Guest guest Posted September 27, 2001 Report Share Posted September 27, 2001 At 04:01 PM 09/27/2001 -0700, Butch Owen wrote: >I wish I could give you an answer to this but I can't based on the info >you have provided. There are over 50 species in the Juniperus genus. >Are the two oils different botanical names? If so, I can help you a bit >but it they are both called Juniperus communis then there can be >forty-eleven other reasons for the price difference and none of those >reasons have to be good ones. I just went back and checked. They both are called Juniperus communis. They're from the same company. There is no other differentiating information other than one is from Bulgaria and the other is from India. Neither is organic. I guess I'll buy the cheaper one. Thank you Butch for all your info and suggestions! -- Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 28, 2001 Report Share Posted September 28, 2001 Hi Sandy, I wish I could give you an answer to this but I can't based on the info you have provided. There are over 50 species in the Juniperus genus. Are the two oils different botanical names? If so, I can help you a bit but it they are both called Juniperus communis then there can be forty-eleven other reasons for the price difference and none of those reasons have to be good ones. Are the prices from the same company? Is there difference in the agricultural classification - like, wildgrown, organic, Certified Organic, etc. Price is not necessarily an indication of quality. This week, I bought ten kilos of Vitex agnus castus (leaf) that my distiller just produced - Turkey, Greece and the southern Med region is the major source of this very low-yield plant .. and in time, you will see some folks selling it for 500% of what I ask. Has nothing to do with their source either since I will be that source ... ;-p Also, you'll see some from the Balkans and it will be more costly .. but Vitex is a southern hemisphere plant so go figure. Ten kilos might not sound like a lot but we only get 800 grams of oil from one METRIC TON of the leaf. An extremely low price can be an indication of quality .. it can mean the oil has been stretched or otherwise adulterated .. or it can even be a pure but mediocre commerical grade EO. There are some folks selling all their oils in 15 ml sizes for $7.95 .. run fast from those dudes unless you just want an odor in your soap. There are some folks selling oils for LESS than we can produce them - even for the best magicians that is a good trick. Common names for EOs are useless except for letting you know they are selling a Lavender and not a Marjoram ... we have 36 Oreganos here in Turkey and there are over 350 Thymes .. it's the botanical name and the origin that are important .. even EO of the same species will have very different chemical profiles based on origin. You wanna gag a maggot off a gut wagon let him smell Rosa damascena from China or Russia .. compare it to a Turkish or good Bulgarian Rose Otto and you'll think it's another type of rose .. in fact, they all both Damask Rose .. Rosa damascena. Beware of sellers who can't answer all your questions about the oils they offer .. it means they don't know themselves so how can you trust them? Beware of sellers who feed you hype about having the best oils in the world .. that's bovine excrement. How can they know ALL of their oils are the best? Have they seen all the oils in the world? Beware of sellers who don't sell tested oils. If they don't test them and aren't willing to give you a current copy of a Lot Number or otherwise controlled analysis of a sort, then they are guessing .. the fact that they trust their supplier means nothing unless you want to accept that every businessperson in the world is honest. In this business, such a belief would be a real bad mistake .. ;-p Beware of sellers who claim to have a calibrated nose, they are in the wrong business .. oughta be making the big bucks in the perfumery and fragrance industry. Even those folks have to test over long periods and in groups and then compare notes. And for some oils, the major odor ingredient might be molecules in trace amounts .. like 1/500th of a percentage - yep! Beware of sellers who won't give you samples .. don't forget that! I feel very strongly about the need for testing EO .. the list mom of this list sells only tested EO and she'll give you a copy of the analysis for any EO she sells. IF she ever sells an EO without doing this, I'll tell folks to not buy from her .. I don't think that's ever gonna happen. ;-) The botanical name gives us a clue as to what we should be looking for in a GC or GC/MS .. as does the origin. If you are only into making soap, then you might not care too much .. but you say below that you are into aromatherapy and are concerned with therapeutic value .. enough said! Y'all keep smiling, Butch http://www.AV-AT.com PS: One more thing .. if juniper berries are not stored properly afore distillation, you get the oil of a molded juniper berry. How long does it take to mold? Under the right conditions .. 24 hours will do it. > I'm looking to purchase some juniper essential oil, and I'm noticing a > big difference in price between the Indian version and the Bulgarian > version. > Can someone explain the difference so I can decide which I should buy? > I don't mind paying the higher price if it will be of benefit to me. I > mostly use essential oils in aromatherapy preparations for common > ailments. > -- Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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