Character
The Story of Bitter Orange Blossom
Orange blossom absolute captures the concentrated floral soul of the bitter orange tree—one of perfumery's most cherished and versatile ingredients. Harvested from Citrus aurantium, its intoxicating scent weaves between heady florals, indolic warmth and sun-dried honey notes.
Heritage
The bitter orange tree originated in the Mediterranean, and Arab traders introduced it to Europe between the ninth and eleventh centuries. By the sixteenth century, bitter orange was cultivated in the south of France specifically to produce orange flower water. Cultivation expanded into perfumery-focused production in the Grasse region during the nineteenth century. In the perfume houses of Grasse, orange blossom absolute from Tunisia and Morocco became one of the most coveted raw materials of the twentieth century. Today, the bitter orange tree remains one of the most extraordinary contributors to perfumery, yielding four distinct and irreplaceable ingredients from a single species.
At a Glance
2
Feature this note
Floral
Olfactive group
Tunisia
Primary source region
Ingredient Details
Solvent extraction
Flower blossoms
Did You Know
"One tree gives four iconic perfume ingredients: orange blossom, neroli, petitgrain and bigarade."
Pyramid Presence
