Collocations for essence - noun

real, true, very
divine, inner, spiritual
The girl has her own spiritual essence.

human
pure

capture, distil, embody, encapsulate
They distilled the essence of their message into three principles.
His paintings embody the very essence of the post-war years.

define
grasp, understand
convey, express, represent, reveal
preserve
miss
His work misses the essence of what Eastern religion is about.

destroy, lose

in essence
His theory was not new in essence.

essence of
The freedom to pick your leaders is the essence of a democracy.

of the essence
Time is of the essence.

almond, coffee, vanilla, etc.
flower, herbal, plant

drop
Add a few drops of vanilla essence.

add, use