Violet Mkhitaryan’s lab could easily be mistaken for a pastry chef’s kitchen.

A giant jug of rose water from Bulgaria sits on a shelf. Glass pots of pungent chamomile, peppermint, and fenugreek line the counter. A colossal 18-year-old aloe plant sits ceremoniously in a corner, its spiky appendages stretching out over Pyrex bowls of creamy concoctions. In a back room are containers full of dried flower petals, minuscule black berry seeds, and assorted herbs and grains.