Champaca Absolute

#### Champaca Absolute. **Champaca**** ****Absolute**** **is obtained by extraction of the beautiful deep-yellow flowers of **Michelia**** ****Champaca**, a medium-sized slender tree, related to the magnolias. The tree is a native of the Philippines and the Indonesian islands, but, similarly to ylang-ylang, has been brought along by the Melanesian people to places far west of its origin. Apart from its native area, the champaca tree grows in the Ganjam and South Orissa districts of India, in southeastern China, in Réunion and on the tiny island of Nossi-Bé off the northwest coast of Madagascar. Practically all of the **Champaca Concrète **which reaches European and American perfume houses to-day is produced in Nossi-Bé. In Réunion, the trees are no longer exploited, but they decorate the sinuous highways and mountain roads. In India and Indonesia, partly in the Philippines, the flowers are treated differently for local use: the mature flowers are extracted with vegetable (fixed) oil, and the perfumed oil is used as an "attar" in floral bouquets in the local perfume industry. Recently, the production of petroleum ether extracted concrète and an alcohol soluble absolute has been investigated by the Forest Research Institute in India. It is conceivable, that **Champaca**** ****Concrète**** **will be regularly produced in India, at least for local use. In China, the rapidly growing perfume industry has already started exporting the **Champaca**** ****Concrète **produced in that country. The author has had a few chances to study the Chinese product and he is inclined to believe that it is derived from the flowers of **Michelia Alba**, not from the "true" **Michelia Champaca**. The chinese growers also produce an essential oil from the leaves of this tree. The so-called **Michelia Leaf Oil **is a pale yellow to pale olive yellow or greenish yellow liquid. Its odor is sweet oily-grassy, reminiscent of perilla oil but less pungent, more delicate. The odor also reminds of the fragrance of freshly cut stems or leaves of tulips. After this interesting fresh-grassy topnote the odor changes into a delicately sweet, tea-like or hay-like fragrance with an undertone of sage clary and rose leaf absolute. Indeed an interesting oil. The total world production of **Champaca**** ****Flower**** ****Concrète**** **is thus somewhat variable and difficult to estimate, but probably runs about 100 to 200 kilos per year. **Champaca**** ****Concrète**** **is a dark yellow to orange- brown, solid, waxy mass of delightfully sweet and delicately floral fragrance. An **Absolute of Champaca **is produced by the usual method (see **Absolute**, Part One of this book). The absolute is produced in France. It is a dark yellow or a brownish-orange colored, somewhat viscous liquid. Its odor is quite unique: delicately dry-floral, at the same time reminding one of orange flowers, ylang-ylang, carnation and tearose. There are notes which resemble those of sage clary, methyl eugenol and "the good old type" of guaiacwood oil. But since guaiacwood oil has been used as an adulterant, or, more frequently to produce the so-called "**Champaca Wood Oil", **it might be confusing to use guaiac wood oil as an odor comparison. Being produced right in the areas where ylang-ylang is cultivated, it is not surprising to find that champaca is often "cut" with this material, e.g. by co-extraction of the two kinds of flowers. But a true **Champaca Concrète **is produced (in Nossi-Bé), and its odor is distinctly different from that of ylang-ylang concrète. The latter is a liquid while champaca concrète is a solid waxy substance. An essential oil is not produced. The constituents of the fragrance would not be justly represented in a steam distilled oil. Besides, phenyl ethyl alcohol is an important constituent in **Champaca Concrète **and this alcohol would not be found in the distilled oil at the same percentage. Phenyl ethyl alcohol is comparatively soluble in water and the loss of this material would be quite significant. **Champaca Absolute **is used in certain high-class perfumes where it may produce a unique, warm, floral-leafy note which is often compared to that of a fine grade of tea. The absolute blends excellently with lily-of-the-valley bases, carnation, rose, violet, etc., and it is almost generally applicable in this respect. However, its effect is not perceptible unless the absolute is skillfully backed up with rich, but weak-smelling blenders and modifiers. Sandalwood oil is an excellent fixative for the champaca fragrance, and so is isoeugenol, benzylsalicylate, etc. It is most unfortunate that there are so many poor champaca-reproductions on the market, and it is even more regrettable that the name champaca absolute is unscrupulously applied to such products. This fact has greatly impaired the interest in champaca absolute which seems to remain a very scarce and rare perfume material through several generations.