Petitgrain comes from the bitter orange tree. Three essential oils are derived from the bitter orange tree: Petitgrain is distilled from the leaves and twigs of the tree, Neroli essential oil is distilled from the blossoms, and Bitter Orange oil is produced by cold pressing the rinds of the fruits. The same tree cannot be used for all three oils, however, due to timing. This is one reason why we source our Petitgrain essential oil from Paraguay and our Neroli essential oil from Egypt. Our Petitgrain is sourced from small-scale producers in Paraguay who grow, harvest, and distil the oil on their own land. Many farmers use it as a sort of “savings” account – when they need additional funds for something (school, for example), they harvest the trees, produce the oil, and then sell it for the additional needed income. Trees can be harvested up to twice per year, and the leaves and twigs that have already been distilled are used as mulch, fuel for the distillation units, or as animal feed.