Monthly Archives: May 2012

Crassna Cha: Oud For Tea Connoisseurs

Posted on by
1

Tea drinkers rejoice! The Oud oil you have been waiting for has finally arrived. Have you ever considered treating yourself to a swipe of the finest Oud oil while sipping exquisite China Green tea? Maybe you already have a few Oud oils that you feel pairs nicely with your tea. Maybe you have thought about swiping some Oud with your tea, but never found a way to realize your vision. With Crassna Cha, you no longer have to wonder anymore. The Oud for tea connoisseurs is finally here.

The name of this oil is a give-away. Crassna Cha. I was, of course, curious to see if the scent lived up to its name. Could an Oud oil really smell like green tea? What would that really smell like? I couldn’t imagine it. I knew green notes in Oud, but nothing that resembled tea green so far. Undoubtedly, Crassna Cha is the first oil in which I have smelled a true tea green note, and surprisingly in a Cambodi.

When I first applied a swipe, I began to quickly perceive what Ensar was talking about when he described Crassna Cha as possessing the “cleanest, greenest scent” he’s smelled in any Oud. Somehow, it does smell just like a fresh steeping of high quality green tea. It is that bitter green aroma with a kind of buttery finish. As a testament to the power of aroma, as I smelled the aroma of Crassna Cha, my teeth actually began to lightly clench, as they do when I have a strong cup of green tea. My body was temporarily put under the illusion of having taken caffeine!

I was now ready to combine Crassna Cha with my favorite green tea. It was a beautiful harmony–the green tea and swipe of Crassna Cha became perfect complements, as the aroma of Oud began to exalt the experience. Having Oud oil with your tea adds a totally new dimension to the experience, and I can’t recommend it enough. Best in the morning with some fruits–the breakfast of Royalty.

That is the other aspect of Crassna Cha’s scent profile–fruits. It takes some time for the fruitiness to become completely clear, but eventually Crassna Cha begins to resemble the characteristic fruitiness of Cambodian oils. After a while, I smell peaches, apricots, and honeydew all on top of the tea green base. And from the onset, Crassna Cha has that background mineral note that is present in all the Thai oils I have smelled so far.

What I really like about Crassna Cha is that it develops quite nicely. It is always a pleasure to stay with an oil that shows you something different throughout the day, and not all oils have that quality. For that reason, I have to say that while Crassna Cha might be slow-developing, it defies the conventions of being a linear oil. On top of that, it is a very young oil. I am anxious to see where Crassna Cha goes within a few years. Additionally, Crassna Cha reveals an interesting woodiness in the dry down. Almost musty, it is like the aroma of old wood shavings, or an aged book.

I recommend Crassna Cha to all tea drinkers, and to anyone who has not yet encountered a tea green Oud. Additionally, Crassna Cha is an interesting story of organic cultivation, and demonstrates what artisanal distillation can do to the wood of a mature Aquilaria tree.

Kemenyan: The Smell of Burning Oud Chips

Posted on by
Reply

Kemenyan is Agar Aura’s most recent offering of a Borneo Oud oil. When I first smelled Kemenyan, my impression was that it was a Borneo version of Ensar’s Crassna Cha. There is a bitter tea-green note with an aura of sweetness that is at the heart of Crassna Cha, and I encountered a very similar green note in Kemenyan when I first smelled it. But really, the green note in Kemenyan is a side note to what is really happening in the body of this oil.

The bottom line with Kemenyan is this: It smells just like burning Oud chips! I’m serious. When I first encountered that unforgettable smell in this oil, I had to question myself and keep smelling. But it was undeniable. This oil has that much sought-after sweet indescribable woodiness that have addicts buying high quality Oud wood and electric burners. It is not even that it has a sweet woodiness–it bears an uncanny similarity that verges on being a perfect duplication of the scent of burning Oud chips.

For that reason, it’s easy to conclude that Kemenyan is a steam-distillation, and I have no doubt that its low temperature steam distillation is what gives it such a pure and clear quality. This Borneo has a surprising depth for a steam-distillation. It is not nearly as horizontal as most steam distillations tend to be. There is a real depth and variety of notes that are clear, not lost in a kind of “mustiness”. Its sharpness and clarity is almost Kinam-like. With age, I predict that the Kinam note in Kemenyan will fully come to life.

I can’t get enough of the scent. Put high quality chips on your burner. Let it warm up a bit. Put your nose over your burner and breathe it in. If you put that fragrance into a 3g bottle of oil, then you have Kemenyan.

Don’t miss out on this unique Borneo. Of all the oils I’ve smelled, this Oud oil most closely resembles the smell of burning Oud chips. It reminds me of the Minorien Fu-In Aloeswood sticks that I love to burn. It has that same light-sweetness. A while back, I noticed what a great pair those Minorien sticks were to a Borneo oil. Here we have a realization of that pair. Incense lovers, you can’t miss out on Kemenyan!

Oud Emerald: A Fresh Jungle

Posted on by
Reply

Oud Emerald is an oil for the true Oud connoisseur, as it takes an experienced nose to appreciate the nuances of this multi-faceted oil. For one, Oud Emerald defies the “popular” scent profiles of Indian, Cambodian, and Borneo Oud oils. In fact, I find that it has nearly nothing in common with the treasured Oud oil from those regions. For that reason, some may initially find Oud Emerald to be off-putting. But patience is sure to reward those who hear Emerald through.

The opening of Oud Emerald is unlike any oil I’ve smelled before. I have no familiarity with the scent profile of Indonesian oils, and so this was a real treat for me to experience. Oud Emerald has an almost mineral opening, a rich earthiness pervades the scent. Yet a sweetness is lurking behind its earthy-tones. Altogether, the earthy-sweetness of Oud Emerald drys down to a damp leathery note that reminds me of other jungly Ouds, such as Oud Royale and Oud Bengal.

Oud Emerald is a fresh jungle Oud, wet and green with hints of mint and tulsi. It is the fragrance of a dense jungle after the rains, the wet rains still on the leaves, the scent of the soaked soil with humidity in the air.

A now Legendary oil, Oud Emerald is only available from private collectors. However, it is definitely worth adding to your collection for its uniqueness. I would speculate that Oud Emerald is likely the highest quality Indonesian oil one will find. To my nose, it will be hard to surpass the pristine elegance and maturity of this oil. If you have the opportunity to acquire a bottle, don’t pass it up.