May Chang Essential Oil, Organic, Vietnam

May Chang

Litsea cubeba

Lauraceae family

Harvested and distilled in Vietnam from the fruit and flowers of organically grown trees

Known throughout the ages for its fragrant flowers, fruits and leaves, the essential oil is comparatively new. The tree is native to China and SouthEast Asia. Bright and vibrant, this oil is very happy, uplifting and delightful. But for a more objective and sober commentary……

Let’s look at Arctander.

Oil of litsea cubeba is a pale yellow, mobile oil of intensely lemon-like, fresh and sweet odor, with a soft and sweet-fruity, uniform dryout. There are few to no “fatty-grassy” methyl heptanone notes detectable. This is where the oil of litsea cubeba has an advantage (scent-wise) over lemongrass. Interestingly, both litsea and lemongrass have similar citral content but the lemongrass is also heavy in sesquiterpenes, leading to those heavy notes (I would call them culinary notes.)

Litsea cubeba also has a pleasant taste and (Arctander continues) that a rectified oil would be a good modifier for lemon and lime flavors and as a general freshener in fruit flavors.

In perfumes, it blends well with all citrus, petitgrain, rosemary, lavandin, rosewood, geranium, neroli etc. There is not much fixative power and this must be addressed