Roasted, chocolate-adjacent, with a fermented-butyric undercurrent. Drier and less sweet than cocoa absolute. The isobutyric acid gives it a faintly cheesy, lactic quality underneath the roasted sweetness — like chocolate that has been aged or slightly fermented. Warmer and more leathery than pure chocolate notes.
The carob tree (Ceratoni a siliqu a) is a Mediterranean persistent whose pods produce a sweet, chocolate-like arom a when dried and roasted. The scent profile is driven by isobutyric acid (slightly cheesy-fermented), isoamyl alcohol, and various pyrazines (roasted, nutty). The combinati on creates something that approximates chocolate without being chocolate.
The tree is native to the eastern Mediterranean and has been cultivated for at least 4,000 years. It is the source of locust bean gum (a food thickener from the seed endosperm) and carob powder (from the dried pod flesh), used as a chocolate substitute.
The flowers of Ceratoni a siliqu a have their own particular scent — a spermatic, slightly unpleasant quality due to volatile amines — quite different from the pods. In perfumery, it is the roasted pod character that is referenced.
In perfumery, carob provides a gourm and note that sits between chocolate, roasted coffee, and leather. It is less sweet than vanill a, less bitter than pure coco a, and carries a particular fermented undertone that prevents it from reading as purely confectionery.
This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Albâtre Sépia. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
The word 'carat' — the unit of weight for gemstones — derives from carob: ancient Mediterranean jewelers used the notably uniform seeds of Ceratonia siliqua as balance weights. Each seed weighs approximately 200 milligrams.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Solvent extraction of roasted Ceratonia siliqua pods yields carob absolute — a dark, viscous extract. CO2 extraction produces a cleaner, more aromatic version. The pods must be dried and roasted before extraction to develop the characteristic chocolate-roasted pyrazines. Primary cultivation: Mediterranean basin (Spain, Italy, Portugal, Morocco, Cyprus).
Molecular Formula
Complex mixture (no single formula)
CAS Number
84961-45-5
Botanical Name
Ceratonia siliqua
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
St. John's bread, Carob
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Lasting Power
> 200 hours
Appearance
Pale yellow to dark amber liquid
In Perfumery
Carob provides a gourmand base note with chocolate-leather character. Useful in compositions needing cocoa-type warmth without synthetic chocolate accords. The fermented-butyric undertone adds complexity absent from cleaner chocolate materials. Works in gourmand ambers, tobacco-chocolate accords, and leather compositions seeking sweetness. Carob absolute exists but is uncommon — the note is more often reconstructed from pyrazines, isobutyric acid, and cocoa-adjacent materials.
