Imagine you have a pot of water on the stove and you toss in some fragrant rose petals. As the water heats up, it starts to steam, right? That steam carries tiny bits of the rose’s scent with it.
Distillation is like using that steam to capture the amazing smells of plants in a bottle! Here’s how it works in simple steps:
- Flower Power: We put the plant parts, like rose petals or lavender leaves, in a big pot.
- Steam Time! We heat up water in another part of the pot, creating lots of steam.
- Scento Train: The hot steam rises up and carries the tiny scent particles from the plants with it.
- Cooling Down: The steam travels through a long, cool tube. As it cools down, it turns back into liquid, taking those lovely scent particles along for the ride!
- Voila! Essential Oil: This cool liquid that collects is the essential oil, capturing the pure fragrance of the plant.
So, next time you smell a wonderful essential oil, remember the amazing journey it took – hitching a ride on steam to become a delightful bottle of scent!