SMELLBOOK REFERENCE · SB-0131
Thyme
Permanent ID: smellbook: · updated 2026-10-14, revision 4
Character EDITORIAL
Thyme smells compact, green and herbal, with a dry, warm and slightly peppery edge.
Words: herbal, green, dry, savory. Families: Temperature and texture, Fresh and clean.
Met in: Garden, Kitchen, Market.
Evidence
Scientific evidence
- Thymol in thyme essential oil (CLM-THYME-001). Lucia Galovičová, Petra Borotová, Veronika Valková, Nenad L. Vukovic, Milena Vukic, Jana Štefániková, Hana Ďúranová, Przemysław Łukasz Kowalczewski, Natália Čmiková & Miroslava Kačániová, Thymus vulgaris Essential Oil and Its Biological Activity, Plants, 2021.
- Key aroma compounds of thyme leaves (CLM-THYME-002). M. Consuelo Díaz-Maroto et al., Volatile Components and Key Odorants of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) and Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) Oil Extracts Obtained by Simultaneous Distillation−Extraction and Supercritical Fluid Extraction, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2005.
Molecules named in these claims: 1,8-cineole, carvacrol, p-cymene, thymol, γ-terpinene. A molecule listed here is named in a VERIFIED claim about this smell. It is not presented as the cause of the smell; each claim says what its source supports.
Cite
SmellBook. (2026). Thyme (revision 4, 2026-10-14). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:thyme. https://smellbook.com/smells/thyme
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