Citrusy, numbing, grapefruit-electric. Timur pepper (Zanthoxylum armatum) creates a buzzing, almost electric sensation — more tingly than hot, with a bright citrus-terpenoid scent.
Bright, grapefruit-citrus, with a buzzing electric quality. The sanshool compound is not perceived as heat (unlike capsaicin) but as a tingling, almost vibratory sensation. Aromatic profile: grapefruit-forward (perillaldehyde, limonene), with a clean linalool florality underneath. Like biting into a pink grapefruit while your lips go pleasantly numb.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Bright grapefruit-citrus, electric tingle, linalool lift
After a few hours
After a few hours
Softer citrus, less electric, warm spice emerges
After a few days
After a few days
Faint warm citrus-spice residue, gentle
Terroir & Chemotypes
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Timur pepper (Zanthoxylum armatum), also known as Nepali pepper or Timut pepper, is a close relative of Sichuan pepper (Z. bungeanum). Native to the Himalayan foothills of Nepal, northern India, and Bhutan, its particular character comes from hydroxy-alpha-sanshool (the molecule responsible for the numbing, tingling sensation) and a volatile profile dominated by linalool and limonene.
The aroma is strikingly citrusy — specifically grapefruit-like — due to the presence of perillaldehyde and limonene at levels unusual for a pepper. This grapefruit brightness distinguishes timur from Sichuan pepper (which is more woody-citrus) and from black pepper (which is terpenic-piperine).
Timur is traditionally harvested from wild trees in Nepal's mid-hill regions (1,000-2,500 meters elevation). It is a key ingredient in Nepali cuisine and traditional medicine. Commercial cultivation is expanding.
In perfumery, timur provides a unique citrus-spice note with a tingling, electric quality. It occupies novel territory between citrus and spice — neither fully one nor the other.
This note in Première Peau. Insuline Safrine · Gravitas Capitale. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
The numbing sensation from timur pepper (hydroxy-alpha-sanshool) works by activating mechanoreceptors in the lips and tongue at a specific frequency — approximately 50 Hz — which is why it feels like a vibration rather than heat or pain.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Steam distillation of dried Zanthoxylum armatum fruits (pericarp). Yield approximately 2-4% essential oil. CO2 extraction preserves more of the delicate citrus-floral volatiles. Wild-harvested in Nepal (1,000-2,500m elevation) and increasingly from plantation cultivation. The essential oil is distinct from Sichuan pepper oil in its higher linalool and perillaldehyde content.
N/A — no standard CAS for Zanthoxylum armatum essential oil
Botanical Name
Zanthoxylum armatum
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
NEPALESE PEPPER · SICHUAN PEPPER · PRICKLY ASH
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
High
Appearance
Yellow to amber liquid
Flash Point
> 150.00 °F. TCC ( > 65.56 °C. ) (est)
Specific Gravity
0.86000 to 0.90000 @ 25.00 °C. (est)
In Perfumery
Timur pepper (Zanthoxylum armatum) provides a citrus-electric top note unlike any other spice. Linalool and limonene dominance gives it grapefruit brightness; perillaldehyde adds citrus specificity. The sanshool tingling is a trigeminal (tactile) effect, not an olfactory one, but informs the conceptual use. Functions in citrus-spice accords, modern masculines, and compositions seeking electric freshness.
