Patchouli, Dark Essential Oil, Indonesia

Patchouli, Dark Pogostemon cablin Organically grown and steam distilled in Indonesia from dried leaves. Patchouli takes on different aspects, depending on distillation time, material of distiller unit, ageing time, etc. Patchouli needs to be supercharged, in a way, and the cell wall shocked into opening either by fermentation or scalding, before distillation. Remember that Patchouli is from the Lamiaceae family, also known as the Sage or Mint family. It might seem kind of odd that patchouli, deep, dark, mouthy, reminiscent of the flower child culture, is a relative of parsley, cilantro, catnip, lavender, basil, rosemary, melissa.....you get the idea. But it is thus. To over-simplify, there are two main types of popular patchouli oils--First, the lighter, mintier one and the dark and smoldering one. This is the smoldering one. I believe it was distilled in iron, but I'm not sure. It's been aged, and introduced to the air. It's beautiful and a whole entity in its own right.  Arctander says I should point out that at the time of the publication of Arctander’s Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin (1960), most of the patchouli oil one came across was the lovely dark and rich distilled-in-iron-on-Nias variety and many of us hold that standard to this day. But in his explanation of the two main types of patchouli distillation, one is “native distilled” meaning the distilled-on-Nias-in-iron one and the other is “European or American distilled”, which I think means “modern.” I’m interpreting this to mean it’s a question of process. 60 years after Arctander’s book, it seems the more modern distillation techniques are now done where the patchouli is harvested. This is purely my speculation but things seldom remain static and essential oil production is no exception. Patchouli oil is a pale orange or amber-colored, viscous liquid, possessing an extremely rich, sweet-herbaceous. Aromatic-spicy and woody-balsamic odor. It has a pronounced top-note of fruity, wine-like sweetness and less pronounced woody-earthy notes than patchouli oils we might have seen in the past. The odor should remain sweet through all stages of evaporation. Patchouli oil will remain perceptible on a perfume blotter for weeks and even months. The odor of patchouli oil is sometimes described as “minty,” or “swampy” or “barnyard”. And this is subjective—the principal reason for patchouli use is tenacity. The color is actually not so important as most of the odoriferous constituents are colorless. Patchouli oil improves with age. It blends well with labdanum, vetiver, sandalwood, iones, cedarwood, oakmoss, geranium, clove, lavender, rose, bergamot, neroli, orris, cassia, myrrh, opoponox, clary sage, pines, etc. It’s an important ingredient in Oriental bases, in woody bases, fougères, chypres, opoponax bases, powder-based perfumes, etc. It’s also used in flavors, at least it was in the past. Combined with geranium, iones, anise, clove, etc, it produced a strong “oriental” flavor, which was popular for masking odors such as alcohol, garlic, etc as an after dinner candy. At the time of publishing (1960) it was already falling out of favor for this use in Europe and America although it was apparently still in wide use in Asia and South America.   Battaglia says   Patchouli is probably best known for its skin care properties and topical applications for regeneration, moisturizing and cooling. But it has many actions, and is very wide-ranging essential oil. It’s widely regarded as being   Antiseptic Anti-inflammatory Antiphlogistic Antiseptic Aphrodisiac Astringent Cicatrisant Cytophylactic Deodorant Diuretic Febrifuge Fungicide Insecticide Sedative   For more complete information on the aromatherapy benefits of patchouli, please see The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy.   “dans le heure bleue”   My skin feels alive when you are next to me blood pulsing from the core of me Root Chakra Red My throat exposed the Wolf now lies next to me in my warm bed savage and smiling he is seen, he smells of fresh crushed green pine leaves lemon basil bergamot a heart blooming with jasmine rose carnation coriander patchouli sandalwood and iris root, then I’m on my knees genuflecting he says, “Come here," He kisses me and tastes like Star Anise   “sauvage je reviens vers vous Rouge dans le heure bleue..."   LadyLabyrinth   Safety Warning As with most essential oils, dilute before using on skin. Perform a patch test before use if essential oil sensitivity is suspected. Do not take essential oils internally. Do not use on children or pets. Seek advice from a trained aromatherapist before using on people with compromised immune systems. Keep away from eyes and mucus membranes.Enfleurage makes no medical claims relating to any products, essential oils or otherwise, on our website or through social media. We are an essential oil company, not doctors, The FDA has not evaluated the statements on this website. We present our information in order to educate our customers on traditional and general uses of essential oils; in no way do we diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or condition. You the customer are responsible for understanding the safe use of any and all of our products, including essential oils, and use them accordingly.