A primary extraction with a volatile solvent on fresh or dry biomass yields to a Concrete or Resinoid.
The Absolute is obtained via a second purification step in the process.
Extracted part: beans.
180 kg of fruit (18 kg of dry beans) to produce 1 kg of absolute.
Tonka beans are the seeds of the flowering tree Dipteryx odorata, native to South America. They naturally contain high levels of Coumarin. Today, the trees grows in the Orinoco region in Northern Venezuela and in the Amazon forest in Brazil.
Brazil
Sourced from Northern Brazil, our suppliers work exclusively with indigenous communities to collect the beans from the wild. The timing of the harvest depends on the region, and often involves travelling deep into the forest on foot, by truck or by boat. Community members collect the ripe fruit after they have fallen, and cut them open to remove the little black tonka beans. They carry them back to the village and dry them in the shade, clean them to remove impurities, and then they are packaged.