A Tale of Two Essential Oils Producers.

After another super breakfast at the Hotel Hoerger, we piled back onto the bus for the first of two days of visiting essential oil growers/producers. Naturally, the clouds threatened. We were scheduled to go out into the fields and help harvest the Melissa (Lemon Balm) and no-one was looking forward to a muddy mess.

Wolfgang Burger's small farm.

First on the agenda was a trip to Lower Bavaria where Georg's business partner, Wolfgang Burger, owns a small farm. The drive through the forests and towns of Bavaria was absolutely enchanting. Everything was so clean and, as always, everyone seemed to have a vegetable garden in the backyard. When we arrived at Wolfgang's farm, the bus driver let us off at the bottom of the driveway and we walked up the rest of the little hill to the distillation room.

A long table just inside the distillation room displayed the essential oils available for purchase. Most were oils produced by Rotaller Aromaole, the company owned by Georg, Gudrun, and Wolfgang, but there were also some citrus oils from another source. (When it came time to make my purchases, I chose only ones distilled by RA.)

Wolfgang and Georg showed us their distillation equipment, a stainless steel version of the glass units we saw at TUM. Of course, theirs was much larger and had two retort columns. Although these columns are much larger than the ones we saw at the university, they still produce only a small quantity of oil. Rudolf Rinder told us the other day that the tall column design doesn't allow for massive, industrial quantities of oils to be distilled, but the small batches apparently create a better quality product.  Wolfgang swung one of the retorts out of the way to let us see how the steam rose up from below to enter the column.
   

Wolfgang and Iveta filling the retort.

He also climbed up onto a platform (with Iveta) to fill the other column with plant material in preparation for distillation. The separator had a unique, coiled tube at the top that gently placed the essential oil and floral water into the receptacle. This allowed the oil to float and not be mixed into the water.

Coiled tube at the top of the separator.

Previously, when I've seen essential oil distillation, the oil and floral water are dumped into the separator together rather quickly, which results in the oil bubbling up from below. Eventually it does float on top because the oils are lighter than water.

Hooking up the clipping bag.

Georg and Wolfgang took us out into their fields to let us have a chance to run the "lawnmower" as Kurt called it. The machine does resemble a lawnmower in that it has cutting blades at the front and a large bag attached at the back to catch the cut herbs. Yukari and Wolfgang pulled it up the long row of Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) and then Julien made the return trip. By then, the catcher was full of plant material. This became the next batch of oil to come out of the distillery.

Julien gets a turn.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)

Melissa, for those who aren't familiar with it, is in the mint family. It doesn't yield much essential oil and so is very expensive. The delicate citrus aroma is calming and uplifting. It is also highly anti-viral because of its citral content. According to Dr. Dietrich Wabner of TUM, one application of this lovely oil has been known to cause complete remission of Herpes simplex lesions.

Bergamot mint (Monarda didyma?).

We walked amongst the rows to see other plants that Rottaler Aromaole distills. Georg showed us German chamomile, Bergamot mint, Melissa, and Angelica.

Photographing German chamomile.

After we walked back up the hill to the distillation room, it was time to fill the chambers with our newly mowed Melissa. Each retort chamber held three plastic tubs-full of plant material that had to be weighed for accuracy. I helped to fill one of the tubs, then all three were weighed at once. It was a bit iffy picking up the greenery without gloves on - I later saw a humongous spider waltzing among the leaves. I think I noticed Seoyun (a young lady from Korea) extracting the oil from the separator with a pipette, which means she probably bought some of what we distilled that day. Lucky her!

Weighing the Melissa tubs.

All that physical labor created a desire for lunch, which was served under the tent in front of the distillation room. By then, the clouds had opened up and it was pouring rain. In fact, it rained so hard that some of the tent material separated a bit under the weight of the puddles that had formed in the canvas. Gudrun had put together a lovely spread for us, including home made salads and bread, and her home-smoked fish. It really hit the spot.

As we were digesting our meal, Georg began telling us about some of the plants he had brought from his nursery. Most notable to me was a healthy looking Vitex tree (Vitex agnus-castus). I had known about the benefits of using Vitex for hormone balancing during menopause, or for PMS, but I never knew what it looked like. The tree also produces an essential oil. I think it comes from the leaves.

Leaves of Vitex agnus castus.

Monarda fistulosa.

Just before his talk, Georg came to me with a fresh Monarda fistulosa flower in his hand so I could see what they look like when they are fresh. What a sweetheart he is! How great to have the experience of first distilling the dried flowers and then seeing the fresh plant up close.

Oils for sale!

We made our oil purchases and then it was time to climb back in the bus for our journey to Burghausen in Eastern Bavaria, right on the Austrian border.

This was a typical view of Bavaria through rain spattered glass. Sigh...

Bavaria through the rain drops.

On the way to Burghausen we were supposed to stop in Marktl, the birthplace of Pope Benedict XVI. Perhaps because of the rain, or maybe because it was getting late, we kept on going to the town of Burghausen. Above the town, on a bluff, sits the longest castle in the world, Schloss Burghausen. It consists of six linked courtyards, making it over a kilometer long.

Carrying our variously colored umbrellas, we wandered from one end to the other, except that we arrived at a gate at the far end just after it closed. We decided instead to turn around and go back to the restaurant in one of the other courtyards for our dinner. The building that houses the restaurant was supposedly the stables and the armory back in medieval times.

Looking over the walls at the soggy town.

Along the way, we saw homes and churches still being used.

Quaint building with it's colorful garden.

A church inside the walls.

Looking over the ramparts at the tow

The town of Burghausen was settled by the Celts around 100 BC, then occupied by the Romans before the Bavarian aristocracy moved there from Landsfeld. Apparently, the town gained it's strength from the importation and distribution of salt. This makes sense because of its proximity to Salzburg, Austria (Salt Town). When I was a pre-teen, my family visited both Salzburg and the nearby salt mines.

The town is proud of the fact that Napoleon supposedly quartered over a hundred thousand troops inside the castle in 1809 while waiting a few days for a pontoon bridge across the Salzach river to Austria to be built to replace the one the Austrians had destroyed. (I didn't notice any signs saying "Napoleon slept here"!)

After dinner, Kurt suggested we might want to take a photograph of the sun setting from the walls of the "longest castle in the world". Here is a photo across the Salzach river and another of our two love-birds, Georg and Gudrun:

Sun setting over the Salzach River.

Georg and Gudrun.

The sun set long before we got back to the hotel. After a quick stop in Freising for people to change some money at the bank ATM, we arrived back at Hotel Hoerger ready for bed. Gudrun said she wouldn't be joining us tomorrow as she will be selling her smoked fish at the farmer's market. We'll miss her!

More Munich.

After the Asamkirche, I looked around for a store where I could buy a Munich t-shirt, not because I especially wanted the shirt, but because I was sweltering in my teal-colored turtleneck. The weather forecast had been for rain and chilly temps, but the morning at least was hot and muggy. I never did find a suitable souvenir shirt, but I finally ducked into a department store to purchase a plain, navy t-shirt. Phew! I won't be wearing that sweaty old turtleneck again on THIS trip!

Our group at the beer-garden in the Viktualienmarkt.

Then we headed over to the Viktualienmarkt, a sort of permanent farmer's market consisting of multiple booths surrounding a typical, German beer-garden.  We were all hungry, so we found a table and then fanned out to search for what we wanted for lunch. You can't be in a beer garden without a tall mug of beer, so I ended up going traditional once more. I may never look at wurst, sauerkraut, and beer again after I get home!

Following lunch and a brief rest, our group decided to split up. Some wanted to peruse the Residence Museum and others didn't. I didn't. By that time, I had seen so many museums, churches, and King's houses that I just wanted to hang out and shop. We all agreed to meet at a cafe on Maximillian Strasse at 5PM.

The fruit and veggie stalls beckoned me, especially a nearby one with big, fat, locally-grown, black cherries. I told the woman I wanted a handful, which she began to scoop into a bag. While I waited for her, I noticed some extra large, super orange, scrumptious-looking apricots. Reaching down into the box, I brought them out to to ask her to put them in with the cherries. Stall-lady about had a cow! Many of the booths have signs that warn (in German) "No self-service". To me, that meant, "Don't bag it yourself". I didn't realize that it actually meant, "No touching! Tell us what you want, and we'll pick out the produce for you." Yeech! We independent Americans want to choose our own fruits and veggies, not have to settle for the ones they want us to have. I don't even like shopping at stores that prepackage their produce (think Trader Joes). I buy things at the farmer's market, or in the bulk bins at the grocery store, where I can pick out the goodies myself!

From the cherry/apricot stand, I wandered across the way to a flower and nick-nack booth. Deep inside, behind shelves of flowers, plants, herbs, and handmade crafts, I noticed some bottles of essential oils with a 6.90 Euro price tag beneath. No way these are pure and authentic oils, I thought. This will be instructive for my students. So I took out my camera and snapped a shot of the oils with the price prominently displayed. Another stall lady came unglued! "You have to ask me first before you take a picture!" she admonished loudly in German from behind some hanging pots. I just shrugged and pretended I didn't understand her :-) Sorry, just an ignorant tourist!

All oils less than 7 Euros, even rose!

Do we look like we care if you take our picture?

The next stall that caught my attention was an interesting one filled with jars and bags of spices. So colorful and fun! "May I take a picture?" I asked the young ladies in the booth. " Of course!" they answered, as if to say "Why are you asking US??" "Well, the other lady" ... I mumbled. And then I just took the picture. From then on I snapped whatever pictures I wanted and let the chips fall where they may!

Don't they look lovely?

An olive booth. Yum!

As I came to the far edge of the market, I noticed a stall of a biodynamic farm. Biodynamics is the form of agriculture devised and taught by Rudolf Steiner, the same man who came up with Waldorf education. I meandered in and began talking to the saleswoman, in a combination of German and English. On the shelf behind me was a collection of several essential oils, both singles and blends, so I asked her if they were biodynamic and if they distilled them. She said they were and they did, so I thought I'd buy at least one to take home to share with my class.

Unfortunately, there were no testers, so I just had to go on instinct. I chose a blend called "Sternen duft" (star scent). All the ingredients were in German and in very small type, so I decided to ask Dr. Schnaubelt about it later. When I did, both he and Monika were struck by all the caveats on the label. Apparently, there are so many new disclaimers and cautions that essential oil producers are required to place on their labels. No wonder the type had to be so small - to fit it all in! According to Kurt, the only ingredients on the label were three essential oil chemicals. It didn't say anything about the plant sources and there were no botanical names. We opened it to smell it and Kurt said: "It doesn't smell like anything". As I type this, I put a generous drop on my hands and sniffed them again. I have to agree. There is no discernible plant scent. It just smells a little citrusy and a little alcoholish. How disappointing! So much for biodynamic oils from the Viktualienmarkt! It might have been a better test if I had purchased one of the single oils...

It isn't easy being green. (Money helps!)

By this point, the clouds had started to form and the sky was becoming decidedly dark. Big droplets began to fall, so I got out my umbrella. Once I had seen as much of the Viktualienmarkt as I wanted, and ducked into a handmade chocolate shop for a truffle or two, I decided to double back to see if I could find a souvenir store. Back on Sendlinger Strasse I encountered a green clown standing stock still on a pedestal. Thinking I would take out my trusty camera for a quick snap, I turned back towards the motionless mime. Up go his hands in front of his face. Right. It was clear that he wanted some coins in the box on the ground before he allowed himself to be photographed. Another prima donna! In go a few coins and the mime is all smiles. Click! I wonder if the green color comes off in the rain...

Checking the map as I went. I managed to run into some of our group as they were leaving the Residence Museum. Looking starry-eyed, they assured me I had missed something really spectacular. Sigh... Ya win some, ya lose some!

Our dinner that night under dark, thunderous skies was at an Italian restaurant in an old neighborhood familiar to Kurt. Our bus-driver picked us up near the cafe where we all rendezvoused and took us all-round-Robinhood's barn to our destination. It felt good to relax and let someone else decide where we we were going. I ordered Apfelsaft and a light salad - a nice break after the heavy, filling, German food and beer I had for lunch.

The Heart of Munich.

Statue of Ludwig I

Because of the dire forecast for rain, we changed our original plans for our sight-seeing trip in Munich. Rather than visiting the Residence Museum in the morning, and walking around the town in the afternoon, we flipped the plans. Better to schlep around a museum while it's raining than trying to dash in and out of the shops and play tourist while it pours. Our bus drove us down one of the main drags of Munich: Ludwig Strasse (named after the first King Ludwig, not the so-called "mad" one) and dropped us off in the square.

Theatinerkirche (see the branches?)

Preparations were under way for a religious festival the next day. This  included putting tree branches up in front of many buildings. Some looked as if they had been planted in pots (but were really just stuck in water), others were clearly just placed against the buildings. It added quite a nice nature-flair to the town. Not sure of the significance of tree branches, but I liked the way it looked.

We checked out the large church in the main square called the Theatinerkirche, which began construction in 1663. Plain and unassuming on the outside, it was all fresh, white, carved stucco on the inside. Personally, I liked the simplicity and the innate beauty of the unadorned carvings better than the traditionally gaudy gilded ones. Apparently, this church was designed by the Italians in the high baroque style and modeled after Rome's Sant Andrea della Valle. One of the people who worked on the church, Francois de Cuvillier, is considered to be responsible for bringing the Rococo (high baroque) style to Germany.
   

The Rathaus (City Hall)

After ooing and ahhing over this church, we then headed down to the City Hall (Rathaus) to wait for the chiming of the clock (glockenspiel). As the clock struck 11:00AM, the music began to play and the figures slowly danced around a central pivot. First the characters on the top level danced and twirled, then the figures on the lower level followed suit. It was very sweet. My memory banks tell me I've seen this before, probably as a child.  

Figures dancing around.

The narrow Asam Church, only 8 meters wide.

Monika wanted to take us to another church, this one built by the Asam brothers on one of the side streets, Sendlinger Strasse. Cosmas and Egid Asam began creating this Catholic church in 1733 across from their apartment so that they could clearly see the altar from their window. They donated the final edifice to the city for the public to enjoy. The Asamkirche, as it is known, is supposedly a fine example of late Bavarian baroque Rococo architecture. It is also called the church of St. John of Nepomuk (Where's Nepomuk you ask? Czechoslovakia! This St. John is a Czech saint.).

Asamkirche, late baroque Rococo style

Through some research, I found out that Cosmas was a fresco painter, and his brother, Egid, was a sculptor. You can get a sense of the church here here and even hear a lovely, impromptu choir:   http://it.gloria.tv/?media=157106.

Check out the next post "More Munich".

Technical Day.

Technical University of Munich.

Up and out the door by 9AM, we all piled onto the bus to travel about a half hour to the Technical University of Munich. Here, they conduct research on many types of plants, including the aromatic ones. The small team that was waiting for us had prepared a set of three distilling stations where we were to distill several small batches of herbs.

Rudolf Rinder demos the new distillation chamber.

Before we began the demo, our host, Rudolf Rinder (Rudy), explained to us that this type of distillation uses steam in a specially designed apparatus that first extracts the oils and then doesn't allow the oil to condense until it leaves the chamber so that there is no redistillation. Water distillation results in components evaporating at different rates which requires longer processing in order to be complete. The steam-only method extracts a greater percentage of the oils at the beginning of the process and most of them are released at the same time. Distillation duration is greatly reduced, which is easier on the plants and the oils.

Graph showing traditional distillation which takes longer and the majority of components are released in the middle of the distillation.

Graph showing that this type of steam distillation releases most of the components at the beginning of the distillation. The whole process is pretty much complete in half the time.

Thyme to distill.

Then it was time to try it out for ourselves. They provided the plant material and some scissors and told us to go to it. One of the hosts of our trip, Georg, motioned me aside and suggested that I use some dried Monarda (Bee Balm) leaves instead because they would provide a better example of the distillation (Monarda fistulosa produces a reddish/gold oil). I was game so I went off into the other room to remove the sepals and the flower petals. Georg said we would need a hand-full to fill the glass column of the still. Monika Haas's son, Julien, came over to help. It took so long, that by the time we had a reasonable amount ready to distill, all three units were already fired up with various plants (Lavender in one, Thyme in another, and I think Melissa in the third one).

We waited until the Thyme was all done and an assistant cleaned out the glass tubing and containers, then Georg and I filled the glass column with the dried Monarda leaves.

The steam goes about 2/3 of the way up.

The water slowly came to a boil, creating the steam. You could see with your eyes the creeping up effect of the steam through the plant material as it slowly began to release the oil. The next step was the volatization of the oil molecules as they passed up and over the bridge. Immediately, little balls of oil started to collect in the bridge and condensing tubes, and then it dripped down into the small separator. I wasn't very familiar with Monarda, but I am now a convert. This oil started out as golden balls on the inside of the glass tubes, and as the distillation progressed, they turned orange, and then red. This coated the bridge and condenser, allowing us to watch the whole process so clearly.

Golden balls of Monarda oil beginning to condense.

My little oil produced more than the others, enough for Julien and I each to bring home a little vial of the red-gold essential oil sitting on top of some of the floral water.

Monarda starting to separate and sit on top of the floral water.

Our gorgeous oil. Liquid gold!

Extracting the oil with a pipette.

What a fun experience! Then we filed over to the tables of microscopes to marvel at the oil packets on the underside of the leaves and some flowers. We looked at Lavender, Sage, Clary Sage, and three different Melissa (Lemon Balm). One Melissa was a weak plant, one was an old plant, and one was a healthy, vibrant plant, the type they would choose for distillation.

Melissa (Lemon Balm) leaf under the microscope.

The latter leaf just glowed with tiny yellow drops of oil. Interestingly, these little balls were widely spaced on the leaf as opposed to the Lavender oil packets that were closely spaced. This is one reason why Melissa is so costly: it produces a small quantity of oil in comparison to the amount of plant material needed. I managed to get a couple of reasonably clear pictures of the leaves.

My typical Bavarian lunch.

We finished at the Technical University just in time to drive to a nearby brewery - the oldest brewery in the world (Weihenstephan). We had to check out the results of a different type of distillation - quality control, you know! I enjoyed a small glass of wheat beer, Bavarian sausages, and saurkraut. Just as we stood up to leave, after savoring our lunch on the sunny veranda of the brewery, the heavens opened up and poured rain on us as if straight from a bucket.

Weihenstephan brewery, a half hour before it started to pour.

Veronica and Annie enjoying a brew.

The different glasses correspond to the different beers.

Fifteen minutes of huddling under a couple of patio umbrellas was enough for the whole deluge to pass and we were off to see another botanical garden at the practical arm of the research division of the Technical University of Munich. Some photographs from their botanical garden:

This building used to be a monastery.

I love the juxtaposition between the wild grasses and the manicured garden.

Formal garden.

(The colors of the flowers were chosen to match the building above)

The last part of the afternoon was spent at a small family farm (Ampertaler Naturprodukte) where Bernard Nusstein and his wife plant, harvest, and distill some beautiful oils. They produce a few of the oils that are sold through Kurt's company, Original Swiss Aromatics. Bernard took us through his fields to see Angelica, Gentian, and Melissa. He also showed us his still set-up and talked about how he runs his operation. Bernhard's young wife toted their three month old baby (Liesa!) through the fields with us and told us that the farm and land was passed down in Bernard's family. Their house was brand new but still on the old family farm property. So nice to see up-close how a family with integrity and heart take such pride in producing high quality essential oils in small quantities.

Standing in front of the Angelica.

Mature Angelica plants.

Close up of Angelica archangelica.

My roommate (Mary Ellen Dorey) and I standing in a Melissa field. (Must be where I got all those mosquito bites!)

NB: according to Dr. Schnaubelt, Angelica is one of the most precious oils in aromatherapy. One of its main characteristics is its ability to help increase vitality and strength.

Here is a picture I call Julien's Beauties, in reference to the hall at the Nymphenburg Palace in which Ludwig's Beauties are displayed:

Dinner tonight was in the hotel. The owner is also the chef and he does an amazing job. I wasn't very hungry after such a big lunch, so I just had a beet salad and a cheese plate. Now it's time to get a good night's sleep so we'll be fresh for a day in Munich tomorrow.