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Thai basil is not really a basil flavor. It is a tarragon molecule wearing a Thai accent.
Thai basil runs on anise and licorice, with a green herbal edge underneath. That anise note is the whole personality of the herb. It is also the part that fights you in a formula.
Methyl chavicol, also called estragole, does the work. It is the same molecule that makes tarragon taste like tarragon, which is why the two herbs feel like cousins on the palate. The problem is that estragole has maximum permitted levels under the EU flavourings regulation, Annex III of EC 1334/2008. So a natural Thai basil flavor has to land the full anise character while staying under a legal ceiling. You cannot just add more of the obvious thing.
Eugenol carries the warm, faintly clove like spice sitting below the green. It is a phenol, so it oxidizes fast and will darken or drift over shelf life if nothing protects it. With estragole capped, eugenol and the green top notes have to carry more of the character. Their stability stops being a detail and becomes the actual design problem.
Natural. Liquid format. Built for broths, marinades, mayonnaise and vinaigrettes.
Explore our flavor catalogue: https://aromatech-portfolio.vercel.app/index.html
