Harvest

One of the quality standards of an essential oil is the care taken to harvesting.

Method of cultivation

The method of cultivation affects the quality of essential oils. Only essential oils distilled from wild plants or organically cultivated plants should be used in aromatherapy.

Plant selection

Only the healthy plants of the required species must be collected.

Gathering

Preferably, the plants must be hand-gathered. This method is more natural and gives essential oils of better quality.

Origin

Essential oils are like wines! There are great essential oil vintages like there are great wine vintages! Moreover, the soil where a plant grows largely determines the quality of the essence it produces.

Vegetative stage

Harvest must take place during the vegetative stage where the plant is richest in essence. This stage varies from plant to plant; for example, mint must be collected before flowering, i.e. before it develops toxic ketones.

Moment in the day

The quality of an essence varies according to the moment in the day the plant is collected. Wild lavender and roses must be picked in the morning after dew while thyme is preferably harvested in the afternoon.