A member of the Rutaceae family originating either in Northern Italy or the Canary Islands,[5] the Citrus aurantium var. bergamia tree produces small, somewhat bitter, round, knobby fruits, the peels of which are pressed for their aromatic oil. Trees were later cultivated in the Calabria region of southern Italy which now produces about 90% of the world’s supply of Bergamot oil. And although our bergamot is conventionally cultivated, it is unsprayed.

For many citrus fruits, the peel is expressed (or distilled) for the oil while the pulp is later extracted for the juice – added value and minimum waste being two good reasons for the oil and juice businesses to co-exist. In fact, most of the time, it is the same producer that extracts both the oil and the juice. With Bergamot essential oil, the situation is somewhat different. In more recent years, the food industry’s demand for whole fruit has been increasing, a phenomenon that has made it more difficult for essential oil producers to find the raw material, resulting in higher prices. The extraction of all our Bergamot essential oils is the primary business for our producers with citrus juice being a by-product.[6]

Citrus peel oils, like the coniferous needle oils, are predominantly composed of the highly volatile monoterpenes limonene and pinene – the perfect top note molecules perfumers commonly rely on. However, Bergamot oil is the only citrus peel oil with the distinction of containing up to 30% of the fruity-woody-floral ester linalyl acetate - a valuable antioxidant also found in Lavender. Renowned aromatherapist Patricia Davis states: “The fragrance is equally acceptable to men and women, and it blends with almost any flower oil, giving it considerable versatility.[7] Bergamot oil has a wide spectrum of applications in addition to being greatly valued for its calming and balancing properties – its fresh, sweet, citrus aroma is very pleasing and especially uplifting to the spirit.

Our Bergamot essential oil is photosensitizing; we recommend that it be highly diluted when applied to the skin, or that one of our Bergamot FCF essential oils be used instead. FCF (furanocoumarin-free) is an acronym used to indicate that the chemical constituent(s) responsible for extreme sensitization of the skin to sunlight has been removed[8]; in the case of Bergamot oil, the specific furanocoumarin is bergapten.[9]