Smoke Tree Essential Oil Bulgaria

When pink clouds appear floating on the dark purple leafed smoke tree, I know spring is a saucer magnolia blossom away. The thin pink strand pulls like a plant bungee cord, springing back to its fleshy house much how fresh usnea does in the fall. It grows here in Northern California, framing parks and other tree scapes and for years, I have crushed the fresh leaves promising to to work with a plant that has such an unusual yet unforgettable aroma. The benefits of the oil are well known to European aromatherapists but surprisingly are not used much by perfumers. Smoke tree has a long history within the fabric of Bulgarian folk medicine as well. While the tree grows in North America, its oil production and remedies have not followed so much. Occasionally, smoke tree is called sumac but I prefer to call it Cotinus or smoke tree as it is in the same family as pistachios and cashews whereas sumac is not.

The profile of smoke tree is intriguing. When I close my eyes, I imagine maidenhair fern meets western red cedarwood meets the first blush of spring artemisia. It’s a top note and bounces from the scent strip within 30 minutes but tucked in a composition of heavy base notes, I think this adds a ballsy element to the aroma profile reminding me of a good CO2 extraction of galbanum, or at least the one in my collection. This spring, I’ll be distilling those purple leaves and pink tufts but until then, this distillation from our distiller in Bulgaria is as good as anything I can produce.