English Distillations

During my trip this past summer to the Fens of Eastern England, I visited our chamomile distiller near Welney. In addition to farming, and growing his own herbs, he distills herbs from other farms in his co-op and he also imports and distills gums and resins: frankincense, myrrh, opoponax, elemi, galbanum, and asafoetida, all of which are imported from their countries of origin.

I was pleased to be able to witness the some gum distillation in the UK, at Pates farm in the Norfolk area.

Frankincense, Myrrh and Peppermint distillation

In general, myrrh comes from Yemen, Somalia, Southern Arabia and the African Horn--these are also homes of frankincense. In Arabia, the finest and best known myrrh is found slightly to the southwest of where the best frankincense is found. So we generally see Yemeni myrrh and Omani frankincense. Generally but not always.

Both of these gums are exudates, harvested in much the same way as a rubber tree. Cuts are made into the skin of the tree, and the gum oozes out, hardening into solid tears. Frankincense comes from Boswellia trees, myrrh from Commephora. There are generalities about which species come from which place but eventually the exact species is best learned after testing the oil with gas chromatography. Then the exact constituents and their percentages are revealed and can be matched with the known profiles of frankincense species. There are, however, many species of frankincense of which no gcs exist. Soqotra island, for example, off the coast of Somalia, (but belonging to Yemen) is famous for both Dragons Blood and Frankincense and you can see the golden transluscent drops of this for sale in the streets of Sana'a where it's sold as a chew. There are at least 8 different kinds of frankincense found on Soqotra and many of them are not listed in any botanical or herbal guide. Generalizations can be made about the species of wild flora, but unless the area is really well known, the exact species will often just be a guess. And that seems to be the case almost everywhere--unfortunately so, since the botanical name is obligatory on essential oil bottles for reputable companies.

The Goodgers have four large working stills, two for herbs--and during the time I was there, one for frankincense and one for myrrh. What a mess these are, both of them, but especially myrrh! The myrrh still is what's known as a water bath still. It has a double wall, for the steam, and an agitator on the bottom, so as to churn up the gum, making sure it doesn't burn as it heats. In this case, it's better to have steam coming in the entire length of the still, rather than just heating it from the bottom.

Frankincense is distilled for 2-3 hours, and myrrh for about 8. Both gums have to go into hot water; if put into cold they will stick to the bottom of the still and burn and then be almost impossible to clean.

Myrrh is extra difficult because it has the same specific gravity as water, meaning it doesn't float on top or sit on the bottom nicely like most essential oils. So separating the myrrh from water takes quite a bit of time, and patience. Myrrh also has that amazing ability to coat everything and harden, as anyone with a bottle of myrrh essential oil will understand. Doesn't even matter if you don't spill it--myrrh will just harden and stick over time anyway, no matter what you do and the still is no different than a bottle.

Gums and resins aren't the only plants distilled here. Pates farm grows peppermint, chamomile, melissa, hyssop, and plenty of other herbs. They are also a part of a local co-op and so distill a few other things that grow nearby: lavender, lovage, angelica. During my visit I had the pleasure of watching a peppermint distillation and went out into the lemon balm and chamomile fields with Ken.