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.