Buyers of raw material usually ask about the variety and the growing area. Few ask how it was dried, even though that is the step that can ruin a good batch in two days.
The general rule with aromatic material: drying too fast in harsh sun drives off the light notes at the top of the scent, while drying that does not go far enough lets mould and a damp smell take over everything. Good results usually come from shade with air movement and more time, not from strong sun.
Four factors in drying
- Temperature: the higher it is, the faster the drying and the more volatile components are lost.
- Air movement: more important than sun. Wind carries the moisture away without heating the material.
- Depth of the drying layer: spread thin and turn it evenly; a thick layer dries outside while the inside stays damp.
- Time: a long dry in gentle conditions usually holds the scent better than a short dry in harsh ones.
How do you know it is dry enough
At small workshop scale, the familiar checks are feel and sound. Material dry enough is brittle to a certain degree, breaks with a clean sound, and no longer feels cool and damp in the palm. The more reliable way is to measure moisture with a device, and for material being sold this is something that should be done rather than left to feel.
In our workshop, lengths of cinnamon bark that are not dry enough go on shrinking after they have been assembled into a vessel, and the join opens up. This is why we let material rest a while longer before it goes to the next step. This is experience from our own workshop.
Storage after drying
Drying well and storing badly comes to the same thing. Dried material should be kept in sealed sacks or containers, somewhere airy, off the floor and away from the wall, out of direct light. Do not seal it while still warm, because the remaining moisture will condense on the inside of the sack. Aromatic material should be stored apart from anything else with a strong smell, because it takes up odours very quickly.
A few questions you often send us
Is machine drying better than sun drying
A dryer gives a more consistent result and does not depend on the weather, but set the heat high and you still lose the light notes just as harsh sun does. The strength of a machine is control, not that it is inherently better.
Does material lose its scent when kept a long time
The scent fades over time because the volatile components escape. The rate depends on storage more than on time. Kept sealed, cool and away from light, the scent holds far longer.
Why does dried material smell different from fresh
Because the water and some of the volatile components have gone, leaving the heavier ones behind. With many materials the dry smell is not weaker but different: more concentrated, less green and more woody.