The hespidaceae family consists of citrus fruits. It is the first olfactory family to emerge. Its name comes from Greek mythology, where nymphs (called Hespérides) watched over the highly coveted trees with golden apples (or oranges), giving immortality.
These fruits are very rich; you can use their zest, juice, skin or pulp.
Lemon offers a tangy, fresh and dynamic appearance. Lemon has a note called «top note,» because it takes on greater prominence when combined with other components.
Bergamot is more complex than lemon. Its scent is incomparable and elegant. It is often referred to as the «finest flower» of the family of the citrus family. Bergamot is sweet and floral with bitter notes.
Among all the varieties of oranges, perfumery focuses primarily on the bigarade orange or the sweet orange. The bigarade orange, native to Italy and Tunisia, is very bitter with a scent derived from its skin. The sweet orange, on the other hand, is native to China and its scent is identical to that of the orange juice we enjoy in the morning.
The grapefruit is a hybrid citrus fruit, resulting from a cross between the sweet orange and the pomelo. Its aroma is sweet and tonic, but also bitter and fresh. It is often associated with vetiver with woody notes, as well as with fruity notes such as cassis, for example.
The mandarin has a rather bitter scent due to its skin, while being sunny. The scent of the mandarin can be compared to that of another citrus fruit, the lemon, which is a mandarin, but without the seeds and more acidic!
The family of the heather family also includes other citrus fruits such as lemon, yuzu and grapefruit.
