Why can't jasmine be steam distilled?

The flower's aromatic molecules are largely destroyed by the heat and, being water-soluble in significant part, are lost to the distillation water. What survives is not recognisable as jasmine. Solvent extraction operates at low temperature and recovers the heavier indolic and benzoate material that gives jasmine its character.

pitsjegam-mulla, Rheede, Hortus Malabaricus, vol. 6:91, tab. 52 Catalonian jasmine or Spanish jasmine (Jasminum grandiflorum L.): branch with flowers. Coloured line engraving.

Iconographic Collection — Reference photograph of the material, not of a specific lot. Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0 · 8 photographs

SKU: JASMINE-ABS-001
Material: Absolute
Origin: India
Extraction: Solvent extraction
Plant part: Flower
Lots held: 1

Jasmine AbsoluteSample data

Jasmine Grandiflorum Absolute

Jasminum grandiflorum(Oleaceae)

AvailableIndia3.1 kg unreserved

GC-MS AvailableCOA AvailableOrigin VerifiedTraceableSample AvailableBulk AvailableSeasonal

Solvent-extracted Jasminum grandiflorum — warm, fruity-floral and richly indolic.

100 g

$940.00

$9.40 / g

MOQ

10 g

Pack size

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Volume pricing

Quantity	Per g
1–100 g	$10.50
100+ g	$9.40

Jasmine grandiflorum absolute, produced by solvent extraction to concrete and alcohol washing to absolute. Jasmine cannot be steam distilled to a usable material; the flower's volatiles are destroyed by the heat, which is why extraction is the only route.

Grandiflorum is the warmer, fruitier, more apricot-inflected of the two commercial jasmines, with a pronounced indolic depth. Sambac by comparison is greener, sharper and more tea-like.

Flowers are picked before dawn and extracted within hours; volatile content falls steeply once the flower is cut.

Declared origin: India
Additional origins: Egypt
Harvest season: Late summer to autumn
Harvest year: 2025
Traceability: Not recorded

Lots

IND-JAS-2025-008Origin verified

Available

Origin: India
Harvest: 2025
Available: 3,100 g
Testing: Completed

Trace this lot

Harvest / collectionHarvest · 10 May 2025
Raw material collected at declared origin during the 2025 season.
Solvent extractionProcessing · 11 Jun 2025
Solvent extraction carried out at origin. Batch identified as IND-JAS-2025-008.
Intake and identificationIntake · 12 Jul 2025
Batch received, weighed and assigned a lot reference against the supplier declaration.
Analytical testing completedTesting · 13 Jul 2025
Analysis completed for this lot. Reports are released per the documentation panel.
Origin declaration verifiedDocumentation · 14 Aug 2025
Supplier origin declaration checked against shipping and batch documentation.

Supplier and producer identity is held internally and is not published. Disclosure to a buyer of record is handled case by case.

Warm, fruity-floral and richly indolic, with apricot and hay facets over a waxy, animalic base. Very tenacious and high impact.

Floral96

Indolic88

Fruity70

Apricot64

Animalic58

Waxy52

Honeyed48

Relative prominence of each descriptor, recorded on evaluation. Indicative only; not an analytical measurement.

Botanical name: Jasminum grandiflorum
Botanical family: Oleaceae
Common name: Not recorded
Material type: Absolute
Plant part: Flower
Extraction method: Solvent extraction
Extraction technology: Hexane extraction to concrete, then ethanol washing to absolute
Colour: Dark orange-brown
Appearance: Viscous liquid
INCI name: Jasminum Grandiflorum Flower Extract
CAS number: 84776-64-7
EINECS: 283-993-5
HS code: 3301.29
CITES status: Not CITES-listed
REACH: Not recorded
Shelf life: 60 months
Storage: Store in full, sealed amber glass between 4 and 15 °C. Absolutes may thicken or partially crystallise when cold; warm gently to homogenise before use.
Allergens: Contains benzyl benzoate, benzyl alcohol, linalool, farnesol, eugenol and isoeugenol among declarable allergens.
Regulatory notes: Not recorded

Natural materials vary by harvest, season and lot. Specifications describe the referenced lot and are not a guarantee for future batches.

Fine Fragrance

Alcoholic fine fragrance, extrait and eau de parfum formulation.

Cosmetics & Skincare

Leave-on and rinse-off cosmetic formulation.

Attar Production

Traditional attar and mukhallat compounding.

4 documents on file · 1 available on request

AllergenAllergen Declaration
Documentation available upon request
COACertificate of Analysis — IND-JAS-2025-008
Documentation available upon request
GC-MSGC-MS Report — IND-JAS-2025-008
Documentation available upon request
IFRAIFRA Conformity Certificate
Documentation available upon request
SDSSafety Data Sheet
Documentation available upon request

Documentation is issued per lot where it exists. Where a document is listed as available on request, it has not yet been published to this catalogue. Sign in to access documents released to account holders.

No sustainability information has been recorded for this material. We do not publish a general claim in its place.

Packaging options

10 g
100 g
500 g
1 kg

Shipping eligibility is subject to destination-country regulations. Transit estimates are shown only where a configured shipping lane provides them.

Why can't jasmine be steam distilled?: The flower's aromatic molecules are largely destroyed by the heat and, being water-soluble in significant part, are lost to the distillation water. What survives is not recognisable as jasmine. Solvent extraction operates at low temperature and recovers the heavier indolic and benzoate material that gives jasmine its character.

Reference photographs

Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0
George E. Koronaios, CC BY-SA 2.0
Swallowtail Garden Seeds from Santa Rosa, California, United States, Public domain
Megustanlasframbuesas, CC BY-SA 4.0
Juan Carlos Fonseca Mata, CC BY-SA 4.0
Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0
Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0
Bhavana Jain, CC BY-SA 4.0