Another spontaneous act of passion. Something unplanned happens always when my friend Christina calls and says “I have an idea…” That means no need to think further of what to do with the rest of the day.
The bucketful of Cretan sage (Salvia pomifera) that my dear friend harvested the previous day had to wait a couple of more hours though, as I had a scheduled meeting already to go to the The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICH). It’s been a long time that I wanted to map this educational and research centre, however finally my first visit had not much to do with the local flora of the region.
It was mid-afternoon when we were all back in the house with our sage leaves that were perfectly fitting the still. With only one single however spectacularly colourful flower, the plant went into a water bath to go through a hydro-distillation.
As in the slow-food movement, our distillations here at The Living-Room Distillery usually take up quite some time as I like to follow the choreography the plants create. It’s a beautiful program for a Saturday night to sit around the still, waiting for the first drops to roll out and eagerly watching the jars as a golden ring of precious essential oil appear on top of the aromatic water.
