In short
Cacao absolute is extracted from roasted cacao beans, the seeds of Theobroma cacao. It has a dark, bitter cocoa-powder odour.
What Cacao Absolute smells like
Cacao absolute is solvent-extracted from roasted cacao beans and is usually described as bitter, powdery and milky. A database lists bitter, powdery, milky and liqueur-like; a Biolandes listing calls it the typical scent of the dark-chocolate note; a retailer a dense, rich liqueur aroma. One glossary gives a darker account — tobacco and aged leather with cocoa-dust dryness, a faint indolic depth, roasted pyrazines on top, and no sweetness unless vanillin and lactones are added.
- Leading note
- Bitter cocoa
- Clear facets
- Powdery
- Supporting facets
- Milky, liqueur
- Faint facets
- Roasted, nutty
- Character
- Dark, dry, dense, bitter
What makes Cacao Absolute distinctive
Cocoa powder rather than chocolate: bitter, dry and dusty, with sweetness supplied only by what it is blended with.
Where the descriptions disagree: Supplier descriptions are bitter, powdery and milky; one glossary describes a leathery, tobacco-like and faintly indolic material.
How Cacao Absolute is used
Used in gourmand, oriental and tobacco compositions, often with vanillin to suggest chocolate, since cocoa is hard to build as an accord.
Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).
How Cacao Absolute differs from similar materials
- Coffee Absolute
- Coffee absolute is roasted, smoky and bittersweet, with caramel; cacao is drier and more powdery, with a milky, liqueur-like side.
- 2,3,5-Trimethylpyrazine
- Trimethylpyrazine is one roasted, nutty note of the kind found in roasted cacao; the absolute is the whole bitter, powdery bean.
Each difference compares the published descriptions of the two materials. Smell varies with grade, supplier and dilution; compare them side by side on blotters before substituting one for another.
Identity and classification
- Type
- Absolute
- Origin
- Natural
- Odour family
- Gourmand
- Note position
- Base note
- Physical form at room temperature
- Viscous liquid
- Also known as
- Cocoa absolute
- Botanical source
- Theobroma cacao
- CAS number
- 84649-99-0
The CAS number was checked on 19 October 2026 against a PubChem substance record that gives it for this material. A natural material is a mixture, so it has no single formula; its composition varies with origin and processing.
Safety and compliance
No safety data sheet for a solvent-free cocoa absolute was found. Biolandes sells cocoa absolute as a 30% solution in ethanol, and its sheet for that solution classifies it as a flammable liquid with eye irritation, hazards of the ethanol. The supplier's sheet for the form you hold is the one to follow.
This page is general information, not a safety assessment or a specification. Confirm identity, composition, IFRA status and allergen content from your supplier's documents for the lot you hold.
Materials it works with
-
Vanillin
Aroma chemical · Gourmand / Amber — vanilla, sweet, creamy
-
2,3,5-Trimethylpyrazine
Aroma chemical · Gourmand — roasted, nutty, cocoa, earthy
-
Coffee Absolute
Absolute · Gourmand — roasted, coffee, smoky, bitter
-
Patchouli Oil
Essential oil · Woody / Chypre — earthy, woody, camphoraceous, dark
Cacao Absolute is also suggested as a partner on the pages for 2-Ethyl-3,5(6)-dimethylpyrazine, 2-Methylbutanal, 4-Methyl-5-vinylthiazole, 5-Methyl-2-phenyl-2-hexenal, Chocovan and Lavender Aldehyde.
Used in formulas and accords
Used in 3 published formulas
Cacao Absolute is an ingredient in 2 perfume formulas and 1 accord in the Formula & Accord Library.
Community formulas
RUŌOD House Originals
Original compositions by RUŌOD House.
Further reading
Questions about Cacao Absolute
Is Cacao Absolute natural or synthetic?
Cacao Absolute is natural. It is a concentrated extract obtained from plant material with a solvent, then washed with ethanol to remove the waxes.
What is the CAS number of Cacao Absolute?
84649-99-0, the registry number for the absolute as a substance rather than a single molecule. It was checked against PubChem on 19 October 2026.
Which published formulas use Cacao Absolute?
Cacao Absolute is used in 3 published formulas in the RUŌOD Lab Formula & Accord Library: Cocoa Moss, Hazelnut Accord and Praline Smoke. Each is listed with a link under "Used in formulas and accords" on this page.
Sources
- PubChem — substance 135334068, checked 19 October 2026.
- Biolandes — Organic cocoa absolute 30%/ETH safety data sheet — safety information, read 26 October 2026.
- The Good Scents Company — cocoa absolute — odour database.
- Parchem — cocoa absolute — distributor's description.
- Premiere Peau — Cocoa absolute — published perfumery reference.
- Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 20 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.