Perfume is as much an art of patience as it is a science of precision. Behind the brilliance of a bottle lie subtle steps, often invisible to the public, that are nevertheless essential to the quality of a fragrance. Two of these processes particularly embody this union of tradition and expertise: distillation, which captures the very soul of the plants, and maceration, which refines the perfume as a cellar master would perfect a fine wine.
Distillation: Preserving the True Essence
Distillation is one of the oldest techniques used in perfumery. It was already employed in the Middle Ages with Arab alembics and remains today a cornerstone for extracting raw materials. The principle seems simple: water is heated, and its steam passes through flowers, leaves, or woods, carrying their aromatic molecules with it. These vapors are then cooled and condensed, producing two products: the hydrosol and, most importantly, the essential oil.
But behind this simplicity lies extreme precision. The temperature must be controlled to the exact degree: too much heat would destroy the most delicate molecules, while too little steam would reduce efficiency. Each raw material demands its own pace and distillation time. It takes more than three tons of rose petals to produce just one kilogram of essential oil—a fragile alchemy between science and patience.
A Millennial Heritage
Distillation has its origins in Eastern civilizations. The first alembics were used by Arab scholars as early as the 9th century, notably by the famous physician and philosopher Avicenna, who perfected the process to extract the essence of rose. From there, this knowledge spread to the West through commercial and cultural exchanges, eventually becoming, by the Renaissance, a true European specialty. Even today, the alembic remains the timeless symbol of extraction—a bridge between history and modernity.
