Bergamot (Citrus Bergamia) is an aromatic citrus fruit whose appearance resembles a small pear. The tree from which it comes has been grown in Calabria since before the 16th century. Despite being originally used as an ornamental tree to adorn the gardens of Italian aristocratic families, it did not take long to be recognized worldwide for the essential oil from its fruits.

Currently, bergamot crops can be found in countries such as France and Turkey. However, the trees of the Calabrian coast continue to cover most of the production of this essential oil, making the fruits originating from this area the most renowned in the world of perfumery and cosmetics.

Bergamot essential oil used to be obtained by using the sfumatura method, which in general terms consisted in the manual pressuring of fruit peels and the absorption of the resulting oil through natural sponges placed in special containers. Nowadays, these techniques have been mostly replaced by more efficient methods such as cold-press extraction, which allows to get up to one kilogram of essential oil for every two hundred kilograms of bergamot peels.

What does the bergamot essential oil smell like?

Bergamot essential oil is a fundamental raw material in the design of aromas and it is usually found in many of the best-selling perfumes. One of the reasons for its popularity can be found in the softness of its notes, which provide it with a versatility that makes it suitable for fragrances and perfumes intended for a wide range of applications and customers.

Bergamot has a refreshing citric scent halfway between bitter orange and lemon and has a floral touch in its volatile notes which evokes unique spicy aromas.

Its fragrance is not only capable of taking us to places of light coastal breezes, but also accompanies the rest of the olfactory notes of the compositions in which it is present with its freshness.

Uses of the “green gold of Calabria”

Despite being the most recognised, its olfactory characteristics and its multiple uses in perfumery and cosmetics are not the only reason why this fruit is internationally valued as a raw material.

With a more acidic flavour than that of the lemon, there are many examples in which its characteristic citric scent is used to give personality to food products, such as the famous Earl Grey tea.

At Destilerías Muñoz Gálvez, S.A. we have been working with bergamot essential oil for a lifetime, developing fragrances that make the most of the qualities present in this extraordinary fruit.

Are you interested in successfully including the properties of this essential oil in your product? Contact us without obligation.