We Recorded Ida Mountains On-site

As the main sponsor of Parfüm Rotaları's Terroir: İda retreat, curated by the physician and perfume historian Dr. Rana Babaç Çelebi, we took headspace sampling out of the laboratory and carried it into the natural flora of the region. This was the first time the method has been applied in a living environment in Turkey. The work was led by Aydın Alemdar, our Senior Manager of Synthesis and Naturals Laboratory.

The method asks for a great deal of patience. A glass dome is placed over the living plant, and a controlled, non reactive atmosphere is formed beneath it. Over several hours the scent molecules the plant releases gather inside that space and are collected on a dedicated adsorbent cartridge, which is later analysed to establish the natural scent profile of the plant. When the work is finished, nature is left exactly as it was and carries on with its own rhythm. What travels to the laboratory is the olfactive memory of that moment, at the closest possible likeness.

The cartridge is opened in our laboratories, and GC-MS analysis gives us the list of the compounds the plant was releasing into the air while alive. Molecules that the timing of the harvest never manages to catch in traditional extraction processes appear on that list. The olfactive evaluation of the endemic plants of the region was carried out by our perfumer Koray Sevinç.



To understand the scent nature offers in its truest and purest form, the research has to take place in the conditions of nature itself. The work in the Kaz Dağları was a project in which our R&D infrastructure, our accumulated experience in advanced analytical technologies and the sustainability work we have been carrying out for years were all engaged at the same time.