- Latin name
- Citrus tangerina (Citrus reticulata)
- Family
- Rue family (Rutaceae)
- Origin
- USA (Florida), Brazil, China
- Parts used
- fruit peel
- Raw materials
- essential oil
- Extraction
- cold pressing of the peel
- Olfactory group
- citrus
- Position in the pyramid
- top note
- Synthetic substitutes
- limonene, aldehydes, mandarin bases
The tangerine is a close relative of the mandarin with bright-orange, almost reddish skin that peels easily. It takes its name from the Moroccan port of Tangier, from which such fruit was once shipped to Europe.
How it smells: juicy, bright and slightly tart: fresh zest, a tang, a light orange shade. Tangerine sounds sharper and more orange-like than mandarin, without its floral softness.
Tangerine oil is poorer in the molecule that gives mandarin its characteristic floral, grape-like shade. So tangerine sounds simpler, more direct and livelier — like fresh juice rather than a Christmas sweet.
What it pairs with: with grapefruit and lemon — energetic citrus openings, with ginger and pepper — spicy freshness, with orange blossom — sunny compositions, with vanilla — a “citrus dessert”, with musk — light summer fragrances.
Good to know: botanists still debate whether the tangerine is a separate species or just a variety of mandarin: the names are used differently in different countries.
