Distillation in Practice: Patchouli From Garden to Still

Following Patchouli from the garden to quintessence.

Module for Distillation In Practice with Patchouli

Welcome to the garden and the “still room”. In this course, we spend time with Patchouli as a living being — beginning with plant connection, then moving into the harvest, preparation, and weighing of the material. From there, we step into the still room for a full, real‑time distillation, exploring the transformation that unfolds inside the apparatus (making the unseen—volatile aromatic molecules—seen) alongside the nuts-and-bolts process of distillation. We close with a discussion on the nuance of distillation and the deeper principles that guide this practice.

Lessons

Getting to Know a Plant Patchouli Harvest Preparing Patchouli for Distillation In the Still Room: Weighing Patchouli In the Still Room: Distillation in Process Reflections from the Still Room: Musings on Distillation, Hydrosols, and Water

Originally created for a professional aromatherapy conference and recorded in October 2021, this video series is now freely available as part of the learning library. Distillation in Practice: Patchouli from Garden to Still begins with “Getting to Know a Plant,” filmed in my garden and centered on plant connection, then follows the full journey from tending and harvesting Patchouli to a complete, real‑time distillation. While the material carries depth, nuance, and the lived stories of practice, it remains fully accessible to beginners—ideal for anyone curious about how essential oils are obtained from living plants and what happens inside the still room.

Of note: my distillation setup has evolved since these videos were recorded. Beginning in 2022, I incorporated a portable cooling‑refrigeration unit to cool the condenser water. Although it requires electrical energy, it significantly reduces water use and keeps the distillation process more stable—a trade‑off (of using more electricity) I am still glad I made. With that noted, I’ve learned much since I began distilling in 2017 and continue to learn, which is part of the joys of working with plants and the distillation process.

Distillation in Practice: Patchouli From Garden to Still

Lessons

Short Video Introduction (Excerpts from Video #6 of 6 in the course)