Working group meeting Eifel on 18.09.2020 on the topic of steam distillation
October 9, 2020 By Verena Grewenig
On 18.09.2020 a meeting of the working group Eifel took place again.
This time the topic was steam distillation.
Since we were again able to welcome 2 new participants, there was a short round of introductions as well as the presentation of the association’s work and its current topics.
After that, the individual steps of steam distillation were discussed and what needs to be observed during the distillation process. Then it went over to the practical part. The copper still was cleaned with alcohol and the boiler was filled with distilled water. Dried lavender flowers from the previous year were used as the plant material. After the cooling circuit and the stove top were activated, it was time to wait.
During this time the working group dates and topics for 2021 were discussed and set:
29.01.2021 19:00 – 21:00 “essential oils in the cold season”, parish home Olzheim
30.04.2021 16:30 – 19:00 Visit of the historical water mill in Birgel, Mühlenstraße 1, D-54587 Birgel/Vulkaneifel
Costs between 20-30 € per person, depending on number of participants
09.07.2021 from 16:00 Herbal hike under the guidance of Ralf Berg, Vulkanhotel Steffelberg, Hochstrasse 7, 54597 Steffeln
Cost per person 15 €, with 4 course wild herb menu afterwards 39€.
26.11.2021 19:00 – 21:00 “essential oils in the Christmas season”, Pfarrheim Olzheim
If the working group in the coming time due to the Corona regulations can not take place live on site, we would like to try it via an online platform. For this we will test a short spontaneous online evening in November via the platform www.webex.com, so that we all get to know and use such a medium. We will arrange the date via our WhatsApp group.
Due to the animated scheduling, we almost missed the decisive moment, the first drop from the still. This is always a very exciting moment, captured by the participants in photos and footage. By using a continuous oil separator, the extracted essential oil is very visible. The wonderful fragrance of the freshly extracted essential oil and its hydrolate quickly filled our workroom. With a fine pipette, the essential oil could be extracted and filled into 1 ml vials. The hydrolate was also filled into amber glass bottles, so each participant could take home a small sample.
Afterwards some organizational things were discussed for our next meeting on 04.12.20.
08.10.2020
Verena Grewenig
Head of the Eifel working group
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