Type of plant: Climbing shrub with dark-green leaves and small, star-shaped, highly fragrant, white flowers

Part used: Flowers

Method of extraction: CO₂ or solvent extraction

Data: The delicate flowers are hand-picked before dawn, when their aroma is most intense, then they’re processed to produce a concrete from which the absolute is obtained. Over a ton of flowers are required to produce 4 pounds of absolute. This is a very labor-intensive process, which accounts for the high price of jasmine. Native to the valleys of the Himalayas in northeast India, the highly fragrant jasmine was brought to Europe by Spanish seafarers in the sixteenth century. When perfumery became an important industry in Grasse, France, jasmine was at its core. The medicinal qualities of jasmine have been utilized for centuries in India, China, and Arabia — the native source of a jasmine variety with fleshier petals, Jasminum sambac. Today, jasmine tea is valued in China, and jasmine flower garlands are offered to guests in India.

Principal places of production: France, India, Egypt, China

When buying look for: Viscous, golden amber to orange-brown liquid with a sweet, rich, intensely, floral aroma

Therapeutic properties: Antidepressant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, calmative, cicatrizing, nervine, sedative, stimulant

Therapeutic uses: Infertility, menstrual cramp, abdominal spasm, nervous tension, nervousness, stress-related conditions, lethargy, apathy, fatigue, insecurity, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression

Blends well with: Amyris, bergamot, black pepper, cardamom, chamomile roman, cistus, clary sage, coriander seed, frankincense, geranium, ginger, grapefruit, lemon, linden blossom, mandarin, melissa, neroli, orange (sweet), petitgrain, rose maroc, sandalwood, ylang ylang, yuzu

Precautionary advice: No contraindications known. GRAS status