At Eden Botanicals, we recognize and respect the many considerations involved in the selection of essential oils and extracts. While we consider some of the CO2 extracts to be superior to steamed distilled essential oils, we do not believe this is always the case. For instance we love the spice oils derived using CO2 technology, and believe that they are in general superior to most steam distilled spice oils. This is not necessarily the case with all essential oils however. If you compare patchouli essential oils derived from CO2 and steam distillation, you will find quite different oils, with very different aroma profiles. In these cases, some people will prefer the more earthy, woody patchouli derived from steam distillation to the fresher, greener aroma of the patchouli CO2 extract. For patchouli it comes down to personal preference, and we do not feel one is better than the other. In order to offer you the greatest variety and the best quality of essential oils, we carry many of the CO2 supercritical extracts in addition to the traditional essential oils. In some cases, we only offer the CO2 extract due to its superior quality