White Lotus Aromatics Newsletter - Absolute 3
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Absolute Newsletter 3 (Clove Bud - Cumin)
Clove Bud Absolute
Clove Bud Absolute is extracted from the dried flower buds of Eugenia caryophylla, a medium sized tropical tree.
The absolute is an olive-green, greenish brown or orange brown viscous or oily liquid which may solidify a cooler temperatures into a semi-solid mass.
The odor is rich, smooth, sweet-spicy, fruity, with a balsamic, coumarinic, precious wood, slight wine-like undertone having very good tenacity and its diffusive power is also excellent. A fine delicate fresh floral note emerges with the spicy sweetness as the dryout proceeds. The absolute is distinct from the essential oil in that it is free from the dry terpenic notes that are formed during distillation.
The smooth rich, warm, spicy diffusive bouquet is much appreciated in many floral bases eg rose, carnations, ylang, cassie and narcissus and in various spice bouquets. Clove played an important role in the evolution of the spice trade and could play a key role in capturing the essence of the early years of the international spice trade when spices found there way to international ports via ship. Clove is also an important ingredient in traditional Chinese and Indian incense and would work well in a smokeless incense perfume. Lastly it is an important ingredient in Indian cooking and other international cuisines and hence could be used in a number of culinary perfumes.
Blends well with ambrette seed abs and co2 extract, ylang abs and eo, cananga, champaca abs, cardamon eo and co2 extract, ginger eo and co2 extract, holy basil eo, patchouli abs and eo, cinnamon bark co2 and eo, fenugreek co2, pimenta berry oil and abs, bay leaf eo, fir balsam abs.
"I had often occasion to notice the use that was made of fragments and small opportunities in Cranford; the rose-leaves that were gathered ere they fell to make into a potpourri for someone who had no garden; the little bundles of lavender flowers sent to strew the drawers of some town-dweller, or to burn in the chamber of some invalid. Things that many would despise, and actions which it seemed scarcely worth while to perform, were all attended to in Cranford. Miss Jenkyns stuck an apple full of cloves, to be heated and smell pleasantly in Miss Brown's room; and as she put in each clove she uttered a Johnsonian sentence. Indeed, she never could think of the Browns without talking Johnson; and, as they were seldom absent from her thoughts just then, I heard many a rolling, three-piled sentence."
--from Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Cocoa Absolute
Cocoa Absolute is extracted from the roasted pods of Theobroma cacao which grows on a medium sized tropical tree.
The absolute is a dark brown viscous liquid or solid pasty mass with a rich, bitter-sweet, roasted-nutty, oily-fatty, chocolatey aroma.
Used in perfumery for its deep rich luscious aroma where it serves well in a growing interest in culinary perfumes which recreate the aromas of the foods we like. It also has ancient associations with the spiritual life of the people of South America and Mexico and could be used in sacred perfumes. At one time cocoa shops where the rage in UK (starting in the 1600's) and might serve well in a historical perfume.
Some forms of the absolute may require an emulsifier to become soluble in carrier oils.
Blends well with coconut abs, vetiver eo and co2 extract, agarwood eo, benzoin abs, labdanum abs, ambrette seed abs and co2 extract, anise seed eo, fennel seed co, cinnamon co2 and eo, ylang abs, balsam peru eo, cassia co2 and eo, spikenard co2 and eo, shamama attar, osmanthus abs, peppermint eo and abs, sweet orange eo, hazelnut co2, mushroom abs, vanilla co2 and absolute, butter co2.
"But Roger was prompt in closing Parnassus at ten o'clock. At that hour
he and Bock (the mustard-coloured terrier, named for Boccaccio)
would make the round of the shop, see that everything was shipshape,
empty the ash trays provided for customers, lock the front door,
and turn off the lights. Then they would retire to the den,
where Mrs. Mifflin was generally knitting or reading. She would
brew a pot of cocoa and they would read or talk for half an hour
or so before bed. Sometimes Roger would take a stroll along Gissing
Street before turning in. All day spent with books has a rather
exhausting effect on the mind, and he used to enjoy the fresh air
sweeping up the dark Brooklyn streets, meditating some thought
that had sprung from his reading, while Bock sniffed and padded
along in the manner of an elderly dog at night."
--from The Haunted Bookshop
by Christopher Morley
Coffee Bean Absolute
Coffee Bean Absolute is extracted from roasted beans of the Coffea arabica shrub which is a native to North Africa but is grown extensively in India, South America, etc.
The absolute is a dark brown to black thick grainy mass with a dry, sharp,rich, bitter, roasted, nutty, earthy, coffee-like aroma, with a slight creamy, carmelic-spicy undertone.
Again it can find use in culinary perfumes and other creative perfume work where one is looking to add some unique note to an adventurous composition. It could work very well in compositions of an earthy type. Would be a welcome addition to special ethnic compositions where one wishes to evoke the aroma of ancient traditions. It would be an invaluable central note in modern culinary perfumes.
Blends well with cinnamon co2 and eo, cardamon co2 and eo, peppermint eo, mushroom abs., mitti attar, shamama attar, ambari attar, ruh khus, sweet orange eo, orange essence eo, hazelnut co2, wheat/ble abs, bran abs.
I tore back through the orchard and the kitchen garden, intent upon finding my uncle alone and imparting to him the wonderful news which I felt pretty sure he would much rather receive privately than in the presence of his sisters. But as I crossed the lawn the great bell which summoned us to meals began to clang, and I knew that tea was ready. I went, therefore, straight into the dining-room, and found, as I had expected, the family already assembled; the lamps were lighted, though it was not quite dark, the urn was bubbling and hissing, the coffee sent up a fragrant aroma, and Mr. Perren had his steaming cup of tea before him, and was helping himself to honey, in which he greatly delighted.
--from Chrystabel by Emma Jane Worboise
Coffee Flower Absolute
Coffee Flower Absolute is extracted from the flowers of Coffea arabica. Main extraction takes place in Madagascar. Just a couple of kilos are extracted each year so this rates as a super rare absolute.
The absolute is a light brownish viscous liquid with a delicate but diffusive sweet spicy floral bouquet with a refined tea-like, vanillic undertone. The floral note shares something in common with fine jasmin grandiflorum, ylang abs, boronia absolute but the other olfactory components give it unique ethereal richness which is quite distinct.
Would work well in any number of very high floral compositions. It is a perfume in itself and all additions to it would need to be made with great discretion. It would also be a fine addition to high class tropical perfumes.
Blends well with sandalwood, boronia, ylang, jasmin hydroessence and abs, vanilla abs and co2 extract, tuberose abs, frangipani abs, longoza abs, neroli eo, coriander eo and co2 extract, amberi attar, agarwood amberi attar, davana eo, cardamon eo and co2 extract, ambrette seed abs and co2 extract.
"
The scent of an entire coffee plantation in bloom can be so intense that sailor have reported smelling the perfume two or three miles out to sea. Such glory is short-lived, however; three or four days later, the petals are strewn on ground and the small coffee berries, or cherries as they are called in the trade, begin to form clusters at the base of the leaves."
--from Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying by Kenneth Davids
Coconut Absolute
Coconut Absolute is extracted from the the lightly roasted deoileated coconut cake from the nut of the tropical tree, Cocos nucifera.
The absolute is a yellow or light brown viscous liquid or a low melting solid.
It has a peculiar soft, fresh, tropical , warm oily-nutty aroma with a slightly pungent undertone. Would be an excellent addition to tropical perfumes where one wishes to evoke the exotic smells which surround one in the warm humid island environments.
It does not exert a tremendous individual olfactory influence on a tropical composition but acts in harmony many exotic essences to warm and enrich them. There are some aromatic essences that are destined to play a quiet supporting role in a perfume and one may mistakenly think that they might be excluded but it is important to consider that a perfume is much more than distinct olfactory impressions. There are elements of tenacity, warm, radiance, softness etc that support the beauty of the final product.
Blends well with pomegranate absolute, ginger co2 and eo, clove bud abs, frangipani abs, ylang abs and eo, pomegranate abs, hazelnut co2, jasmin sambac abs and hydroessence, ambrette seed abs and co2 extract, nutmeg co2 and abs, combava petitgrain eo, tuberose abs, massoia bark eo and co2 extract.
"
How little we can conceive the spaces in his life that would be empty without that firm pulp, at once nutritious, sweet and fragrant! Curry cannot be made without it, the cook cannot advance three steps in its absence, pattimars laden with it are sailing north, south, east and west, a thousand creaky wooden mills are squeezing the limpid oil out of it, a hundred thousand little earthen lamps filled with that oil are making visible the smoky darkness of hut and temple, brightening the wedding feast and illuminating the sad page over which the candidate for university honours nods his shaven head. That oil fed lighthouses of the first order and illuminated viceregal balls and durbars before paraffin and kerosene inundated the earth. And it has other uses. For arresting premature baldness and preventing the hair turning grey its virtues are equalled by no other oil known to us, and there is a fortune awaiting the hairdresser who can find means effectually to remove or suppress its peculiar and penetrating odour. Joao Gomez, my faithful "boy," did not object to the odour, and when he had been tempted to pass my comb through his raven locks as he was dusting my dressing table, I always knew it."
--from Concerning Animals and Other Matters
by E.H. Aitken
Costus Absolute
Costus Absolute is extracted from the dried roots of Saussaurea lappa, an herbaceous perennial that growns in the Himalayas.
The absolute is semi-solid mass of very viscous liquid of pale amber or brownish amber color. The odor is of the absolute resembles the root itself. It shares certain olfactory qualities with the essential oil but appears in the first instance to be weaker and also less harsh. It is soft- precious-woody, somewhat violet- like and fatty without unpleasant "harsh" or "rancid-fatty notes. It has fine tenacity and superb fixative value.
Costus root absolute is valued for the warm, precious woods, natural notes in perfumery work. Oriental perfumes, chypres, violet bases, exotic tropical bases, etc benefit from its presence. It has the unique ability to produce diffusive power and unique topnotes to perfume compositions. Costus root would be a valuable addition to smokeless incense perfumes as it is a greatly appreciated and valued ingredient in traditional Chinese and Japanese incense.
Blends well with sandalwood, orris root, cinnamon leaf, cinnamon bark, flouve oil, opoponax,, oakmoss abs, patchouli eo and abs, calamus root, agarwood eo and co2 extract, vetiver eo and co2 extract, angelica root eo and co2 extract, nagarmotha eo and co2 extract.
"Costus is universally employed by the shawl-merchants in Kashmir as a protector of Kashmir fabrics from the attacks of moth and insects. The dried root is an agreeable fumigatory and yields excellent pastilles which burn fairly. It is exported in enormous quantities to China, where it is used as an incense. Baden Powell in his 'Punjab Products" says:--'Lines of camels may often be met passing down to Multan, the 'Kut(costus)' perfuming the air for a considerable distance...' "
--from Odorographia: A Natural History of Raw Materials and Drugs Used in the Perfume Industry
by John Charles Sawer
Cumin absolute
Cumin absolute is extracted from the seeds of the herb, Cuminum cyminum which grows throughout the Middle East and India.
The absolute is a dark olive-brown or dark yellow viscous liquid potent, diffusive, yet sublime, rich , powdery, green-spicy, woody odor. After the initial impact of the warm potent diffusive notes it settles in a complex, enticing slightly pungent but elegantly balanced spice bouquet which instantly conveys to the mind the preparation of an Indian meal where all the spices are ground fresh by hand and the air is permeated with their enticing aroma.
The absolute is used in trace amounts to introduce green-spicy and green-woody topnotes in woody-floral perfume types, oriental bases, mimosa, violet and cassie bases. It is one of those rare absolutes that can produce unique and special results in unusual perfume types. It can work to produce great radiant power to a composition in the hands of skilled perfumer. It can also produce fine effects in special culinary perfumes and ethnic compositions. Oriental bases and men's spicy aromatic blends benefit from trace amounts of this special material. It also could play a fine role in Culinary perfumes.
Blends well with oakmoss abs, lavindin abs, galbanum eo and abs, chypres, lavender-fougeres, bois de rose, rosemary verbenone and co2 extract, turmeric co2, vetiver co2 and eo, ambrette co2 and abs, cinnamon bark co2 and eo, ylang abs, black pepper co2 and eo, carrot seed co2 and eo, spikenard co2 and eo, mimosa abs, cassie abs, fenugreek co2 and eo, ginger co2 and eo.