Acerola

Note Profile

Botanical

About

Acerola is the fruit of Malpighia emarginata, also called Barbados cherry or West Indian cherry. It smells bright and fruity, close to a tart cherry but sharper. Both sources found put it brighter, tangier and more tropical than a sweet cherry, with an almost citrusy finish and a red-currant or cranberry edge to the tartness. Sweetness is light to moderate, never syrupy.

Scent Profile

Fruity leads and both sources open there: "bright, fruity aroma, like fresh cherries" (Premiere Peau) and "cherry-like, but that only covers part of the picture" (OhCrisp). Sour is high because tartness is the second thing both sources name - "sweet yet tart", "tartness: noticeable and refreshing", and a "sharper tart edge" compared to red currant or cranberry. Citrus carries the "almost citrusy finish" and the "tart berries plus citrus" framing. Tropical carries OhCrisp's "more tropical" and "tropical-leaning". Sweet_vanillic sits low because the sweetness is described as light and explicitly not syrupy. Nutty is left at zero: cherry carries almond from benzaldehyde, but no source claims almond for acerola and inventing it would be the thin-evidence guess this process exists to avoid.

ScentWheel

Breadthmedium

EnvelopeTop · ~2h lasting

Family Fruity

Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.

Origin

Malpighia emarginata, a shrub of the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America. The fruit is small, red and very high in vitamin C. No perfumery extraction of acerola is documented and no manufacturer datasheet was found. In fragrance the note is a built accord, not a distilled or extracted material.

Usage in Perfumery

Used as a bright top accent in fruity compositions where a plain cherry would read too sweet or too candied. Fragrantica lists 11 fragrances using it and Parfumo lists none. It sits with citrus, red berries and other tropical fruit.