Hong Kuai essential oil is truly a Gift from the Clouds. Humans are not allowed to harvest Hong Kuai trees. Only Mother Nature. So the Taiwanese proclaim, “Hong Kuai is a gift from the clouds”.
The enormous Hong Kuai trees grow high in the mountains in subtropical rain forests. These steep mountainsides are blanketed by clouds in the morning and evening. The cold nighttime air temperatures at 8000-9000 feet are chilly enough to cause the cloud mist to heavily condense into water droplets on the cold evergreen leaves of the Hong Kuai tree.
During the morning these condensed water droplet “rain down” on the ground below. This is how Hong Kuai trees receive regular watering. Yet during the “Plum Rain” season in May-July and the “Typhoon” season between August-October the skies release considerable quantities of rainfall. In the XiangYang Shan and Yushan mountains where Hong Kuai flourishes the annual rainfall is 108-144 inches (9-12 feet of rain each year)!
The heavy rains from May-October soak and saturate the relatively thin layer of topsoil that caps the towering rocky mountains. When the topsoil is saturated is starts to “creep” down the mountainside. Eventually the “creep” converts into a fast moving landslide that carries soil, trees, and plants down into crevices, streams, canyons, and rivers. This is how Mother Nature harvests large Hong Kuai trees.
The massive Hong Kuai logs may remain for 50-100 years in the mountains buried in soil, caught in log jams in narrow valleys, or soaking in a mountain stream. During this extremely wet season the high flowing streams and rivers transport Hong Kuai logs down to the widest rivers and into the ocean.
The Taiwan government and the Taiwan Native Tribes are the only groups permitted to collect Hong Kuai logs. These logs are in turn sold to private sawmills for production of lumber. These high priced 2-inch thick lumber slabs are used for building temples, monuments, and public buildings in each village, town and city.
In the milling process there are many small scraps of Hong Kuai wood. Dr. Lee and Tiger Lee purchase the Hong Kuai lumber scraps at a reasonable price. Then the Hong Kuai scraps are chipped to expose the seasoned essential oil that has been locked up in the growth rings for 1000-3000 years. The chips are then steam distilled to release the aged Hong Kuai essential oil.
Each bottle of Hong Kuai essential oil contains drops of essential oil that pre-date the founding of the United States of America, Columbus’ voyages, Michelangelo’s sculptures, the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, Aztec and Incan empires, and even Jesus Christ. This is why the Taiwanese call Hong Kuai a gift from the clouds.
By comparison, most essential oils are only 3-5 months old before they are harvested and distilled. Oils like lavender, peppermint, orange, lemon, rosemary, tea tree, and oregano are only 3-5 months old when they are distilled. This seasoned Hong Kuai essential oil is a treasure to the Taiwanese.
Source: Dr. Cole Woolley