Autumn 20

Our balsam fir absolute is extracted from wild-grown needles east of Calgary, in Canada. The scent is often compared to that of jam: intense, very long lasting, sweet, fresh and foresty all at once.

Sourced from evergreen *Aquilaria agallocha* trees in Trat, eastern Thailand, our agarwood is rich and complex, with deep, woody, leathery base notes. An ancient and sacred material, so prized that it was once referred to as ‘black gold’, this fragrant wood is formed when a protective resin seeps into the tree’s heartwood to safeguard it from threat.

Notre bois de cèdre rouge (également appelé genévrier rouge) est cultivé et récolté en Virginie, aux États-Unis, d'où il est originaire. L’huile est distillée à la vapeur directement à partir des chutes de bois issues de l’ébénisterie. Elle partage les notes boisées classiques du cèdre de l’Atlas, tout en apportant une touche caractéristique rappelant le crayon.

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.

Ffern’s bay oil is steam distilled from the leaves of Pimenta Racemosa (also known as the Bayberry or Bay Rum tree). This species from the myrtle family (Myrtaceae) is native to the Caribbean region.

Cultivés sur les collines calabraises surplombant la mer Ionienne, les fruits sont récoltés à la main et l'huile est extraite sur place. La famille La Face a planté son premier bergamotier dans les années 1930 et n'a cessé depuis lors de perfectionner l'art de la production d'huiles d'agrumes.

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.

Davana belongs to the silver-leafed Artemisia family, and many tiny yellow flowers grow against its soft greenery. Native to India, the dried herb has a sweet, dried-fruit aroma that is reminiscent of tea.

The cognac oil we have sourced is a byproduct of winemaking in Romania - a land with its own distinctive climate and soil. The oil itself is obtained by distillation during the fermentation of the grape juice.⁠

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.

Présente dans les forêts montagneuses tempérées de l'hémisphère nord, la mousse de chêne est un lichen ramifié qui pousse sur les branches et les troncs des chênes. La nôtre est récoltée sur des chênes sauvages à Samokov, en Macédoine, avant d'être acheminée à Grasse, où l'huile est extraite par une distillerie familiale.

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.⁠ ⁠

Membre de la famille des Lamiacées, ou famille de la menthe, et originaire d'Asie, le patchouli frais n'a pas d'odeur. Le nôtre est récolté à la main sur l'île indonésienne de Java. Il est ensuite séché à l'ombre et soumis à une brève fermentation, ce qui contribue à briser les parois cellulaires avant l'hydrodistillation dans un alambic en cuivre.

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.

At Ffern, we use a rose absolute from the Damask rose, the queen of flowers, grown in southwest Turkey. The production of the rose concrete is carried out on site, after which it is sent to Seville, where it is made into rose absolute by a hundred year old family-run distillery.⁠

Made by steeping rose petals in water, rose water can also be obtained as a byproduct of rose essential oil production or by dispersing rose absolute into water. Our rose water is made from blowsy, bright pink Damask roses, which held a special place in Ottoman culture for centuries.

Nous avons préféré le vétiver haïtien à ses concurrents javanais pour ses notes fraîches et pétillantes, mais aussi parce que cette racine est source d'emplois durables pour les communautés du sud d'Haïti. Un an après la plantation, les racines sont déterrées, lavées, coupées et séchées au soleil avant d'être distillées à la vapeur sur place.