Reference point
A cluster of freshly opened pomelo blossom, smelled from about a hand’s span away.
Do this before you read on. An entry only works when you have just smelled the thing.
Clear, slightly waxy, sweet but not heavy. From a hand’s span away it is pleasant and neat; close up you notice a green, slightly fishy note underneath, the part that is still plant.
In smell it is very close to neroli — a foundation material of classic perfumery, distilled from the flowers of the bitter orange, another member of the genus Citrus. That makes it a good calibration point for the whole group of white citrus blossoms.
A freshly opened flower and one that has been open for a day smell different. The fresh one is clear and clean; the older one starts to show an indolic note, the same note that champaca and jasmine have from the start.
How to smell it
Pick a cluster of freshly opened pomelo blossom in the morning. Smell it first from about a hand’s span away to catch the clear part. Then bring it right to your nose and smell again, looking for the green, slightly fishy note underneath. Two distances give two different smells — that is the most important lesson of this entry.
Why this one is hard
Pomelo trees flower for only a few weeks a year, so the chance to practise is narrow. If you miss the season, orange or lime blossom will do as a stand-in, though they are much fainter.
Don’t confuse with
This entry
Pomelo blossom
Floral family
Pomelo blossom has nerolidol, so it lingers long after you leave the tree; areca blossom evaporates faster and is only strong in the morning.
Scientific note
Pomelo blossom contains nerolidol, a fifteen-carbon sesquiterpene alcohol boiling at around 276 degrees. Such a heavy molecule in a white flower is notable. It bridges the fast floral part and the long-lasting base. It is also why pomelo blossom lingers in your hair after you have walked away from the tree.
In Vietnamese life
Pomelo blossom to scent tea, to scent tapioca flour, dropped into hair-washing water — Vietnamese people have used it as a true aromatic material for a very long time. Scenting tea with pomelo blossom is in fact a hand-made form of enfleurage, using a base that absorbs scent without any heat.