We are certified by the California State Department of Agriculture as a certified organic producer and processor, meeting the standards of the National Organic Program and are members of CCOF, California Certified Organic Farmers recognized by the USDA. Our lavender essential oil is guaranteed pure lavender essential oil, highly fragrant and aged for quality. Our oil is analyzed by an independent company to ensure its quality as a pure therapeutic grade lavender essential oil.
Central Coast Lavender derived it’s method of Distillation from techniques used for centuries by those who have Mastered the craft. Striving to maintain a tried and true delivery of 100% pure essential oil, we have learned and followed some of the masters of our modern age. Central Coast Lavender shares in this universally unique method of distillation. We would like to share with you the simplicity and beauty of this fascinating process.
Distilling Essential Oils is a passion for many. Distillers use a wide variety of equipment. Some distillers use traditional Alembic distillers for making Hydrosols and Essential Oils. Some use homemade equipment. Designs and sizes vary but in the end, the results are similar.
Central Coast Lavender uses the newer condenser design. The new condenser design is styled after the French open top condenser. Cooling water is simply added to the top, while hot water is drained from the bottom. The product that exits the condenser is called the distillate. The distillate is a combination of essential oil and hydrosols. After leaving the condenser, the distillate enters the copper ‘Essencier’. It is here that the essential oils and hydrosols are collected and separated.
What makes our oil unique? The Essencier- for the purpose of separating essential oils and waters. This unique and functional separator is a must if you are making essential oil. The operation is passive and allows you to collect the highest quality essential oils and hydrosols.
More about Distillation…
The Distiller has three major components: The Retort, the Bird’s Beak and the Condenser. The Retort is the container for your plant material. It is equipped with a sight glass for monitoring water levels within it. A removable stainless steel ‘basket’ is inside the retort. The basket is what holds the plant material, or bud. The Bird’s Beak serves as a lid for the Retort and a conduit for steam.
A day at the Still..
Beginning with pure lavender bud, not stems or pieces like most commercial processes, we load the retort with approximately 5 pounds of the variety ‘Grosso’ lavender. Then we fill the distiller with purified water to almost cover the lavender. On top of the retort is the “bird’s beak”. In the bottom of the distiller is a 2000 watt heating element with a stainless steel basket above it. The basket protects the buds or plant material from coming in contact with the element. The “bird’s beak” is connected to a condensing coil and the coil is surrounded with a water jacket. A small pump, pumps water from a separate large water container through the water jacket in the condenser assembly which then cools the coil containing the steam. The cooling of the steam changes the physical properties back into a liquid which we call distillate.
When the heat is engaged, the copper distiller runs for approximately four hours. The steam comes out of the top and goes directly into the condenser through the birds beak. The distillate begins to flow into the copper ‘Essencier’ which separates the oil and the hydrosols. The oil gathers together in a chamber above the hydrosols base and is now in the tower known as the ‘Mother Load’. From here the oil flows directly from the ‘Mother Load’ into a flask, and the hydrosols flows from the lower chamber within the ‘Essencier’ into a holding tank.
To ensure consistent quality the whole process is regulated on a timer so that each batch is consistent and produces a uniform amount of high grade essential oil from each run.
Due to the small size of the runs or batches, and due to the lower temperature used along with a longer cook time, we arrive at a superior quality of oil that is light and sweet smelling even before it is gone threw the ageing process of 3 to 6 months.
