The essential oil is steam distilled from the oleoresin of the Copaiba tree. A Copaiba tree is tapped for its oleoresin, similar to the way maple syrup is harvested. For six months of the year, the Copaiba trees of the Amazon are inaccessible. However, the Amazon experiences its rainy season each year from January to June. During this time, the river and its tributaries rise an average of 20 feet (6 m) or more, which means that the Copaiba trees can be reached by boat.

When a tree is first tapped, it gives an initial volume of oleoresin. The hole is then plugged, and the tree is re-visited once or twice per year. The amount of oleoresin that a Copaiba tree produces is related to the diameter of the tree, the size of the tree canopy, and its location within the jungle canopy, but each tree can produce somewhere between 2 and 6 litres of oleoresin annually. A Copaiba tree can live up to 400 years and grow more than 100 feet (30 m) tall.