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fern.mossin Learning to Smell · Swansea ·

Discovery

Steam, mint leaves and the word hydrosol

Glass teapot and cups of mint tea on a dark table, with an open tea infuser

Read about steam distillation on a wet lunch break: steam carries the scent out of the leaves, and once it condenses the oil separates from the water. The watery part is called the hydrosol, a word I'd never seen before.

Mint

3 comments

nell.wattle

The same page says eucalyptus oil is actually made this way on an industrial scale. Every rainy walk here makes more sense now.

aoife_mint

So the essential oil is the steam one and the absolute is the solvent one. Finally clicking.

juniper_jules

I picture steam off a wet kiln, carrying the smell of the clay with it.