours distilling. I've come up with about four cups of hydrosol that smell just

heavenly and very strong. I'm planning on distilling as much as I can, perhaps

buying more jars to hold it all, and using the rest of the tree as mulch. ;p

This is going to become a Christmas tradition for me I think.

I too have cats (four) but they are great at getting all the needles off for me.

LOL. ;p

" Easy reading is damn hard writing. " ~ iel Hawthorne

http://www.myspace.com/violahowl http://www.flickr.com/photos/violahowl

[Guest guest]

> Sorry I'm reading this a bit late, but I too am distilling my

> Nobel fir this year. I soaked the needles and cut branches in

> purified water to capture as much of the sap as I could and

> then used that water with some fresh needles to distill. I

> have a tiny stove top distiller, but so far I have spent a

> total of 4 hours distilling. I've come up with about four

> cups of hydrosol that smell just heavenly and very strong.

> I'm planning on distilling as much as I can, perhaps buying

> more jars to hold it all, and using the rest of the tree as

> mulch. ;p This is going to become a Christmas tradition for

> me I think.

>

> I too have cats (four) but they are great at getting all the

> needles off for me. LOL. ;p

>

>

>

Hi ,

We will be distilling our grand fir . . . Fourth time for Christmas tree

distillation for us, so I guess we've taken on a new tradition, too,

although we've skipped a year or two. I'm especially happy with the odor

quality of the grand fir. We'll do it in our copper still and get about 3

gallons hydrosol from each batch load (each batch takes about 3 1/2-4 hours

not counting setup/loading plant material) . . . We'll get perhaps a total

of 15 - 20 gallons if our stamina holds out. We often given up before we

get the entire tree distilled. Maybe 3-4 oz. essential oil. It's a large

tree, maybe 8-9 ft. We only distill the needles, not the branches. With

our copper still, the first gallon of each batch is superior; we usually use

#2 and #3 from each batch in cleaning products.

Be well,

Marcia Elston

Samara Botane/Nature Intelligence, est. 1988

http://www.wingedseed.com Online 3/95

http://www.aromaconnection.org Group Blog 2/07

" Historically, the most terrible things - war, genocide and slavery - have

resulted from obedience, not disobedience. "

Zinn