How to Harvest Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree, Melaleuca alternifolia, is a native of Australia prized for its medicinal properties as an antifungal and antiacne agent. In Australia, tea tree is commercially grown on plantations and harvested with modified forage harvesters every 12 to 18 months. These harvesters remove the entire above-ground portion of the plant and finely chop the leaves and stems for industrial steam distillation. Domestically, one or two plants may be grown by a single gardener and distilled in the kitchen.

Things You'll Need

• Cooking pot
• Curved pot lid
• Colander or vegetable steamer
• Small glass bowl
• Cooking range
• Tea tree leaves, stems, and twigs
• Potholders
• Storage containers

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Instructions

• 1

  Harvest your tea tree plant. After a minimum three years' growth, pick leaves and use scissors to cut minor stems and branches. Leave at least three or four major branches to continue growth. Pick a minimum of two large handfuls, or take the entire crop of leaves and small branches.

• 2

  Finely chop your tea tree harvest.

• 3

  Place the chopped plant in the pot and add water to cover. Place a vegetable steamer or colander on top of the greenery, and put a glass bowl in the vegetable steamer.

• 4

  Turn the curved lid of the pot upside down and cover the pot so that the handle of the pot lid hangs above the glass bowl. You've just created a home steam distiller. As the water boils around the greenery, essential oils will evaporate as steam, condense on the pot lid, run down the concave lid, and drip from the handle into the glass collecting bowl.

• 5

  Put your homemade essential oil distiller on the stove on medium to high heat. Fill the overturned lid with ice to help the steam condense more quickly.

• 6

  Turn off the heat after the ice has melted. Use potholders to lift the lid and pour off the water. Lift the glass bowl using pot holders and place it on a heat-resistant surface to cool. As the liquid cools, the oil will further separate from remaining water.

• 7

  Skim the oil from the surface with a spoon after it's completely cool. Store your tea tree oil in a glass container.