Bergamot
Before going into more detail about bergamot, its history and olfactory description, let's go back to the basics of perfumery to understand how this fruit is used. A perfume is complex, refined and delicate, but above all it is a set of notes that have been chosen for their ephemeral or tenacious side.
Perfume is very often represented as an olfactory pyramid with the top notes at the top, the heart notes at the middle and the base notes at the bottom. This is a simple, educational diagram, but in reality it is much more complex. In fact, the notes fit together, they respond to each other and sublimate each other.
The citrus facet is present in almost all perfumes. It dresses the perfume in top notes, it is volatile, therefore not very persistent and gives the perfume a smile. It is present in eau de toilette, eau de parfum, fragrances for men and for women. Of course, it is found in greater quantities in eau de Cologne or eau fraîche, and thus becomes the main theme and determines the citrus family, which includes lemon, bergamot, orange, grapefruit and lime. The hesperides give the first impression to the perfume, which I call the smile or the take off, a very ephemeral sensation that these fresh and invigorating scents provide.
Bergamot, a little history about the tree and the plant
The Bergamot tree was brought to Spain from the Canary Islands by Christopher Columbus. It is said that the origin of its name comes from the Turkish beg-armûdi meaning "lord's pear" or that the bergamot is named after the city of Bergamo where it was originally cultivated.
Bergamot comes from a tree, the Citrus Bergamia. The fruit is first green and then yellow. It has been cultivated for 600 years in Calabria, southern Italy, with a production of about 100 tons per year. Bergamot is also found in the Ivory Coast and South Africa. It is harvested by hand as the fruit is very fragile. Harvesting begins in November and ends in January.
Growing the bergamot
The bergamot is a hybrid of the lemon and the sour orange. It is cultivated for the essential oil of the fruit and the small seed, the essential oil of the leaf. The fruit weighs from 80 grams to 200 grams. The fruit of this shrub is not eaten because the pulp is too bitter. However, in Calabria there are local products made from bergamot, for example liqueur Limoncello where the lemon is replaced by the bergamot.
Only the peel is used for perfumery, cosmetics and some food products. It is extracted cold with huge machines called peelers. The fresh bergamots are stored for 2 to 3 days to allow the fruit to warm up and for the peel to soften.
Bergamot essential oil
The essential oil of bergamots is dark green. Its scent is delicious and powerful. Then this essence is treated to become golden to transparent in colour, it loses its olfactory qualities during processing. It is then called rectified essential oil. Among other things, the phototoxic components such as bergapten, which in the past caused numerous skin spots, especially when it was incorporated into suncare products such as Bergasol, are removed. The bergaptenes are now removed from all citrus fruits. The quality of the citrus fruit depends on the time of the year when it is harvested, whether it is more floral or fresher depending on the month of harvest.
Olfactory description of bergamot
It takes 200 kg of fruit to obtain 1 kg of essence. It is called the fine flower of the hesperides for its extremely elegant, very faceted note: tonic, nervous, faceted, fruity, green, slightly floral, acid, bitter, but also sweet and round. The scent of bergamot is a perfume in itself. As with any natural product, it depends on how it has been grown, processed and assembled. Its constituents, lynalyl acetate and linalool, give it a very fresh, lavender note.
Nancy's speciality, bergamot sweets, as well as the Earl Grey tea, benefit from this delicious aroma. The peel of this citrus fruit was widely used in the 18th century to make sumptuous decorated boxes that can be admired in the Grasse museum.
In order to have a constant quality, the suppliers mix several qualities of bergamot, more or less ripe, this is called a communal from cultures practised by specific growers who have different plots in Reggio di Calabria. You can also choose green or more mature bergamot, obviously its scent will be very different.
The properties of bergamot
Bergamot essential oil has calming, antiseptic and anti-spamodic properties and virtues. It is also effective against insomnia. It is difficult to find a fragrance in perfumery that is essentially based on bergamot, because by definition bergamot is a very weak scent.
Perfumes containing mainly bergamot
- Bergamot Calabria Guerlain
- Bergamot 22 Le Labo
- Bergamote Soleil Atelier Cologne
Bergamot in Sylvaine Delacourte perfumes
Bergamot is found in all Sylvaine Delacourte fragrances as a top note, but in greater quantities in Valkyrie, a fresh vanilla. Try Valkyrie from the Vanilla Collection thanks to the Vanilla Discovery Set.