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Mouthwatering Osmanthus

Osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) flowers are used to produce osmanthus-scented jam (called guì huā jiàng). 
An incredibly unique, fruity floral, with notes of milky apricot and ripe plums. It has a beautiful soft and leather-like dry down. Because of it's natural white floral aspect it goes particularly well other white florals such as orange blossom, jasmine, and gardenia.

It takes 3,000 kilos of flowers to make one kilo of concrete and therefore Osmanthus absolute is very expensive, around $4,000 per kilo. I have 2 types in my possession, both of which are from China. Traditionally it is favoured as a flower symbolizing love and romance. There is an ancient legend involving Osmanthus, a giant and the moon, it goes like this: A giant named Wu Gang committed a serious mistake out of jealousy and was sentenced to the moon by the Jade Emperor. His task was to find the Palace of Guanghangong and chop down the huge Osmanthus tree that was growing there. However the Osmanthus tree was immortal and no sooner had he cut it down than it grew back. The secret of the trees immortality was a jade rabbit who lived under it's roots. Using a mortar and pestle the rabbit created the elixir of immortality and he fed this to the tree on a daily basis.

Because it is rich in carotene's, Osmanthus makes a wonderful addition to soaps, skin creams and massage oils. It has rejuvenating and renewing properties. The flowers can be infused in oil or the absolute can be used sparingly. Used internally Osmanthus has many health benefits. It calms and detoxes the liver and helps prevent body odor and bad breath. When used in tea it is a very good thirst quencher and relieves gas and improves digestion.

In his book Perfume and Flavor Materials of Natural Origin, Steffen Arctander admits to having no experience using it and so he offers no insight on its notes or its use in perfumery. He mentions that it is used in China to perfume tea and that Osmanthus belongs to the same family as Olive, Jasmine and Lilac.


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