Cubeb Oil

What Cubeb Oil smells like

Cubeb oil is woody, spicy and peppery with a camphoraceous undertone. The Good Scents Company lists a CO2 extract as spicy, terpy, woody and peppery with a citrus and herbal nuance (Mosciano, Perfumer & Flavorist), and an oleoresin as warm, spicy, peppery, camphor-like and herbal; the cubebene fraction of the oil is described as warm, woody and slightly camphoraceous. A fragrance source gives a spicy-woody aroma with sharp, peppery and slightly camphoraceous nuances.

Leading note

Woody pepper

Supporting facets

Camphoraceous, spicy

Faint facets

Citrus, herbal

Character

Dry, warm, woody

• peppery
• woody
• camphoraceous
• spicy

What makes Cubeb Oil distinctive

A woodier, more camphoraceous pepper: less sparkle than black pepper, more resinous depth.

How Cubeb Oil is used

Used for a dry, woody-spicy note in masculine, woody and oriental compositions.

Typical role: modifier (used in small amounts to change the character of a blend).

How Cubeb Oil differs from similar materials

Black Pepper Oil

Black pepper is fresher and more citrus-terpenic; cubeb is woodier, with a camphoraceous edge.

Pink Pepper Oil

Pink pepper is rosy and fruity; cubeb is woody and camphoraceous.

Black Pepper Absolute

Black pepper absolute is pepper as ground, leathery and smoky; cubeb is the woodier, camphoraceous pepper.

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

Essential oil

Origin

Natural

Odour family

Spicy / Woody

Note position

Heart note

Physical form at room temperature

Liquid

Also known as

Tailed pepper oil

Botanical source

Piper cubeba

CAS number

8007-87-2

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 cubeb oil from Piper cubeba was found published. Sheets sold under the name cubeb or Litsea cubeba are for May Chang, a different plant and a different oil, and must not be read as this material's. Ask the supplier for the sheet of the Piper cubeba oil you hold.

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

• Black Pepper Oil

  Essential oil · Spicy / Woody — peppery, spicy, woody, fresh

• Pink Pepper Oil

  Essential oil · Spicy / Fruity — peppery, rosy, fruity, fresh

• beta-Caryophyllene

  Aroma chemical · Spicy / Woody — spicy, woody, peppery, dry

• Cedrol

  Natural isolate · Woody / Musky — woody, cedar, faint, dry

Used in formulas and accords

Used in 1 published formula

Cubeb Oil is an ingredient in 1 perfume formula in the Formula & Accord Library.

RUŌOD House Originals

Original compositions by RUŌOD House.

• Black Pepper Sail

  RUŌOD House Original

Further reading

• Spicy Notes in Perfumery: Warm and Fresh Spices

  Warm and fresh spice materials, their key constituents, why cinnamon and clove are closely restricted, and how to build warmth within the limits.

Questions about Cubeb Oil

Sources

• PubChem — substance 135274884, checked 19 October 2026.
• The Good Scents Company — cubeb oil — odour database.
• The Good Scents Company — cubeb odour category — odour database.
• Wikipedia — Piper cubeba — published perfumery reference.
• Olfactory profile: the RUŌOD Lab team's synthesis of the published descriptions above, reviewed 26 October 2026. Evidence: more than one published description. Classification and the short description: revision 1. Descriptions of odour are judgement, not measurement.