Taha

Oud Fan
My burn of the day.... Sirsak agarwood, one of those very unusual species that most folks have never smelled before (and I myself only smelled it for the first time this year). Its found in Papua and surrounding scattered islands like Biak, as well as the islands of the Moluccas Straits.

Very odd specie. The tree collects a massive mound of sticky mulch of dead leaves around the base of the tree, but the bark is close to Filipino Aquilaria, but the fruit is almost identical to Indian Malaccensis, but the leaf is like the soursop tree :confused: (hence the name Sirsak = Bahasa for soursop).
And the aroma and appearance of the resinated pieces... very close to high-mountain Malaysian Candan (Hirta) of east peninsular Malaysia. Its even got the same knotty appearance.

I'm sure those of you who've tried Candan before (e.g. my final two BKS batches of Malaysian wood some years ago) would mistake this for Candan. I know I would have.
IMG_1063.jpg


Edit: well I couldn't resist, so out came another very unusual variety of agarwood... Beringin.
And not just any Beringin, but the equivalent of Vietnamese Quang Nam red soil agarwood. Notice the glittering resin crystals.
This is the only sub-category of agarwood I've smelled that actually smells too oudy to the extent of smelling bad, if you heat too much of it, or at too high a temperature, and IF the grade is too high (ironic right?)
A tiny speck on low heat will make your room smell like you heated Filipino agarwood slathered with orris butter. Delicious. But a thicker piece, especially on high heat, has the same effect as eating very very over-salted food.
Very high medicinal value, esteemed in the Chinese and Japanese markets. This is a medicine I only appreciate in small dosages. :D
 
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Taha

Oud Fan
'Very oudy' is pretty much the best way to describe the Candan variety of Malaysian agarwood. Incidentally I burned some of that earlier in the day yesterday too. :Cooler:

Side question: can you guess why it is close to impossible to find pure-Candan agarwood oils?
(specifically Malaysian Candan, not the Indonesian Candans which are mostly other species, but falling under the same umbrella term)
 

rojas

Junior Member
perhaps those robust qualities are attained because of the difficult terrain they survive in . And one more such oil that comes to my mind when thinking of tough terrain is Mokokchung Oud ( love this name ) is also a high mountain lovely agallocha ftom nagaland ...creamy delight !!!
 

Taha

Oud Fan
After lots of delightful exotic islands, and Cambodian, and Malaysian wood... when you come back to Indian agarwood, it always takes your breath away. :Thumbsup:
From smack in the middle of the agarwood regions of India, a most explosively aromatic specimen...
IMG_1077.jpg

Wish I could share this wood with everyone. :(
 

hassam mac

True Ouddict
Why not share ?
After lots of delightful exotic islands, and Cambodian, and Malaysian wood... when you come back to Indian agarwood, it always takes your breath away. [emoji106]
From smack in the middle of the agarwood regions of India, a most explosively aromatic specimen...
View attachment 6235
Wish I could share this wood with everyone. :(

Sent from my HTC Desire 626 dual sim using Tapatalk
 
Z

Zahir

Guest
After lots of delightful exotic islands, and Cambodian, and Malaysian wood... when you come back to Indian agarwood, it always takes your breath away. :Thumbsup:
From smack in the middle of the agarwood regions of India, a most explosively aromatic specimen...
View attachment 6235
Wish I could share this wood with everyone. :(

Solution: stop teasing us or make it happen! Where there is a will, there is a way... :D
 

Taha

Oud Fan
But of course!
Well, the intriguing thing about it is that its not one aroma... its got simultaneous 'separate' aromas at play, all at once. Although its got that unmistakable underlying Indian oud base, what's on top of that is what is most captivating to me.
Very 'colorful' scent. Very engaging, but challenging too, like trying to pay attention to a podcast, balance on a unicycle, and read a book at the same time. :D

I've found that I enjoy those specimens the most that are hard to fully grasp. The day I can conquer and fully grasp oud is the day I can hang up my distiller's loincloth - oud would be no different from lavender, jasmine, or any other essential oil. A nice scent. Period.
Bow ring! :thumbsdown:

Here's the larger piece that the previous smaller piece was broken off from (oh dear, it used to be so much bigger :():
IMG_1080.jpg

If you haven't already noticed, shell/hat/ear (literally referred to as kuping i.e. 'ear' in Indonesia) and joint pieces smell the most engaging, and lively.

Fun fact: when designing a distillation aimed at capturing the truest aroma of the raw material (in the case of incense grade i.e. chips batches), these pieces are the most useful for serving as a blueprint for the aroma. Now try to imagine Ayu's ear pieces. :Inlove:
Another fun fact: such pieces are the antithesis of the Japanese Monkoh preference. Straight slabs from the trunk are preferred, with minimal curves/change in resin/fibre orientation. Because the aim is to preserve pieces whose aroma will be the same no matter which end you cut off slivers from. They can be documented, grasped. (Conquered).
 

Rasoul Salehi

True Ouddict
But of course!
Well, the intriguing thing about it is that its not one aroma... its got simultaneous 'separate' aromas at play, all at once. Although its got that unmistakable underlying Indian oud base, what's on top of that is what is most captivating to me.
Very 'colorful' scent. Very engaging, but challenging too, like trying to pay attention to a podcast, balance on a unicycle, and read a book at the same time. :D

I've found that I enjoy those specimens the most that are hard to fully grasp. The day I can conquer and fully grasp oud is the day I can hang up my distiller's loincloth - oud would be no different from lavender, jasmine, or any other essential oil. A nice scent. Period.
Bow ring! :thumbsdown:

Here's the larger piece that the previous smaller piece was broken off from (oh dear, it used to be so much bigger :():

If you haven't already noticed, shell/hat/ear (literally referred to as kuping i.e. 'ear' in Indonesia) and joint pieces smell the most engaging, and lively.

Fun fact: when designing a distillation aimed at capturing the truest aroma of the raw material (in the case of incense grade i.e. chips batches), these pieces are the most useful for serving as a blueprint for the aroma. Now try to imagine Ayu's ear pieces. :Inlove:
Another fun fact: such pieces are the antithesis of the Japanese Monkoh preference. Straight slabs from the trunk are preferred, with minimal curves/change in resin/fibre orientation. Because the aim is to preserve pieces whose aroma will be the same no matter which end you cut off slivers from. They can be documented, grasped. (Conquered).
Love the fun facts
 

Arsalan

True Ouddict
No, no. I mean is it smell better than that of some piece of wood that is devoid of an ant nest?

For that we have to wait for opinions from more experienced members... :Roflmao:
This is only my 3rd Vietnamese wood...perhaps the scent is a little more dense...However, the EO Nha Trang Anthole that i received, consists mostly of small tiny pieces...so intensity varies with each heating session...more uniform when I crushed some up...
 

Rai Munir

Musk Man
For that we have to wait for opinions from more experienced members... :Roflmao:
This is only my 3rd Vietnamese wood...perhaps the scent is a little more dense...However, the EO Nha Trang Anthole that i received, consists mostly of small tiny pieces...so intensity varies with each heating session...more uniform when I crushed some up...
You mean it has way better aroma than some un-ant nest wood or not? In fact, I visited certain vendors and found that ant nest is rather pricey. Therefore, I requested to know about the fragrance.

It it more resinous?
Is it more oily? I think a little bit can be known through heating.

Or it is just to pay homage to ants:Roflmao:?
 
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