Thyme
Organic and conventional producers (organic certificate comes from the supplier — check the number in TRACES NT) and a multi-supplier sample pack in a single form. Pre-launch — free of fee.
At a glance: Thyme
- Botanical name:
- Thymus vulgaris
- Sourcing origins:
- Romania / Balkans — EU-Organic field crop · Mediterranean (Spain / France) — high-thymol chemotype
- Harvest window:
- Harvest June–August, often over two cuts; the flowering peak drives essential-oil yield. Dried leaf and oil ship year-round.
- Typical uses:
- Culinary spice — dried leaf, rubbed and cut · Herbal and wellness tea blends · Thyme essential oil (thymol / carvacrol) for aromatherapy + cosmetics · Extract for respiratory and antimicrobial supplements
- Certification:
- Organic and conventional — organic status is the supplier's own certificate; buyers check the number in the EU TRACES organic register
- How to source:
- Send a brief (category, volume, certification, delivery) → multi-supplier comparison
Common applications
Current sourcing
Harvest June–August, often over two cuts; the flowering peak drives essential-oil yield. Dried leaf and oil ship year-round.
Prices
Prices are quoted on request, based on a current offer from the supplier.
Quality controls & specifications
Thyme is graded one way for the spice and tea trade — leaf colour, volatile-oil content and stem content — and another way for the oil trade, where the thymol/carvacrol chemotype is everything. Before either, confirm the species: garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum) are traded as different products.
- Volatile-oil content typically 1–2.5% of dried leaf; thymol is the dominant phenol in the standard chemotype, with carvacrol second
- Chemotype matters — Thymus vulgaris occurs as thymol, carvacrol, linalool, geraniol, thujanol and α-terpineol chemotypes; name the one your oil application needs rather than ordering 'thyme oil'
- Leaf-to-stem ratio and sieve grade (rubbed, cut sizes) drive spice-grade pricing — specify mesh and stem tolerance
- Confirm species: garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris) vs wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum) are different products on the COA
- Colour and volatile retention depend on drying — low-temperature drying preserves green colour and oil; specify if 'green-grade' is required
- Pesticide-residue + microbiological panel per EU Reg. 2073/2005; spice/tea-grade is often steam-treated — confirm the method (irradiation is restricted and must be labelled in the EU)
- Heavy-metal panel per EU Reg. 2023/915; EU-Organic operator/control-body ID stated on the COA
Sample request: 100–500 g per format, dispatched by the producer after confirmation, against a signed non-disclosure note. Larger evaluation lots available against partial freight cost recovery during the pre-launch phase.
Related sourcing pages
Frequently asked questions
Where can I source organic thyme in bulk in the EU?+
TANDOR is a Romania-based introducer that puts EU buyers in touch with producers of Thymus vulgaris — dried rubbed and cut leaf for spice and tea, and thymol-chemotype material for oil and extract — from Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and France; organic where the supplier holds the certificate, with the supplier's Certificate of Analysis per batch.
What thyme chemotype should I specify for essential oil?+
Thymus vulgaris exists in several chemotypes — thymol (the common antimicrobial/culinary type), carvacrol, linalool (gentler, skin-friendly), thujanol and geraniol. Aromatherapy and cosmetic buyers usually want a specific chemotype, so name it on the spec rather than relying on 'thyme oil' alone.
Garden thyme vs wild thyme — what's the difference?+
Garden / common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is the cultivated culinary and oil species. Wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum) is a distinct, lower-growing species traded mainly for tea and traditional use. They are not interchangeable — confirm the Latin name on the COA.
What grades of dried thyme are available?+
Rubbed leaf, cut (various sieve sizes) and whole — graded on leaf-to-stem ratio, colour and volatile-oil content. Spice buyers pay a premium for green, low-stem, oil-retentive leaf; specify mesh, stem tolerance and a minimum volatile-oil %.
Is the thyme irradiated or steam-treated?+
Spice- and tea-grade thyme is commonly steam-sterilised to meet EU microbiological limits. Irradiation is restricted and must be labelled in the EU — if you require non-irradiated material, state 'steam-treated only, no irradiation' on the spec and confirm it on the COA.
TANDOR Intelligence — free briefing on major market developments
EU organic botanical sourcing — price moves, supply-side risk, spec ranges with cited sources.
- Origins and formats per product (7 core botanicals)
- Harvest window updates + supply-chain shifts
- EU regulatory + EMA/Ph. Eur. monograph changes