Hood River Lavender Farms in Oregon is
committed to Certified Organic growing
practices, with an emphasis on sustainability. Our
Lavender as well as our Lavender essential oil are listed as
certified organic from Oregon Tilth, a leader in organic certification. Hood River Lavender Farms is proudly listed
in the International Directory of Essential Oil Distillers.
We continue to prove that high
quality lavender essential oil
comes from high quality lavender.
Our farm husbandry of conscientious growing decisions,
meticulos plant care, and extraordinary terroir,
lend its way to a distictive beautiful flower.
This flower is then "hand-harvested" at peak oil content,
at precisely the prime time of day, and "hand-transported" to the
awaiting distiller, and then promptly loaded into the
distillation vessel. It is then distilled with pure
artesian spring water slowly, at minimal pressure,
to allow the steam to "coax" all the
elements out of this wonderful flower's aroma oil.
Due to our "hand-harvest" methods, we are able to
isolate the flower from the stalk, and then load only
the flower heads into the distiller. The benefits of distilling
only the flower, results in a much "smoother" oil,
an oil with less of the "sharper green" camphoraceous
notes that are commonly found in other oils.
The extra care given during distillation is immediately noticed
in the "nose" of our lavender oil. This care is paramount
for Hood River Lavender, and can only be accomplished
by a "craft" size essential oil distillery and farm.
Our commitment is to neither "add" nor "remove" any
of the wonderful properties from this therapeutic flower, but to ensure to the best of ability that the very elements installed
by the Creater into this flower are found
in our Lavender Oil.
The storage of lavender essential oil is every bit as important
as distillation techniques. Our lavender oil is stored in airtight
containers, away from any direct light, with minimal exposure
to oxygen, in a cool stable environment. Studies have shown
that essential oil exposed to any of these elements, but
especially exposed to oxygen (such as some oil distributors
and warehouses do), can radically effect the chemicals in
the essential oils. This chemical change can turn an
essential oil that starts with a very low sensitation
rating to a very high sensitation rating. For a more
indepth explanation of this factor, read this article:
"AromaMedical-Old Essential Oil".
Over 70 varieties of lavender are grown by Hood River
Lavender Farms, with approximately 20 varieties used
in distillation for lavender oil. We offer several varieties
of angustifolia essential oil, both variety specific and in
angustifolia blends. In the Lavandin varieties of lavender
we offer are signature "Grosso" as well as "Super" and
"Hidcote Giant". Some of our other Lavandins that
we distill are used in our own "All Purpose Cleaner"
and have shown outstanding power for cleaning in a
wide variety of applications.
All of our Lavender angustifolia varieties are distilled
in our copper Alembic distiller to ensure the absolute
highest quality essential oil. This distiller comes from
Portugal, and the Alembic design has been used for
centuries and is still a very effective distiller. We
strive to preserve this ancient art of Alembic distilling
and the essential oil is proof of the centuries-old
craft and product that can be created in this fashion.
We make every effort to impact the environment in a positive way, including composting our spent Lavender and harvesting by hand without petroleum-powered machinery. We use
earth-enhancing fertilizers and continue to look
for additional practices that provide the best outcomes for the human and natural environments both now and into the
indefinite future for our children and our childrens' children.
We know that decisions made today determine the future
of our planet and our children's future.
Hood River Lavender Farms is a proud member of
Organic Trade Association & Oregon Tilth
Our distiller, Joe Orcutt, has years of distillation experience distilling many varieties
of lavender, clary sage, artemesia, rosemary, rose geranium, rose, fir, redwood,
helichrysum italicum, melissa, mint & other herbs. He has distilled alongside
other Master Distillers such as: Robert Seidel, George Sturtz and Jeanne Rose.
