- Latin name
- Theobroma cacao
- Family
- Mallow family (Malvaceae)
- Origin
- an accord composed by the perfumer; natural basis — cocoa absolute
- Parts used
- fermented and roasted cocoa beans
- Raw materials
- cocoa absolute, gourmand accords
- Extraction
- extraction; the accord — synthesis
- Olfactory group
- gourmand
- Position in the pyramid
- heart and base
- Synthetic substitutes
- pyrazines (roasted notes), vanillin, ethyl maltol
Chocolate in perfumery is a gourmand note combining bitter cocoa, sweetness and creamy softness. Cocoa absolute is the basis, and the perfumer “finishes” it into chocolate with sugary, vanilla and milky notes.
How it smells: warm, dense and sweet: roasted cocoa, vanilla, caramel and a faintly bitter depth. Dark chocolate sounds drier and more bitter, milk chocolate softer and creamier. Chocolate makes a fragrance cosy, edible and sensual.
The chocolate smell arises only when cocoa beans are fermented and roasted: fresh beans barely smell. It is the “roasted” molecules — pyrazines — that give chocolate, coffee and bread crust their familiar warmth.
What it pairs with: with patchouli — the classic chocolate chypre, with vanilla and tonka — dessert fragrances, with rose — “rose in chocolate”, with orange — “chocolate orange”, with chilli and cinnamon — spiced chocolate.
Good to know: the Aztecs drank cocoa bitter, with chilli, and sweet chocolate appeared only in Europe, when sugar began to be added to the drink.
