Cutch

Cutch: Yields browns, yellowish-browns, gray-browns & olive-browns

Source: Dried/ground powder from Acacia tree

Originally used for centuries in India in alternative medicine as an astringent. Later discovered as a good tanning method in the early 19th Century. Used in tanning animal hides and preserving fishing nets and sails.

By boiling the Acacia wood in water and then evaporating the liquid, the colour extracted is then dried and ground into powder. It is high in natural tannins therefore makes for a good dye.

The astringent properties make for a great breath-freshening spice used as a food additive for example in France & Italy in licorice pastilles and also in South Asian cooking.

Note to keep to us. (Black cutch is used by Blavod vodka to give it a black colour. with iron mordant for gray/brown and copper mordant for olive-brown.