Recorded live with our community in the Natural Living Club.
📝 Heads-up: the perks in this class (a free Chai Spice hydrolat for watching live, a free 5 ml of Copaiba, half-price tuition on Karen's pain workshop, gift cards) expired with the broadcast. Every Tea Time has its own deal on that week's oil, so join us live in the Natural Living Club: https://www.skool.com/natural-living
Copaiba comes from tapping a living tree. Jenny introduces the copaiba tree, which grows wild in Brazil and belongs to the pea family: harvesters make a small opening in the trunk, collect the oleoresin and seal the opening so the tree keeps growing, a lot like tapping a tree for maple syrup. She explains why the bottle can read copaiba balsam or balsam copaiba, why the Latin name is the one to check, and how the oleoresin differs from an essential oil steam distilled from it. Batch COP-111 was wildcrafted in Brazil and tapped in October 2025. It is 41.7% β-caryophyllene, a sesquiterpene that puts it up there with Black Pepper, and it carries an 8-year shelf life. Then she makes After the Day Lotion: 2 ounces of unscented lotion with 6 drops of Copaiba Oleoresin, 4 drops of Xanthoxylum and 2 drops of Green Vetiver, about a 1% blend, and the chat plays a round of aroma confessions.
In this episode:
- Copaiba is an oleoresin, tapped from the living trunk of a tree that grows wild in Brazil. Harvesters make a small opening, collect the flow and seal it so the tree keeps growing. It is filtered and minimally processed rather than steam distilled, which is part of why it pours more slowly than most essential oils.
- Common names vary: copaiba, balsam, copaiba balsam, balsam copaiba. The Latin name on the label identifies the product, and the label should also say whether it is the oleoresin or an essential oil distilled from it. Distillation separates the volatile oil from the heavier resin; the oleoresin keeps both and is one step less processed.
- On batch COP-111, β-caryophyllene is 41.7%, and sesquiterpenes make up most of the report. They evaporate more slowly, which helps explain why the aroma of Copaiba is soft at first and then arrives and stays.
- After the Day Lotion: 2 ounces of unscented lotion, 6 drops Copaiba Oleoresin, 4 drops Xanthoxylum and 2 drops Green Vetiver, about a 1% blend. Drop sizes vary with thicker oils and from bottle to bottle, so measure larger batches in milliliters, and make small batches because unscented lotion has a shorter shelf life than jojoba.
- Blend for the person. If someone you blend for does not enjoy the aroma of Copaiba, Jenny suggests reaching for another oil rich in β-caryophyllene, and names Black Pepper, Hops, Juniper Berry and Lavender as substitutions to consider.
Chapters:
0:00 Welcome to Tea Time: open your Copaiba Balsam and start smelling it
0:56 Hello from everyone tuning in
1:20 Over 400 Cardamom homework comments, and why Copaiba is not an essential oil
1:52 Your Tea Time course in the Natural Living Club: data sheet, recipe PDF and workbook
4:13 The gifts for this week's live class
6:53 John Muir, and a 1, 2 or 3: how well do you know Copaiba?
7:24 What everyone is sipping
9:34 The plan: from the tree to the blending table
10:40 Diffuser blend: 4 drops Copaiba with Grapefruit and Xanthoxylum
11:17 An oleoresin, so it pours slowly: a word on viscosity
12:56 Gentle aromas in a bold blend: Copaiba as the background player
14:04 A different make every week: butters, lotions, perfumes and salt scrubs
14:44 Cardamom homework winners, and how to join this week's post
15:53 Part 1, the heart: who would you make a lotion blend for?
16:27 Meet the copaiba tree: wild in Brazil, the pea family, tapped like maple syrup
18:11 Copaiba, balsam, balsam copaiba: why the Latin name on your label matters
18:44 Oleoresin or distilled essential oil: two products from one tree
19:21 Why we carry the oleoresin
21:00 Part 2, the science: why every batch report is different
21:31 What distillation takes out, and what the oleoresin keeps
22:06 Batch COP-111: 41.7% β-caryophyllene, up there with Black Pepper
22:46 An 8-year shelf life
23:17 Sesquiterpenes, and why the aroma lasts
23:50 Where essential oil research is headed
24:25 Part 3, the art: Copaiba with Xanthoxylum and Green Vetiver
24:57 After the Day Lotion: 2 oz unscented lotion, 6 Copaiba, 4 Xanthoxylum, 2 Green Vetiver
25:58 Drops or milliliters: how to measure a bigger batch
26:30 Making it: lotion into a 2 oz glass jar
27:02 Unscented lotion has a shorter shelf life than jojoba, so make small batches
27:36 Six slow drops of Copaiba, on plant time
29:14 Xanthoxylum, then Green Vetiver
30:18 Stirring it in: just a hint of green
31:24 On the skin: subtle and thoughtful
31:58 Label the jar, and who to give it to
33:01 Is there an oil you don't love? Jenny on Helichrysum
34:05 Devin, Nutmeg, and four hours of pouring
34:37 Confession time: the oils the chat tucks into a blend
36:42 Blending for the person: another β-caryophyllene oil when the aroma doesn't suit
38:52 Kim says Palo Santo smells like new Barbie dolls
39:24 Copaiba on its own: 2 drops in a 10 ml jojoba roll-on
40:35 A walk through the Copaiba data sheet
42:15 A middle to base note: soft, sweet, resinous warmth that arrives and stays
42:51 More in the Club classroom, from Aromatherapy 101 to the chemistry series
43:24 Substitutions by chemistry: Black Pepper, Hops, Juniper Berry, Lavender
44:37 This week's offers
46:26 Gift cards for the Club's 7-day leaderboard
46:57 Next week: Green Vetiver and salt scrubs
47:27 Claiming the gifts at checkout, and what changes next week
49:11 Questions? team@aromatics.com and team@aromahead.com
50:55 Thank you, and see you next week
Links:
Recipes from this episode + 2,000 more in the Aromatherapy Recipes app: https://www.aromatherapy-recipes.com
Join the Natural Living Club — members get our Aromatherapy 101 course free: https://www.skool.com/natural-living
Watch the class replay: https://youtu.be/Nj1SPfu4yDc
Shop Copaiba Balsam Oleoresin: https://www.aromatics.com/products/balsam-copaiba-oleoresin
