If you’ve compared patchouli oil quotes from different suppliers, you’ve probably noticed one number repeated everywhere: PA%. It looks like a technical footnote, but it’s the single most useful figure for judging what you’re actually buying.
What PA% Actually Measures
PA stands for patchoulol (patchouli alcohol), the sesquiterpene alcohol responsible for patchouli oil’s deep, earthy-woody character. It’s the compound GC (gas chromatography) analysis isolates when a lab tests a batch, and it’s reported as a percentage of the total oil.
Commercial patchouli oil is commonly supplied around 30% patchoulol — this is the figure you’ll see on most specification sheets, including ESENTARA’s own, labeled as “PA 30%.” A higher reading generally signals a cleaner, more concentrated distillation; a lower one can point to an earlier harvest, a rushed distillation cycle, or oil that’s been cut.
Why It Matters More Than Color or Smell Alone
Color and aroma are useful first checks, but they’re subjective and vary with age — patchouli oil darkens and deepens as it rests, which is normal and often desirable. PA% is the one number that doesn’t depend on who’s smelling it. It’s what a perfumer or formulator can actually plug into a recipe and reproduce consistently, batch after batch.
That’s also why it belongs on your purchase documentation, not just the marketing sheet. A CoA (Certificate of Analysis) with a GC report lets you verify the number independently rather than taking a seller’s word for it.
What to Ask a Supplier
- What was the PA% on the most recent GC report for this lot?
- Is the CoA batch-specific, or a generic specification sheet reused across shipments?
- Does the PA% stay consistent across repeat orders, or does it drift from drum to drum?
That last question is often the most revealing one. A single good test result is easy; holding the same specification shipment after shipment is what separates a reliable supplier from a one-off good batch.
Every drum ESENTARA ships ships with its own CoA and GC report, so the PA% you see on paper is the PA% in the drum — not a number carried over from a different lot.
