You may have
already experienced the enticing aroma of Bergamot Essential Oil for
years without knowing it! Bergamot has been the heady fragrance in
"Earl Grey" tea, providing the spicy rich citrus overtones and scents
that tingle your senses and excite tastebuds.
The bergamot tree looks like so many other citrus trees, such as lemon,
lime, orange, and grapefruit, but the fruit most closely resembles an
orange or tangelo. The fruit is pear shaped, and the oil is pressed
when the fruit is green.
A Little
Bergamot History
Bergamot is said to have made its way to Spain from the Canary Islands
to Spain by the hand of Christopher Columbus.
No other place in the world grows or produces the high quality oils
that the trees grown in the province of
Calabria, Italy can provide.
The quality derives from a mixture of nearly perfect
climate and soil conditions.
Just as with fine grapes grown in regions of France and
California have an impact on the fragrance and bouquet of
wines, so it is bellieved that the influences of climate and
region impact the quality of the bergamot.
In Calabria, alluvial deposits of argillite and limestone
create a nutrient and mineral rich soil unrivaled for developing the
essences you have come to love and recognize as Bergamot.
These essences, or essential oils come from a huge volume of fruit that
eventually produce just a few ounces of the precious oil. It takes
roughly 100 of the Bergamot oranges to produce just three ounces of
essential oil, yet even back in 1848 more than 22,000 lbs. of
essence of bergamot ( Bergamot essential oil) was imported.
( source, _ THE COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OF THE VEGETABLE
KINGDOM,by P.L. SIMMONDS, in 1854)
How is Bergamot Oil Distilled
Bergamot essential oil is obtained by distillation or
pressure from the rind of the fragrant citron. Fortunately the
fragrance of Bergamot blends well with other oils to provide a
multitude of sensations in colognes and perfumes. By some estimates
(according to Wikipedia), about a third of all mens colognes and
perhaps half of all womens perfumes contain at least a small amount of
Bergamot essential oil.
You can purchase this incredible oil and add it to your favorite soaps
and lotions to create your own aromatherapy products or add it to a
diffuser to invigorate and energize your day. There is some evidence to
suggest that it may cause phototoxicity in some folks, so be careful to
avoid using products containing bergamot if you plan to be exposed to
the sun for any length of time within 24 hours of its use.
Buy Bergamot Oil
In 1857, a book was publisehed entitled,
The Art of Perfumery And Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants, by
G.W. SEPTIMUS PIESSE
in it he says of Bergamot...
"—This
most useful perfume is procured from the Citrus Bergamia, by expression
from the peel of the fruit. It has a soft sweet odor, too well known
to need description here. When new and good it has a
greenish-yellow tint,
but loses its greenness by age, especially if kept in imperfectly
corked bottles. It then becomes cloudy from the deposit of resinous
matter, produced by the contact of the air, and acquires a turpentine
smell.
It
is best preserved in well-stoppered bottles, kept in a cool cellar, and
in the dark; light, especially the direct sunshine, quickly
deteriorates its odor. This observation may be applied, indeed, to all
perfumes, except rose, which is not so spoiled.
When
bergamot is mixed with other essential oils it greatly adds to their
richness, and gives a sweetness to spice oils attainable by no other
means, and such compounds are much used in the most highly scented
soaps. Mixed with rectified spirit in the proportions of about four
ounces of bergamot to a gallon, it forms what is called "extract of
bergamot," and in this state is used for the handkerchief. Though well
covered with extract of orris and other matters, it is the leading
ingredient in Bayley and Blew's Ess. Bouquet (see Bouquets)."
Need a larger
amount for soapmaking or other uses?

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Tea Tree
Wonders also offers
Bergamot Essential Oil in larger sizes,
beginning at 1 ounce, 4 ounces, and 16 ounces,
In
aromatherapy, bergamot is considered useful for depression and mental
alertness, it offers
balancing,
cooling, refreshing, stimulating and uplifting properties that are
welcome in any stress-filled life.
Bergamot is useful for oily skin and other skin conditions.
The
scent is fruity, sweet, and rich. Imported from Italy, it comes
from the variety,
Citrus
bergamia "Risso et Poteau"
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It's easy to
see why Bergamot Essential Oil is so popular....In fact,
as I write this my wife is brewing herself a cup of Earl Grey tea right
now!....