Monk's Pepper Oil
Wild

Monk's Pepper (Monk's Pepper agnus castus), also called chasteberry or monk's pepper, can be found growing wild on the rugged Karst Plateau of southwestern Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This region boasts incredible diversity in its range of wild flora due to its terroir, which is influenced by its close proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, its high altitude and the Plateau's unique limestone, terra rossa. With its long, dry summers and short, mild winters, the Mediterranean climate offers Monk's Pepper the ideal growing conditions to develop its special compounds, which produce its special aromas. The berries are then gently harvested by hand in September and brought to the family-run distillery. For this essential oil, only the fresh berries are used, distilled by our skilled producers using a gentle steam distillation process.

The chaste tree (Monk's Pepper agnus castus) belongs to the verbenaceae family. An aromatic shrub or small tree that grows up to 5 metres tall, it is native to the Mediterranean region, stretching as far east as Crimea. This deciduous plant has long spikes of fragrant, pale lilac, pink or white flowers and small, grey-brown hard fruits. In naturopathy, the plant is considered a remedy for menstrual problems such as PMS. Its healing properties have been documented by Hippocrates, Galen and Dioscorides. Monk's Pepper berries are believed to be a strengthening herb for both the male and female reproductive systems. The chaste tree has been considered a symbolic plant of abstinence since ancient times.