Until a Natural Scent Is Born
*This article is a translated and re-edited version, by FUUKA, of De Groene Linde's official blog. De Groene Linde, carried by FUUKA, is an essential oil brand based in Heiloo, a town in the northern Netherlands.
Made with care and a deep respect for the power of nature, its scents quietly sit with our mind and body. In this article, we introduce how those scents come to be — the production methods behind essential oil.
Essential oil is a beautiful, compelling gift of nature.
But each drop is born from a delicate process that concentrates a plant's power.
In this article, we introduce how essential oil is made.
What Is Essential Oil?
Essential oil is a mixture of volatile scent compounds obtained from plants.
Think of the scent that bursts out when you peel an orange — that's essential oil, right there.
Despite being called an "oil," it contains no fat.
It's extracted from various parts of a plant — flowers, fruit, seeds, leaves, bark, and wood.
Why Prices Differ So Much
The price differences between essential oils mainly come down to the following factors.
First, the amount of plant material needed.
To make 1kg of rose oil, for example, roughly 6,000kg of petals are required.
Second, differences in extraction method.
Oils that are relatively easy to extract, like citrus oils, tend to be more affordable.
5 Main Extraction Methods
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Distillation (steam distillation)
Steam is passed through the plant material, and the resulting vapor, carrying the scent compounds, is cooled and separated to extract the oil.
The leftover water is also used as "hydrosol" (floral water). -
Pressing (cold-pressing)
Mainly used for citrus peels, pressed at a low temperature to extract the oil.
Since no chemicals are used, the scent stays notably fresh. -
Dry distillation
Wood and similar materials are heated to release the scent compounds as vapor, which is then cooled and extracted.
This method is often used for woody essential oils. -
CO₂ extraction
A modern technique using carbon dioxide.
It offers excellent quality and yield, but tends to come at a higher cost. -
Enfleurage
A classical technique for extracting the scent of delicate flowers.
In the cold method, flowers are laid onto fat to let the scent absorb into it; in the warm method, the fat is heated before the scent is drawn out.
The resulting fat is called a "pomade," which is further processed into an "absolute."
The Careful Craftsmanship Behind Every Scent
An essential oil's price and quality vary greatly depending on the type of plant and the production method used.
What all of them share, though, is being a miraculous process shaped jointly by nature and human hands.
The next time you pick up a bottle of oil, take a moment to consider the journey of scent behind it.
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