Kaffir lime leaf essential oil from Madagascar exudes radiance with a sparkling and uplifting aroma identical to its fresh leaves. If you are a fan of Thai cuisine adorned with the unique flavor and aroma of fresh kaffir lime leaves you will absolutely love this essential oil!
There are two types of essential oil made from citrus hystrix; one from the rind (peel) and the other from leaves. Kaffir lime leaf oil is concentrated with a distinguished aroma famous in Thai cooking that is a strong green slightly sweet citrus while the rind produces a tart citrus aroma, often called Thai Bergamot or Combava.
Kaffir Lime, Citrus hystrix, grows in several tropical locations such as Madagascar, Indonesia, and many SE Asian countries. Kaffir Lime leaves are considered the most aromatic, both in essential oil or use of the fragrant fresh leaves in Thai cuisine. Many other locations outside Thailand do not use fresh leaves and allow the leaves to dry before distilling. Perhaps this is why artisan distillers know that to produce the most fragrant aroma and retain a higher percentage of all volatile constituents results from distilling fresh Kaffir Lime leaves only.
The components in kaffir lime leaf essential oil are vastly different to that from the rind. The essential oil from fresh leaves contain a high amount of ß-citronellal while oil from the rind consists mainly of limonene and ß-pinene. It is believed the (–)-(S)-enantiomer in citronellal coupled with linalool, dominant in the leaves, is responsible for giving such a distinctive aroma.
Batch specific GC/MS analysis for this essential oil is available by clicking on the green tab above.