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Blue Artemis - Artemisia arborescens
Jeanne Rose

Blue Artemis is picked/harvested as near as possible to bloom. The soft tender stems, top leafy parts and flowers are harvested and distilled as soon as possible after picking. In order to keep the hydrosol blue and to collect as much essential oil as possible it is important to use glass as the receiver. If your still holds 5 lbs of plant material, use 3-5 gallons of water. Steam and water distillation is best for hydrosol production, while steam distillation is best for essential oil quantity.

Blue Artemis (A. arborescens) is a powerful, camphoraceous-smelling deep indigo blue essential oil. When freshly distilled the hydrosol has very visible particles of essential oil floating in the pale blue fragrant water.

Do not use any plastic, PVC or non-glass or non-metal in the distillation of this plant. The essential oil will be absorbed by rubber or plastic tubing rendering it dark blue. The eo will also collect on the inside of a plastic container. You must use glass as your receiver.

To keep the essential oil in solution and the hydrosol blue, pour the warm hydrosol (just off the receiver) as soon as possible into 1-quart size glass containers. Your original glass receiver will have collected a layer of the dark essential oil on the inside rim. Dissolve this with 95% ethyl alcohol. Divide this now blue alcohol (with dissolved essential oil) into as many parts as you have quarts of hydrosol and add it to the hydrosol. In the best of times you will have only added up to 5% alcohol to each bottle of still warm hydrosol — but this small amount of alcohol will keep the essential oil in solution, the hydrosol will stay nice and blue and the alcohol will only be 5% of the total and help to keep mold and bacteria at bay.