Jasmine Jasmine (Egypt)

Why Egypt?

The warm, temperate climate of Egypt produces a fragrant jasmine flower.

The Harvesting and Distillation Process

With a lifespan of nearly 30 years, jasmine has dark green foliage and delicate white flowers. Jasmine flowers bloom before the sun rises. To ensure the highest-quality aromatic compounds, it’s essential to pick the flower and extract the essential oil immediately after the jasmine plant blooms. Blossoms are carefully harvested by hand before dawn (usually around 2:30 a.m.) about six months after planting to prevent the sun’s heat from melting the flower’s wax and killing the blossom.

Harvesters—mostly women—are assigned a certain number of plants to pick each day. The harvest season starts in September and can last until May.

doTERRA Source to You: Sourcing Jasmine Essential Oil

The jasmine flower is so delicate that extraction of volatiles has only been possible via traditional hexane (or other solvent) extraction methods, which produce jasmine concrete and absolute. Now, through decades of research and effort, our partner has successfully steam-distilled jasmine flowers on a commercial scale. True Jasmine essential is now available for the first time in history.

Harvesting jasmine remains a primary source of income in certain parts of Egypt. Many women wait all year for the harvest so they can pay off debts accumulated throughout the year.

Impact Stories: Creating and Sustaining Jobs

Hele, a jasmine harvester in Egypt, has harvested the blossoms for over a decade. She’s found economic security and social connections on the farm where she works. A large percentage of the annual jasmine harvest in Egypt—including Hele’s pickings—is used to create fine fragrance products.

However, when the global pandemic began in 2020, reduced demand put the jasmine harvest in jeopardy, with 5,000 jobs being threatened. In many cases, women harvesters provide a substantial portion of a household’s income. doTERRA supported Hele and harvesters like her by purchasing this brand-new Jasmine essential oil during the pandemic.

The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation® also supported our sourcing partner’s effort to provide extra work for women during this time of economic hardship by funding sewing materials to produce masks for both local and doTERRA communities.