Grapefruit

Zesty, tart and slightly bitter, with a juicy, rosy freshness.

The grapefruit is a young fruit: it arose in the 18th century on Barbados as a chance cross between pomelo and orange. Today it is grown in Florida, Israel and South Africa, among other places.

The oil is cold-pressed from the peel. By volume it consists mainly of limonene – but the typical tart, bitter grapefruit character comes from tiny amounts of nootkatone and the sulphurous grapefruit mercaptan.

Grapefruit is the espresso among citrus notes: zesty, tart, with a slightly bitter, rosy freshness. In our range it sits in the top notes of 113 out of 114 fragrances – it wakes you up instantly and gives woody scents a modern sheen.

Citrus, tart and fresh with a bitter side.

Grapefruits ripen slowly on the tree; in the northern hemisphere they are harvested mainly from autumn to spring.

In our fragrances, it often appears alongside Bergamot, cedarwood, vanilla, sandalwood, lavender, lime, apple.

On Barbados in the 18th century, the new fruit was called the “forbidden fruit”. It got its English name because the fruits hang in clusters on the tree – like grapes.

• The grapefruit arose in the 18th century on Barbados as a chance cross between orange and pomelo – it was called the “forbidden fruit”.
• It owes its name to the way its fruits hang in clusters on the tree, like grapes.
• Grapefruit mercaptan is one of the most powerful odorants of all – the nose detects it in the tiniest traces.

Its key aroma compounds include nootkatone and the sulphurous “grapefruit mercaptan”.