The laurel bayberries are picked from the tree in the summer and left to dry. As the berries dry in an oven, they go through several changes. First, they crack and then shrink away from each other, leaving cavities or seeds left behind along with seed oils as well as some lignin. The drying process leaves behind about 20-30% of their original weight in oil, along with a fair amount of these white seeds which can also be used for herbal medicine. After being dried, they are sent to China where once again they are cleaned and then crushed into a pulp before being sent back to Canada for extraction.