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Evaluating Exercise ~ Black Peppers and One Pink


Pink pepper oil; Shinus molle, is an oil that is steam distilled from the fruits of a tree called the Californian pepper tree or the peruvian pepper tree. The tree grows wild in many tropical regions. The fruit was first distilled for use in the perfumery trade when there was a scarcity of black pepper oil and it was used as a substitute.
It is described by Steffan Arctander in his book Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin on page 583 as "...whose odor is fresh, woody-peppery, warm-spicy with a somewhat sharp or dry, smoky woody undertone."

Black pepper oil; Piper nigrum, is a steam distilled oil from the fruits of the black pepper vine. The vine, piper nigrum, grows wild in parts of India. Most of the fruits from the peppercorn vine are used in the food industry and only a small fraction is actually distilled for the perfumery trade. Steffan Arctander in his book Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin on page 516 and 517 describes black pepper as "surprisingly flat, somewhat dry-woody."

Another note he also makes is that "The effect in a rose base is particularly interesting".

I evaluated one sample of pink peppercorn; Shinus molle oil and 4 types of black pepper Piper nigrum oil. Here are the results of my evaluation.

Pink Pepper; Shinus molle
Steam distilled fruit
Eden Botanicals
16:05 Hot-firey, sweet & juicy, spicy with fruity undertones.
16:06 Spicy, hot, sweet but more dry.
16:34 Dry with a surprising slightly floral musky smell
16:40 Musky, dry-warm, spice
17:03 Smooth-spicy, dry

Super Black Pepper oil; Piper nigrum
Origin: India
 Steam distilled fruit
Essential Oil University
10:10 Dark, rooty, earthy, dry, hot spicy, muddy, bitter.
10:11 Spicy rooty, dry, bitter, musty.
16:35 Dry, rooty, earthy, bitter.
16:41 Dry, bitter, earthy, musty.
17:04 Bitter, earthy, musty, dry.

Black Pepper; Piper nigrum
Steam distilled fruit
Aftelier
16:13 Dry, hot, smoother than the others, milder, spicy.
16:22 Dry, smooth, spicy, woody.
16:36 Dry, spicy, slight, floral, woody, spice.
16:42 Musky, faint, woody, spice.
17:05 Faint, spice, dry.

Organic black pepper; Piper nigrum
Steam distilled fruit
Mountain Rose Herbs
16:24 Hot, licorice, spicy, sweeter, rooty.
16:27 Smooth hot spicy, rooty woody.
16:37 Licorice note still pronounced but dry and rooty overall.
16:43 Woody, mild-licorice, dry spice.
17:06 Dry, mild-licorice, spice.

Black Pepper, Piper nigrum
 Steam distilled fruit
ID Aromatics
16:28 Rich, juicy, hot, spicy, sweet, smooth, menthol undertones.
16:30 Fruity, spicy, smooth, sweet, hot.
16:38 Fruity, smooth, hot-spice.
16:45 Fruity ,smooth, spice.
16:07 Fruity, dry, spicy.

Summary: This exercise shows that there are many variances in different black pepper essential oils purchased from different companies. Only one of the oils state the country of origin on the label. The Aftelier oil fitted most closely with Artanders description. The oil from Essential Oil University was the least pleasant of them all. The most unusual one was the one from Mountain Rose Herbs, it had such a pronounced licorice note. The most pleasant dry-out notes came from the Eden Botanicals sample, it had a surprising musky dry odor.

Sources: Steffan Arctanders Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin
ISBN 0-931710-36-7 Allured Publishing Corporation
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