Hydrosols are the water-based extracts born from steam distillation—plant molecules carried in pure water, not a watered-down essential oil. • Despite the old nickname “flower water,” they can be made from leaves, seeds, roots, and whole plants. • With a small copper still, steam rises through fresh botanicals, the volatile constituents condense in a coil, and the first drops arrive as a clear, fragrant hydrosol that often holds a whisper of essential oil on top. • For centuries, hydrosols were