Summer 21

While hay absolute calls to mind temperate harvests, the plant from which it is extracted is in fact, Arctic. The sweetgrass Hierochloe alpina grows wild on the circumpolar tundra, particularly on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, in Svalbard.

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.

Our bitter oranges are grown in a third-generation family orchard in Bauru, Brazil, where they are hand-picked in the early summer of the Southern Hemisphere. The rind is cold pressed on site to produce a juicy, uplifting oil.

Ffern key lime is grown in the north of Peru. The fruits are harvested in the afternoon to avoid the oil loss caused by their early morning turgor. Next, they are passed through a pelatrice, and the gathered liquid is centrifuged to obtain a pure lime rind 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 Egyptian basil grand vert is renowned for its high linalool composition and its distinctive aniseed notes. The leaves are cut and immediately distilled - if they are allowed to dry, the scent is largely lost.

Benzoin Siam is a balsamic resin taken from the bark of the styrax tree, growing wild in the Annamite mountains of Laos. In September, a v-shaped cut is made in the tree bark, and brittle white ‘tears’ of benzoin resin accumulate over three-weeks. This process is known as ‘tapping’.

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.

Our red cedar wood (also known as red juniper) is grown and harvested in its native Virginia, USA. The oil is steam distilled directly from a cabinet maker’s offcuts. It shares the classic woody notes of atlas cedar, but introduces a distinctive ‘pencil’ facet.

Our coriander is grown by farming cooperatives in the famously fertile soil of the Central Black Earth region on Russia’s western border. The entire fruit is harvested late in the summer, and distilled on site with a traditional steam-based method.

Hand-picked at night to preserve intensity, our jasmine sambac is native to the Eastern Himalayas. Also known as Arabian jasmine, jasmine sambac has a long history of connection with Persia and the Middle East. The oil is extracted at source using Joseph Robert’ solvent extraction process.

The La Faces are a third-generation citrus farming family, growing our lemons on the northeastern tip of Sicily - just across the 3km straight of Messina and in sight of our bergamot on the Calabrian shores. The fruit is picked by hand, and the rinds cold pressed on site.

Ffern mandarins are harvested in the months before ripening. Whilst still green, they are cold pressed on site to preserve their delicate top notes. The scent is notably sharper and more floral than their ripe counterparts.

Our neroli oil is extracted from the blossom of bitter Seville Orange trees on Cape Bon in northern Tunisia. The blossoms are hand-picked in the spring at daybreak, once dew has formed. The flowers are immediately pressed and distilled.

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.⁠ ⁠

Our rock rose grows wild on the plains of Almaden de la Plata outside Seville, Spain. In late summer, the leafy stems of the plant are sickle harvested and plunged into hot carbonated water. This mixture is distilled to obtain a honeyed, amber resin - labdanum.