Cold Expression

No heat is involved in expression, so this process is often referred to as cold-pressing. Used exclusively with citrus fruits, expression uses the rind, the outermost layer of the fruit’s peel, to produce essential oil. The fruit is passed across sharp rasping cylinders that abrade the surface of the peel to break open small essential oil-containing sacs. Water is sprayed over the fruit to collect the released essential oil. The resulting watery mixture is then filtered to remove any remaining pieces of the fruit’s flesh or peel and centrifuged to separate the essential oil from the water. Expression yields essential oils with a beautifully potent fragrance.