- Origin
- first isolated from tonka beans (1820), synthesised in 1868
- Raw materials
- coumarin
- Extraction
- synthesis
- Olfactory group
- amber, gourmand (hay-like)
- Position in the pyramid
- heart and base
- Synthetic substitutes
- tonka bean absolute, vanillin
Coumarin is a natural molecule that gives the main scent to tonka beans, freshly cut hay and sweet clover. In 1868 it was one of the first to be synthesised in the laboratory, and that changed the history of perfumery.
How it smells: warm, sweet and hay-like: fresh hay, almond, vanilla, a light tobacco shade. Coumarin sounds soft and cosy, like a summer evening by a haystack.
In 1882 a fragrance appeared that combined coumarin with lavender and moss. It gave its name to a whole family — the fougère (“fern”) — which still underlies many masculine fragrances today.
What it pairs with: with lavender — the classic fougère, with vanilla — a warm gourmand base, with tobacco — “dry leaves”, with almond — soft sweetness, with woods — a warm masculine base.
Good to know: the smell of hay comes precisely from coumarin: while the plant is alive it is “hidden” in a bound form and is released as cut grass wilts and dries.
