Fraterworks: Tolu balsam is a wonderful fixative and adds a valuable richness and complexity to tuberose and hyacinth bases (amongst others). it was far more frequently used in the golden age than today though some wonderful modern fragrances fully exploit the beautiful resin, particularly chypre palatin by bertrand duchafour for mdci parfums.
Tolu balsam has a sweet fruity and cinnamic profile, quite similar to peru balsam which comes from the same tree (though a different variety, namely myroxylon balsamum pereirae).
Crude tolu balsam (exuded from cuts made in the bark of the myroxylon balsamum var. balsamum tree) is washed in solvent to produce a resinoid free of much of the non-odiferous matter. this practically rock hard resinoid is then blended by us with natural triethyl citrate (an odourless isolate of citrus oil) to produce an easy to use solution — classically this would be referred to as dissolution de tolu. because we employ natural TEC, this can be used freely in fragrances or products needing to meet the ISO standards for natural products.
Tolu balsam products can be very confusing in name, largely because there are multiple products sharing common names.
Benzene (or other non-alcoholic solvent) extractions of the crude tolu produce tolu balsam resinoid (or just tolu resinoid) - this product. further alcohol extraction would then product tolu absolute. however, some companies produce a so-called "absolute" by direct ethanol extraction of the crude balsam rather than the resinoid which should be called "resin absolute". here is a clearer description — square brackets indicate optional terms:
Crude balsam → steam distillation → tolu [balsam] essential oil
Crude balsam → non-ethanol natural solvent extraction → tolu [balsam] resinoid (this product)
Crude balsam → hot ethanol extraction → tolu resin absolute, or sometimes (wrongly) tolu [balsam] absolute
Tolu balsam resinoid → alcohol extraction → tolu [balsam] absolute
We can supply raw tolu gum (prohibited for perfume use) and tolu balsam resinoid pure (for fragrances and cosmetics) if needed, contact us for details and pricing.
French name: dissolution de tolu
Origin: colombia
Variety: myroxylon balsamum
Part: exudate from tree bark
Method of production: solvent extraction in grasse, france