Autumn 19

Olibanum (also known as frankincense) is a resin taken from the bark of the Boswellia tree. At Ffern we use Boswellia carterii. The trees grow wild along the Gulf of Aden in northern Somalia, and the resin ‘tears’ are harvested by local collectors over a period of weeks.⁠ ⁠

We harvest Douglas fir needles in Canada and transport them to France, where we extract the absolute. The branches are cut in the morning, for as they warm up during the day they release more of their precious oil. The note is very long-lasting, balsamic and fresh.

Our cinnamon is grown along the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, where sandy soils lead to higher quality oil. To produce this scented oil, the inner bark of the cinnamon tree is stripped and hung to dry for five days before undergoing steam distillation.

Found in temperate, mountainous forests in the northern hemisphere, oakmoss is a branching lichen that grows on the branches and trunks of the oak tree. Ours is foraged from wild oaks in Samokov, Macedonia, before being transported to Grasse, where the oil is extracted by a family-run distillery.

Grown on Calabrian hills overlooking the Ionian Sea, the fruit is harvested by hand and the oil extracted at source. The La Face family planted their first bergamot in the 1930s and have been mastering the craft of producing citrus oils ever since.

Black peppercorn is a perennial climbing vine, native to the Indian Malabar coast. Corn clusters are picked when ripe and sun dried for three days before hydrodistillation. The resulting essential oil has a fresh, spicy smell with a woody accent.

Our Jamaica pimento is harvested by tree climbers. As iron knife blades can poison the tree, the twigs and branches are snapped by hand and dropped. These branches are flailed to loosen the berries, which are sun dried for seven days before being crushed and distilled at source.

Red juniper, also called red cedar, is a coniferous evergreen native to the north-eastern United States. We harvest red cedar in Virginia, when the plant is young, and steam distil the wood to extract a pure red juniper oil.

We chose Haitian vetiver over Javan competitors for its fresh, sparkling notes, and because the root provides sustainable employment for south Haitian communities. One year after planting, the roots are excavated, washed, cut, and sun-dried before they can be steam distilled at source.

Our nutmeg grows on the Banda islands of eastern Indonesia. The fruit is harvested with handheld telescopic pickers and left to dry in the shade - the seed oil is then steam distilled at source.

Scentless when fresh and native to Asia, patchouli is a member of the Lamiaceae or Mint family. Our patchouli is hand-harvested on the Indonesian Island of Java. It’s then dried in the shade and briefly fermented, helping to break down the cell walls before the copper still hydrodistillation.

Grown wild in the Gran Chaco jungles of western Paraguay, guaiacwood is known locally as ‘Palo Santo’ - or holy tree - for its supposed healing powers. As a slow growing tree, the harvest is closely regulated to ensure long term sustainability. Our wood is cut into chips and steam distilled at source.