PETITGRAIN, IN THE SHADE OF PARAGUAY'S ORANGE TREE
OLFACTIVE STUDIO X NELIXIA X THE RAW MATERIALIST
At the end of 1870’s, in 1876, a French botanist named Benjamin Balansa brought petitgrain together with a still to Paraguay to begin steam distillation of this natural ingredient.
Little did he know if we told him that by bringing petitgrain from Vietnam to Paraguay, over a century later the country would become the number one producer of petitgrain essential oil for the perfume industry, with over 180 tons of raw material produced each year!
Extracted from the orange tree Citrus aurantium whose foliage – its leaves and small branches – is distilled into petitgrain essence, this essential oil possesses distinctive green, aromatic, orange-flower notes.
Its use in perfumery has been as extensive as: in fine fragrance, in many colognes for its more advantageous price than its siblings neroli and orange flower absolute, in toiletries, and obviously…in niche perfumes!
The Raw Materialist traveled to the San Pedro department in Paraguay for Olfactive Studio last January 2023 to meet Nelixia, one of the main producers of petitgrain, alongside the actors of this incredible raw material and report on the sourcing of petitgrain!
We unveil the story of this ingredient in this article.
FROM SOUTH EAST ASIA TO SOUTH AMERICA
Endemic to South East Asia, this plant’s journey across the globe is impressive!
After the devastating War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870), in which Paraguay lost an important part of its territory to Brazil and Argentina, petitgrain was brought all the way from Vietnam where it was commonly grown.
MULTICULTURAL GUY
The imported wild petitgrain also called locally “naranjo agrio” (bitter orange tree), or petitgrain bigaradier in Europe, acclimatized itself and perfectly flourished in the Paraguayan wilderness.
@therawmaterialist in mature petitgrain plantation in San Pedro
PETITGRAIN IN OMBRE INDIGO
Though discreet, Ombre Indigo’s top notes are essential as they embody the freshness of the fragrance, before getting into its deeper, darker facets.
Mylène Alran places the bitter-citrus Petitgrain Bigarade – with its aromatic facet reminiscent of lavender – at the tip of our nose, to seduce us from the very opening of the perfume.
The orange-flower facet of Petitgrain introduces the other main character of this fragrant story: the enigmatic Tuberose flower. A heady white flower, Tuberose is slightly honeyed and goes perfectly with the fruity facet of the Plum accord and subtle Saffron.
The strong base notes of Ombre Indigo elegantly contrast with its vivifying Petitgrain top note.
The woody and resinous Frankincense lingers on the floral mystery, Benzoin appears through its gourmand facet with caramel notes, and Vetiver’s smoky side seals the mystical tone.
The Leather accord and Musks give depth and volume to this intense fragrance… No nose can resist the bewitching power of Ombre Indigo!
A PARAGUAYAN BUSINESS
📍San Pedro Department, central Paraguay
DREAM TEAM
The Raw Materialist met Nelixia’s Paraguayan team: Victoria Soerensen, Ada Cantero, and Angel Brusquetti, all agronomists and agricultural engineers.
We traveled together to the Choré district in the San Pedro Department to meet the actors of the petitgrain supply chain.
From left to right: Angel Brusquetti, Victoria Soerensen, Ada Cantero
REMARKABLE GUARANI HERITAGE
Did you know that in Paraguay, Spanish isn’t the only official language, despite being spoken by nearly everyone?
Indeed, the ancestral Guarani language – initially spoken by native populations – is commonly employed by all Paraguayans, despite their social class.
Though it’s rare to encounter Paraguayan citizens who don’t speak Paraguayan Guarani, it's more used in rural areas – where half of the population consists of monolingual speakers of the language.
Nelixia’s agronomists Ada, Victoria, and Angel, all spoke Guarani to the farmers, who constantly addressed them in this language.
LATINOAMERICA’S FRAGRANT ANGEL
Nelixia was founded in 2010 by Elisa Aragon (CEO) and Jean-Marie Maizener, and develops natural ingredients from Latin America (Paraguay, Guatemala, etc.) for the worldwide fragrance & flavors industry.
The company prioritizes sustainability and positive impact on communities and the environment while showcasing raw material origins and promoting engagement in initiatives for respect, empowerment, and poverty eradication.
A COLLECTOR’S JOB
Nelixia has two acopiadores (collector) in San Pedro, and a third one in a different location. The collectors – Felix, Carlos and Tomas – have worked with Nelixia for over a couple years.
We arrived in San Pedro after a long drive from Asuncion (Paraguay’s capital) and made our way to the house of Tomas G., one of Nelixia’s collectors.
Señor Tomas’ house has a cool-temperature storage room where dozens of plastic drums are stored, containing a total of 2000 kg of petitgrain essence from different producers.
Tomas bought them from a smaller collector, who himself bought it from different farmers from the same area in Aguaray (in San Pedro department). At the time, the oldest batches he had were from November 2022.
@therawmaterialist holding testing blotters (right) with Tomas G. (left) & petitgrain essence containers in the back
SEÑOR FELIX’S FINCA
After visiting a collector, we headed to Señor Felix’s finca (farm), one of Nelixia’s collectors but also a petitgrain oil producer, and agronomer.
WHICH PART IS EXTRACTED?
The whole foliage of the plant is used for distillation, meaning buds, leaves, and small branches. The Citrus aurantium ssp. amara (subspecies) Paraguayan tree is basically a hybrid tree dedicated to petitgrain culture, which hardly gives any flowers!
After hydrodistillation is conducted, a clear liquid is obtained. The main aromatic molecules found in its oil are the commonly encountered limonene, lilalol, linalyl acetate, methyl anthranilate, and terpenes.
Though it contains some allergens (like linalol), the essence is not regulated by the IFRA (International Fragrance Association).
DISTILLING THE GOODIES
Felix showed and explained me the distilling system, by the distiller:
- Caldera (boiler) where vapor is produced
- Still called pipon
- The vapor “drags” the essence which then goes to the cooler
- Distilling tank: the outside is made from glass fiber & inside from stainless steel
- Felix’s still can distill 8-9L of essence per batch
Pipon (front) at the distillery
When we arrived at the farm three men were still working since early in the morning picando the previous day’s cosecha (harvest), done by 4 men. The “picado’’ is the action of cleaning out the too big branches from the cuts.
The men started around 6:30-7am and worked the whole day to collect 11 liños.
Liños are the plantation rows – usually 100m long – used as a measuring unit by local producers.
When we asked Felix if he participated in that work he joked “hay que dejarle al que sabe hacer”, which translates into “we must leave it to those who know how to”.
Three workers picando the petitgrain harvest
TRIAL AND ERROR
On Wednesday January 25th – day of our visit – they found out how much raw material can fit in the still, after building it 3 months earlier.
Felix told us he could also collect the branches when they were younger to avoid the picado.
Nevertheless he decided for his Citrus aurantium plants to get older: have a good trunk, bigger heavier leaves which he believed to be a variable factor in the final amount of essence collected – a younger leaf would contain less oil and would be lighter.
The result and deductions made from this experimental finca helped Felix and Nelixia successfully pursue their petitgrain culture and extraction.
ASK THE MOON
Victoria, one of Nelixia’s agronomer asked Felix if he followed the lunar calendar to make the cuts on the trees?
Felix said we had a crescent moon at the time: time when the sap of the tree moves up and concentrates in the leaves. This means a better yield for the distillation.
The month before, Felix realized he was too late to cut his plants for the previous crescent moon so he waited for the next one – now!
ELDERS KNOW BETTER
The majority of producers inherit the knowledge of the petitgrain culture from their ancestors – from father to son.
From October to February (latest) is when the leaves’ yield is the highest – spring and summer for Paraguay.
Then comes fall, which is when the transplant of the young plants “plantines” to their final location takes place because the temperature drops – otherwise they’d die from dehydration.
NELIXIA’S STRATEGY
Nelixia immersed itself in the Paraguayan petitgrain culture and sourcing a few years ago, with local purchases, and with Felix’s experimental farm.
Why experimental? Because Felix is an independent producer who doesn’t live off petitgrain only, unlike many farmers. His farm allows him and Nelixia to work together and play with the variables to constantly better petitgrain culture and essential oil production.
Last year, in 2023, Nelixia noticeably developed the value chain “desarollo de la cadena de valor” explained Nelixia’s agronomist, Victoria, to me. Nelixia’s now-completed previous goal was entering the market!
FELIX’S CROPS
As we walked through the plantations we learned the smaller ones were from 2021 and had just been cut for harvesting, and the bigger ones from 2022.
The two year olds (2022) had been ready for harvesting: two years is the ideal time, and 1.5 years the minimum age.
SOME OLFACTION
Petitgrain is mainly a top note, but also a heart note in terms of volatility.
We introduced its scent earlier, and now it’s time for precisions: it belongs to the orange flower olfactive family and its extremely fresh green scent is also reminiscent of lavender because of their shared molecule linalyl acetate.
📍FELIX’S NURSERY
Ada, Nelixia’s agronomist, showed me how old leaves and young petitgrain leaves have a distinct scent.
I indeed smelled how the smaller, softer, younger leaves had a seemingly more concentrated scent!
Felix and his plantines at the nursery
PLANTING SECRETS
Victoria explained to me how petitgrain is a perennial culture, so in the melgas – strips of land that are marked for planting – it’s always associated with other seasonal cultures such as poroto colorado (red bean) to avoid diseases.
The water used for distillation comes from “pozos artesianos” (artesian wells), and the wood used comes majorly from eucalyptus – burns well and is widely available in the area.
Angel showing the poroto colorado beans
AN ESTABLISHED SYSTEM
In Paraguay, 99% of petitgrain producers in Paraguay are small, and these small producers are called minifundarios.
Producers are considered small when they have 3 to 4 hectares. They also plant other crops such as sesame, yuca, corn, poroto, on their land to sustain their needs.
For example, Tomas is one of these buyers who are financially empowered by Nelixia; he purchases batches of petitgrain essence each week.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
This value chain was implemented by Nelixia over the years to truly empower the community and their members like Tomas. Nelixia distributes wealth and information within their community through their strategic approach
Rita Lugo, Nelixia’s local coordinator, told me the number of petitgrain minifundarios in the San Pablo district (San Pedro department): no less than 150!
COMMUNITY PERKS
As we drove along the fields, we could see craft distilling facilities and tanks all around the area, literally everywhere!
Since around 1880, the producers have each had their distiller or communal distillers. These are shared by the community, and producers pay about 20K guaranies for each full distillation process.
A producer like Señor Ramon Rivero, who was producing when we got to the communal distiller, possesses a nearby small parcel of a bit over a hectare in the San Pablo area. The year before our visit (2022), he produced 24 kilograms of essential oil.
Ramon Rivero at the communal distillery: cooling water tanks & petitgrain essence exiting the pipe (front)
MONEY TREE
As of 2023 the price per kilogram of petitgrain essence was between 330-340K guaranies (PYG) – Paraguayan currency – which equals about 46 USD.
One of the advantages of petitgrain is, once you have the culture ready to be harvested, you can produce and sell the essence on the very same day!
PETITGRAIN… PETIT PRICE!
This raw material has another undoubtable advantage: its cost! It’s the cheapest of the orange flower olfactive family ingredients, with a price per kilogram of about 50 USD on the international market.
It’s often used with neroli and orange flower absolute, or to replace them for their high price. Also used in soaps, petitgrain is interesting as well with green notes to bring a natural facet, and in tea notes.
PETITGRAIN IN MODERN PERFUMERY
It’s often used with neroli and orange flower absolute, or to replace them for their high price. Also used in soaps, petitgrain is interesting as well with green notes to bring a natural facet, and in tea notes.
COLOGNES’ INGREDIENT OF CHOICE
Petitgrain has always been a favorite for eau de cologne ingredients – very volatile perfumes concentrated between 4-6% made of only top notes – along with its closely related neroli, citrus notes like bergamot, and aromatic ingredients such as rosemary and lavender.
A FINAL TOUR OF PETITGRAIN FRAGRANCES
- Ombre Indigo - 2014 - Olfactive Studio - Mylène Alran
- Do Son - Dyptique - 2013 - Fabrice Pellegrin
- Palermo - Byredo - 2010 - Jérôme Épinette
- Aqua Allegoria Bergamote Calabria - 2017 - Guerlain - Thierry Wasser & Delphine Jelk
- Escale à Portofino - 2007 - Dior - François Demachy
- Mugler Cologne - Thierry Mugler - 2001 - Alberto Morillas
Anna Grézaud-Tostain @therawmaterialist for Olfactive Studio
