The fragrant olive (Osmanthus fragrans) has been cultivated for millennia in China. The numerous tiny flowers emit a delicate fragrance slightly reminiscent of apricots. The Chinese add these blooms to green tea. The photographed variety is latifolius; there is an orange-gold variety, thunbergii, and a reddish variety, aurantiacus.

The fragrance of the Osmanthus comes from the breakdown of beta-carotene and other carotenoids. The carotenoids are hydrocarbons, serving as accessory pigments. These yellow, orange, and red pigments act like antennae to capture light and pass the energy to chlorophyll a. The chlorophyll molecule converts the solar energy to chemical energy storing it within the bonds of a sugar molecule.

Carotenoids are usually masked by the green chlorophyll. When the chlorophyll breaks down, the carotenoids show in the brilliant autumn colors of leaves. Carotenoids signal when fruit is ripe; the reds of tomatoes and rose hips, the orange of carrots and citrus, the yellows of pineapples and lemons.

Beta-carotene is necessary for vision. In the body, the molecule is split becoming two molecules of retinol (Vitamin A). These oxidize to become retinal, a pigment that allows us to see. The carotenoids do more than just provide our vision. They color the world from yellow flowers to pink flamingoes. The degradation products of carotenoids add the flavor and scent.

Beta-carotene may breakdown to the trace essence of the damask rose, beta-Damascenone, a thirteen carbon compound. In Crocus sativus, it becomes the ten carbon Safranal, the flavor and color of saffron. In Osmanthus fragrans, beta-carotene becomes a potpourri of nine to 13 carbon compounds, the 'desirous notes' of the perfumer's art.

Osmanthus absolute is a concrete, the first extraction of these beta-carotene products. An absolute is this extraction by alcohol, teasing the 'notes' or scents from the petals. The alcohol is evaporated, leaving the notes behind to form the absolute, the volatile bits of fragrance. There may be later extractions by distillation or solvents, but the absolute is the first and the finest. One kilogram of Osmanthus absolute is currently valued around U.S. $4,000.

To learn more about the perfumers' art, visit the American Society of Perfumers at:

http://www.perfumers.org