What are hydrolat, hydrosol, floral water, distillate, and aromatic waters?
These were generally the by product of the distillation process to produce essential oils, but are now used more widely and many are purpose produced. True hydrolats contain micronized droplets of essential oils suspended in the water and are very different from water which has had essential oil and a dispersant added. This causes some confusion as floral waters may conjure up in the mind something which smells sweet or floral and this is not always the case. Indeed many true hydrolats do not smell like the plant they originally came from or the essential oil which may arise from the distillation of such a plant. Their smell can be pungent and earthy, but not unpleasant. Some hydrolats are completely devoid of smell due to the minuscule proportions of aromatic compounds present and still others smell quite musty. The lack of aroma, however, in either the plant or the hydrosol does not detract from the sometimes very useful therapeutic properties. As Hydrolats are mainly water they are
