Tonka bean CO2 extract
Origin: Brazil

• Details and product description

  Introduction:

  Tonka beans are from the tree Dipteryx odorata which grows wild in northern South America. They are famous for their woody, balsamic, almond and vanilla notes. Indeed, they contain coumarin, a fermented substance that has a vanilla like aroma. The seed is black and wrinkled in appearance, with a smooth brown interior. It is known mostly for its sweet and aromatic fragrance. Tonka is a tropical tree native to the Amazonian forests (Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana) with a height of 20 meters and a trunk 50 to 70 cm in diameter. The tree has large elliptical leaves and purple flowers that grow in clusters. The flowers give a brownish black fruit, which contains the bean called “Tonka” that is three to five centimeters long. The processed bean, has a long wrinkle which often contains white crystals of pure coumarin. Its wood is very dense and is used for construction, flooring and ship building. It resists fungus and borer insects. The tonka bean is used in foods (in herb tea or in pastry, among other things), perfumery, cosmetics and even in some weight loss products.

  History:

  This tree is native to South America (Venezuela, Guyana, northern Brazil and Paraguay). The Dutch were the first to use the tonka bean, producing “Tarkin butter,” which they used as an anti-moth.The word “tonka” comes from the language Galibi of the native people of Guyana. The bean’s botanical name refers to wo of the bean’s characteristics: its shape which recalls “two wings” (dipteryx) and its strong odor (odorata). In Brazil, the Tupi Indians called this tree “kumaru” which accounts for the word “coumarin.” In Panama, it is called amendro (almond tree), while in Columbia, it is called “yapo” or “tonga.” The Cunas people called the tree “igua.” They attributed magical properties to it and formally prohibited gathering the beans. The beans were also traditionally used by the Wayapi and Palikur peoples of Haiti. In Surinam, they gave its name to an island, Tonka Island, where the tonka grew exponentially. In the United States, African Americans called the fruits “mojo beans,” “wishing beans” or “love wishing beans” because respectively the beans were used to make matches called mojos, and also thought to bring luck and good fortune especially in love. In the past, it was added to tobacco due to its strong and characteristic scent, described as vanilla or cut hay by some or as a relative of musk by others. This use in tobacco in France and in food products in the United States is now forbidden. The tonka bean has the capacity to round out fragrances without making them heavy. it provides sweetness, a lovely natural effect in a composition and a powdery note. Tonka beans are a secret ingredient in Guerlinade by Guerlain. Coumarin was isolated from the tonka bean in 1820. It is found in the plant in the form of coumaric acid glucoside that does not have any smell but that transforms in sunlight into aromatic white coumarin flakes. It was synthesized in 1868 by the chemist William Perkin. Very quickly, the scent of cut hay caught the attention of perfumers and, in 1882, Paul Parquet created the famous Fougère Royale by Houbigant, thereby opening the door to the fougère family of perfumes, which some years later, in 1889, would be followed with Jicky by Aimé Guerlain.

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