The Alchemical Process of Distillation  

 Humans have been practicing the art of distillation for thousands of years as a means of capturing vital medicine from plants. To this day, hydrosols – thought to contain the essence of the plant - are an important branch of phyto-therapy (the use of plants to benefit the mind, body and spirit).

Distillation is the art of volatilizing plant material by applying heat and water. The two products from distillation that we capture are essential oils and hydrosols. Hydrosols contain water-soluble plant compounds, cellular water, and small amounts of essential oils.  Hydrosols are used both internally and topically. Hydrosols also known as the aromatic water are approximately 20-30 times stronger than herbal tea.

 Why incorporate hydrosols into our repertoire of herbal medicine? 

 Amazing changes can come about on both the physical and the psycho-emotional and level from the use of hydrosols therapeutically. They are an important remedy because they can easily be integrated into daily live, they have a wide range of applications, they have few contraindications and are they are very safe to use even with kids and pets.

All of Animas Botanicals hydrosols are made in small batches using a copper alembic still with plants cultivated with biodynamic practices in our gardens or ethically wild-crafted in the southwest.