The Art of Deg-Bhapka
Deg-Bhapka is a 1,000-year-old traditional hydro-distillation method used primarily in Kannauj — India's "Perfume Capital" — to craft pure, natural, alcohol-free attars. It's also the only method Asam & Co. has ever used, since 1912. No steam-strip shortcuts, no synthetic solvents. Five stages, unchanged for generations.
Loading the Deg
The Deg — a large copper still — is packed with the raw botanical material (flowers, roots, woods, or spices) along with water, then sealed at the neck with a clay-and-cloth dough to keep the still airtight.
The Bhatti — Wood-Fire Furnace
The sealed Deg sits over a Bhatti, a wood or cow-dung-cake furnace. The fire is tended by hand, kept slow and steady — heat that's too fast scorches the botanicals and ruins the batch.
The Chonga — Bamboo Steam Pipe
As the water boils, fragrant steam rises and travels through the Chonga, a bamboo pipe connecting the Deg to a separate receiving vessel some distance away.
The Bhapka — Copper Receiver
The steam enters the Bhapka, a copper receiver pre-filled with a base oil — often sandalwood — and submerged in a tank of cold running water. As the steam condenses, its fragrance transfers into the base oil.
Aging the Attar
The resulting attar rests and matures — weeks for lighter oils, months or years for complex blends like Shamama. Time, not additives, is what deepens the final scent.
Steam Distillation, in Practice
The oil drawn off at the end of a run — vetiver, in this case, distilled from root.
Shot at the Makrand Nagar distillery.