Mastic Absolute

Latin name :

Pistacia lentiscus

Botanical profile :

The pistachio lentiscus, or mastic tree, is a shrub of the Anacardiaceae family and the genus Pistacia.

Geographic origin :

Native to the countries bordering the Mediterranean sea (Greece, Turkey, Armenia), pistachio lentiscus is still produced today on the Mediterranean coasts, particularly in Corsica and Morocco.

Chemotypes :

There are several other pistachio trees belonging to the genus Pistacia, although, they are not used for their secretion of mastic.
Pistacia terebinthus, at the origin of the first known turpentine, called ''of Chio '' and used for its leafy branches, which do not secrete any resin.
A variety of Pistacia lentiscus called Chios is only produced on the island of Chios, in Greece. This variety is known for the exudation of the Chios resin by the trunk and branches, commonly used for centuries in Greece.

Extraction process :

The pistachio tree destined to perfumery is grown under organic conditions, guaranteed by local governments (Morocco in particular).
The cultivation takes place between the months of June and September, when the essential oil secretion of the tree is at its best. During the rest of the year, it resists the coldness of winter.
The tree exudes a resin called mastic that partially covers the branches and the leaves and has an olfactory interest. The branches are cut and crushed, disposed on grids to be directly extracted in an extraction tank filled with hexane. Once the extraction is done, the branches are removed and the hexane is evaporated and recycled. The resulting paste is mastic concrete. After filtrating the concrete waxes and evaporating the alcohol, a dilution of this paste in alcohol, followed by a glazing process (temperature gradient from 140 °F to 32 °F) allows to obtain the pistachio mastic absolute.

Major Components :

Alpha-Pinene (7-20%)
Myrcene (4-15%)
Sabinene (2-15%)
Muurolene
Terpinen-4-ol