It is a kind of valuable wood with good smell which is created inside the big oud trees because of the activity of some parasites.
Formation of Oud:
In some dense forests in the world, especially in the Indian peninsula and the south east of Asia, very big trees named Aquilaria trees have existed for thousands of years. These trees have the same exterior shape features as other trees, but their inside structure is different some how, since oud trees secrete inside their bark a substance which attracts a kind of parasites that feed on secretions produced by the oud trees in their internal bark, and then these parasites put its secretions out, thus making the oud wood.. Aquilaria is a genus of fifteen species of trees in the Thymelaeaceae, native to southeast Asia. They occur particularly in the rain forests of Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Northern India, the Philippines, Borneo and New Guinea. The trees grow to 6-20 m tall. The leaves are alternate, 5-11 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, with a short acuminate apex and an entire margin. The flowers are yellowish-green, produced in an umbel; the fruit is a woody capsule 2.5-3 cm long.
Age of Oud:
Studies carried out by scientists have shown that the age of oud goes back to Adam’s era (peace be upon him).. The studies have shown also that the oud tree started growing hundreds of years after Adam’s descending to the Earth (peace be upon him). The studies also proved that legend which says that when Adam (peace be upon him) was expelled out from heaven and covered himself with one of its leaves and descended to the Earth, that leaf dried because of the climatic factors on the Earth where its parts were scattered due to winds to the Indian sub continent and south east of Asia, and it began growing on the Earth through hundreds of years. Thus, it is absolutely impossible to grow once again the oud or to find its grains. It is a wonder that was finished forever.
Oud Homeland:
India is the original homeland of oud where it appeared for the first time, but it has started disappearing from it now. Oud can also be found in Cambodia, Viet-Nam, Laos, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. It is found in dense forests where it is dark even during the day. These forests are very large and Man has known them since the beginning of life.
Benefits of Oud:
The good smell which changes the odor of the atmosphere just after its spreading gives the spot more refreshment, more spirituality, and more natural fascinating scent. And, unlike other frankincense and perfumes, oud lasts for a long time.
Reasons of Oud High Price:
It is known to everyone that forests are a milieu which contains various kinds and types of animals which live in harmony within this milieu. It is its homeland, especially predators which are the most dangerous ones in the world. These hard forests include most of the oud trees.
In these conditions, groups of neighbouring villagers prepare themselves and their tools to go on a trip to these forests. The aim of such trips is to search for oud trees and to extract oud wood from them for sale. In each trip, about 100 persons go out in this hard adventure. It should be noted that the survivals of each trip who return with oud wood is less than 25 persons in hard conditions.
Oud Quality:
There are many kinds of oud wood, and each kind has its own characteristics. Also, each kind has its own methods to know its quality, but there are many ways that characterize the good oud whatsoever its various kinds are.
The good oud tastes very bitter, and the more bitter it is, the more good quality it is. The color of oud (in general) is unified in its interior and exterior parts. If the colour is not the same, this means that the oud is painted, and cannot be called oud. The internal knots (stems) of the good oud are unified with its external knots, and the more the unification is visible, the better the quality of oud is.
There are various methods to know the good quality of oud which differs from one kind to another as mentioned before. The Cambodian oud has its own methods to know its quality, and so has the Indian.
Benefits of Oud Oil:
Oud oil is not less beneficial than oud wood, since one is the origin of the other. Oud oil can be easily transported and does need heat energy to be used like frankincense. Its strong fragrance stays on clothes for a long period of time and fills the atmosphere with a nice smell that dispels all the other odors around it. The oud oil is also used in the treatment of some diseases after mixing it with raw ambergris and musk of deer.
Reasons for the High Price of Oud Oil:
The high price of oud oil is due to the high price of oud wood. Indeed, oud wood itself is very expensive because of the reasons already mentioned. Moreover, 0.25 to 0.75 Tullas; that is, 3 to 9 grams of oud oil can be extracted from one kilogram of oud wood, depending on the quality of oud wood.
Oud Oil Quality:
The oud oil of high quality is characterized by its long duration on the skin in normal conditions. The scent of oud oil can stay on skin for a period ranging from 3 to 8 hours, depending on the quality of oud. It should be noted that the best and the highest quality of oud oil can not stay for more than 8 hours on skin in normal conditions, but can stay longer on clothes.
The scent of high quality oud oil does not appear at once, since its beginning is unpleasant, but after a short time of its use, its nice and strong scent starts smelling.
After the highest grades of wood have been put aside to be sold as incense chips, the remaining agarwood is used for distilling oud oil. But there’s more to it than just boiling heaps of wood.
The first factor that governs the quality of the final oud oil is the quality of the agarwood chips used for distillation. While it is unfeasible to use the highest grades of agarwood to distill oil – lower quality, but still incense grade, wood is used to produce the highest quality of oud oils. The more infected the wood is, the more the resin in the wood that can be distilled.
The age of the tree also has its mark on the final oil. Older trees have a higher resin content, and oud resin gets better with age, much like wine.
The wood is chopped up into small pieces for distillation, and the dust produced from polishing and finishing the incense grade chips is also collected. The wood is commonly soaked in barrels of water for some time to make it easier for the oil to come out when heated.
This is the second factor that governs the quality and smell of the agarwood oil.. Soaked for too short a period of time, the resin might not be as easy to extract from the wood. Soaked for too long, the oil will smell rotten and fecal. Expert distillers have fine-tuned this technique, and have deciphered how long a certain wood should be soaked.
After the soaking process is over, the wood is placed in large stills and has to be cooked at just the right temperature/pressure. This is the third factor that will affect the smell of the oil. Most distillers, in order to save money, cook the wood at very high temperatures and pressures. This is done in the hope of sucking out as much of the agarwood oil in the shortest period of time possible, to cut down labour, fuel, water, and electricity costs.
But the effect of this is clearly discernable in the yielded oil. Pungent, burnt and harsh are some words to describe such oils.
Using the traditional Indian hydro-distillation method, the wood is cooked for several days. The best quality oil comes out first, usually in the first 1-3 days of cooking. This is often referred to as the ‘first distillation’. After this, the wood is cooked further and the second grade of oud is extracted.
Since hydro-distillation is more time and resource consuming, some distillers prefer to use steam distillation.
The type of distillation method used is the fourth factor that affects the smell of the agarwood oil.
Steam distillation entails cooking the oil under gauged pressure using steam instead of boiling water. Oil can be extracted using this technique in as little as one day. However, setting too high a pressure can result in the precious top notes of the oil’s scent acquiring a burnt tar note, so this too takes practice and experience.
The careful control of the pressure is the fifth factor that governs the smell of the oud oil, for steam-distilled oil.
While the traditional hydro-distillation method is commonly used in India, Thailand and Cambodia, steam-distillation is most common in Indonesia, but is also used in Thailand and elsewhere.
There are also other methods of extracting oud oil, like super critical CO2 extraction, but we have dealt with the two most common methods.
After the oil has been distilled, it is filtered, sunned, and aged for a while. The more the oil is aged, the better it will smell.
These were the ‘behind the scene’ processes that take place to produce oud oil.
Several years ago, in the perfume and incense market in the old city of Sana’a in Yemen, I caught sight of a large apothecary jar full of wood chips. The jar sat on a dusty shelf, tucked away in a dark corner of the stall owned by Mohammed Hamoud al-Kalagi. When I asked him to show me its contents, he placed the jar on the front counter and pulled out a chip of wood. Mohammed called the wood ‘ud (pronounced ood), a name I did not recognize, but it looked very familiar. I could hardly contain my growing sense of excitement as I examined it closely.
Mohammed placed a tiny sliver of the wood on the end of a lit cigarette. Within moments we were inhaling a rich, sweet, woody fragrance that I had first smelled in the Borneo rain forest 15 years earlier. At that time, I was traveling with a group of nomadic hunter-gatherers known as Penan. We were looking for herbs used in traditional medicine, but one day the Penan cut down a tree and collected pockets of fragrant wood from within the trunk and branches. They called these dark patches of wood gaharu. I rubbed a small piece of gaharu between my palms to warm it, and it smelled like cedar and sandalwood, but with subtle fragrance notes of roses and balsam. For years I had wondered what the wood was used for and where it was sent after leaving Borneo. The Penan thought gaharu might be used in Chinese medicine,, because it was the upriver Chinese traders that bought it, but apart from that, they were mystified as to why anyone would want to buy those gnarly bits of wood.
Mohammed al-Kalagi, who thought that ‘ud came only from India, was the first person to help me begin to unravel the long and convoluted history of this scented wood. He told me it was burned as incense throughout the Islamic world, and an oil was extracted from it that retailed for nearly $20 a gram ($500 an ounce) as a perfume.
When I told Mohammed that the gaharu collectors in Borneo considered the wood to have only a modest barter value, he laughed and recited lines that he attributed to the eighth-century Egyptian jurist and poet Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi’i:
Gold is just dust when still in the ground.
And ‘ud, in its country of origin,
Is just another kind of firewood.
A few days after my visit, I walked through the narrow streets of old Sana’a to the home of Yemeni friends. The family lived in a tastefully restored stone tower house in the Turkish Quarter, and during the meal that night I discovered that ‘ud has domestic uses beyond simple incense: A small chip placed amid the tobacco in the bowl of the mada’ah, or water pipe, sweetens the smoke and keeps the pipe fresh. And although ‘ud is generally considered more of a man’s scent, it is also used by women who place bits of the wood in a mabkharah, a small, hand-held charcoal brazier used to scent clothes; it is also used to perfume hair and skin. My host explained that at women’s get-togethers it would be considered strange not to pass around a mabkharah of smoldering ‘ud or other incense so the female guests could perfume themselves.
“When you walk by a woman on the street and you smell ‘ud, you know that she is from a good family,” the husband told me.. “It is a sign of wealth, good breeding, refinement and status.”
Similarly, when Yemeni men congregate, it is customary for them to pass around a mabkharah of ‘ud. Each man opens his jacket and censes his shirt and underarms, then his face and his mashedah, or head scarf, if he is wearing one. The mabkharah is always passed counter-clockwise, and each man wafts the smoke onto himself and says, “God’s blessings and peace on the Prophet Muhammad.” ‘Ud is burned ceremonially at weddings, too, and the oil is sometimes used to perfume the body of the dead before burial.
In Yemen, the price and quality of ‘ud varies considerably: At an average wedding party in Sana’a it is considered appropriate to spend about $30 to $50 by burning 50 or 100 grams (two or three ounces) of one of the less expensive grades of ‘ud, but for the well-heeled, 30 grams (a single ounce) of a superior grade can set one back $250 to $300.
Before I left the dinner party that night, my host placed a tiny drop of ‘ud oil on the front of my shirt and explained that the fragrance would survive several washings—which it did. ‘Ud oil is often placed on older men’s beards or younger men’s jacket lapels so that during the traditional cheek-to-cheek greetings its sweet, woody scent dominates.
Although the southern Arabian Peninsula has been long identified with aromatics, few Westerners are familiar with ‘ud, a word that means simply “wood” in Arabic. This obscurity is partly due to ‘ud rarity and cost, but it is also a matter of varying taste and differing cultural traditions. During the Hajj, for example, Muslim pilgrims from around the world come to Makkah and Madinah, where many are introduced to the scent of ‘ud, which is burned in the Great Mosque as well as in many other mosques throughout Saudi Arabia. ‘Ud produces a fragrance that is not soon forgotten, and for this reason small packets of ‘ud chips are a common souvenir to take home from the Hajj.
In various other places in the Islamic world, ‘ud is burned to help celebrate the important events of everyday life. In Tunisia, for example, ‘ud is burned on the third, seventh and 40th days following the birth of a child, a time when the mother traditionally remains at home while female relatives and friends come to visit.
Throughout Malaysia and Indonesia, ‘ud is called by the name I first heard in Borneo, gaharu, a Malay word derived from the much older Sanskrit term agaru, meaning “heavy.” The scented wood was given that name because, indeed, a high-quality piece of gaharu will sink in water. The Susruta Samhita, one of the “great three” texts of Ayurvedic medicine, describes how people of the Ganges plain used smoldering agaru for worship, as perfume and to fumigate surgical wounds. In those times, agaru came largely from the tree Aquilaria agallocha, which was found in the foothills of Assam.
In the 16th century, the Portuguese, who were actively trading in Goa, Malacca and Macao, adapted the word agaru to pao d’aguila, or “eagle wood”—which at least had a meaning in Portuguese, though there is no connection between eagles and ‘ud. In the English-speaking world today, the most common terms for ‘ud are aloeswood or agarswood; this last word preserves a clear link to the original Sanskrit.
The best grade of ‘ud is hard, nearly black and very heavy. In general, ‘ud becomes inferior as it appears lighter in tone, flecked with diminishing amounts of resin. The only truly reliable way to test for quality, however, is to burn a small bit and evaluate the complexity and richness of the smoldering wood. ‘Ud oil can be taste-tested: Touch a bit to your tongue, and a bitter taste points to high quality.
Historians are uncertain when ‘ud first reached the Middle East. There are several references to “aloes” in the Old Testament, and estimates by historians of China Friedrich Hirth and W.W. Rockhill put the date as far back as the 10th century BC. This was when King Solomon began trade with the south Arabian Sabaean kingdom, which was already trading with merchants on the Malabar (western) coast of India. (See Aramco World, March/April 1998.) Written accounts of Arab and Chinese travelers and merchants that mention it date to more recent times, approximately the first century of our era, a time of accelerating trade among the Arabian Peninsula, the Malabar coast and China that was made possible by the exploitation of the seasonal monsoon winds across the Indian Ocean. At this time, frankincense and myrrh from Oman and the Hadhramaut region of southern Arabia were being traded in the Far East, so it seems reasonable to assume that a reciprocal trade in ‘ud would have traveled on the same maritime routes.
The Chinese role in the ‘ud trade has been significant since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), when Imperial perfume blenders used it along with cloves, musk, costus-root oil and camphor. Like the Indians, the Chinese named the wood for its density, calling it cb’en hsiang, “the incense that sinks in water.” In those days, ‘ud was sorted into as many as 20 different grades. Responding to the increasing domestic and international demand for ‘ud, Chinese traders ventured into Annam, now part of Vietnam, where they found top-quality trees in abundance. This new source of supply allowed them to become wholesale dealers and middlemen, and to this day they retain this position worldwide.
Arab and Persian traders had established settlements on the outskirts of Canton as early as 300, and a Chinese traveler named Fa-Hien noted the riches of the Arab ‘ud traders from the Hadhramaut and Oman who lived comfortably in Ceylon. The Greek geographer Cosmas Indicopleustes, writing in the sixth century, also noted that the China-Ceylon-Middle East trade included large shipments of ‘ud.
In his book Silsilat al-Tawarikh (Chain of Chronicles), Zayd ibn Hassan of Siraf (now in Iran) tells of the experiences of two mnth-century traders, one Ibn Wahab of Basra and another named Suleyman. Although they traveled at slightly different times, both reported that the price and availability of ‘ud in both Basra and Baghdad was much affected by frequent shipwrecks and by pirate attacks on trading ships. Their roughly similar routes went from the Arabian Gulf to the Maldives, Ceylon, the Nicobar Islands and then on to Canton by way of the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. At the time, the round-trip took at least two years, for the traders had to wait for seasonal winds, and customs formalities and the complexities of doing business in China consumed a good deal of time. Hassan relates that in Canton, Suleyman saw Arab and Persian traders playing a board game that appears to have been similar to backgammon: Occasionally the playing pieces were made of rhinoceros horn or ivory, but most commonly they were carved from fragrant ‘ud.
Reading up on the history of the 12th- and 13th-century Arab-Chinese sea trade, I also came upon the Chu-fan-chi, a trade manual written by Chau Ju-kua, who was a customs official in the southern Chinese province of Kwangtung in the mid-13th century. In the text he mentions that the search for ‘ud had intensified to the point that it was being collected from Hainan Island, parts of present-day Vietnam, lands about the Malay Peninsula, Cambodia and the islands of Sumatra and Java. By this time, he observed, it had become an established custom for well-to-do Muslims to wake up, bathe and perfume themselves with ‘ud smoke before going to the mosque for the morning prayer.
In the early 14th century, Ibn Battuta described a visit to Ceylon where during a visit to Sultan Ayri Shakarwati he was shown “a bowl as large as a man’s hand, made of rubies, containing oil of aloes.” Ibn Battuta also mentioned that in Muslim lands every ‘ud tree was private property, and that the best trees grew in Qamara, or Cambodia. (See Saudi Aramco World, July/August 2000.) In Saudi Arabia today, ‘ud kambudi—Cambodian aloeswood—is still usually the most treasured and costly variety.
Isaac H. Burkill, in his 1935 Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula, described ‘ud in scientific terms. It is an aromatic resin deposit found in certain species of Aquilaria trees, especially Aquilaria malaccensis, whose species name recalls the days when the ‘ud trade was centered in Malacca and dominated by the Portuguese. Burkill explains that the resin is produced by the tree as an immune response to a fungus (Phialophora parasitica) that invades the tree and, over many years, spreads through it. It is these diseased sections of the tree that are collected by people in the jungles of Southeast Asia.
To better understand the modern trade cycle from Southeast Asia to Middle Eastern homes and mosques, I returned to Borneo and traveled upriver to talk again with the Penan tribesmen who make their living collecting ‘ud, which they call gaharu.
The Penan, I learned, recognize seven types of gaharu. To collect it they paddle up small tributaries by dugout canoe, and then climb the slopes of remote mountains to locate the best trees. A gathering journey can take a week or more. Once a likely looking pohon kayu gaharu (a “gaharu-wood tree”) has been found, they make a series of shallow, exploratory cuts into its trunk, branches and roots; they cut it down only when they are persuaded the tree has the fungus and will yield a reasonable amount of good gaharu. If the tree contains only low grades of gaharu, they will often let it grow for another few years before retesting it. If they do decide to cut it down, they will spend days extracting the gaharu and cleaning it with smaller knives. Traditionally, the Penan used gaharu themselves to treat stomach aches and fevers, and as an insect repellent, but now they sell or trade all they find.
In the backwaters of Borneo, the Penan sell the very best gaharu for about $400 a kilogram, or approximately $12 an ounce. They usually sell to local Chinese traders who stockpile it until they have enough to send to wholesalers and bigger middlemen in Singapore. The Penan claim that gaharu is getting more difficult to find because large-scale logging operations have destroyed many of the hill forests where the gaharu trees are found. If a Penan group has good luck, it might collect a kilo (35 oz) of average-quality gaharu in three or four days—but it is increasingly common for them to return with nothing, or with only the lowest grades.
Thirty years ago Hong Kong played an important role in the ‘ud trade, but today the international hub is Singapore. There, the wholesale business is dominated by Chinese traders who receive ‘ud from agents scattered across Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Borneo, Hainan Island and, most recently, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. C. P. Ng, owner of Buan Mong Heng, a emporium on North Bridge Road, is Singapore’s undisputed ‘ud king. He tells me that his best ‘ud sells for $5000 to $10,000 per kilogram ($2275-$4545/lb). At present, the rarest and most expensive type, known as Keenam, comes from Vietnam; it must be stored in a cool place to keep its scent from deteriorating. In Irian Jaya alone, he says, more than 50,000 part-time collectors supply some 30 collection centers. Throughout the Chinese community in Singapore, he says, people use ‘ud as incense in the home, for worship and during marriage ceremonies. He also explains that it can be taken with herbs to cure a stomach ache, and that the sweet smell is a cure for insomnia. “A tea made from ‘ud will warm the body and restore youthful vigor to older men,” he says.
In Singapore, ‘ud is graded in descending quality from Super AA, which is weighed out on a jeweler’s scale, to Super A, Super, and lesser grades numbered 1 through 8. The lowest quality, called kandulam in Malay, is used to make incense sticks; it sells for roughly three cents a gram ($1 per oz). The value of ‘ud shipped out of Singapore each year has been estimated to exceed $1.2 billion.
In the Middle East and in Borneo I never saw more than small amounts of ‘ud, amounting to a few pounds at most, but Singapore was different. There I visited the Nk Kittai warehouse, where cardboard boxes packed with ‘ud reached tall ceilings and wheelbarrows and shovels were the tools of choice to move quantities that perfumed the entire surrounding neighborhood. The owner, C. F. Chong, waited on buyers from India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and even Japan. In Japan, ‘ud is used in a complex fragrance guessing game called koh-do, part of the ceremonial appreciation of incense adopted from the Chinese, who still use the expression wenxiang, “listening to the incense.”
The fragrance in the hot warehouse was overpowering, and as I wandered the narrow aisles surrounded by a fortune in scented wood, I saw ‘ud logs as thick as my thigh and nearly three meters (10’) long. Workers sat on the floor cleaning up pieces of ‘ud with modified rubber-tapping knives. When I remarked that it must be a risk to store so much ‘ud in one place, Chong replied that he, like other dealers, kept his very best ‘ud locked up in vaults.
Out on the warehouse floor, buyers specified the type of ‘ud they wanted by region and quality, and then a worker would dump a pile at the buyer’s feet so that he could hand-select the individual pieces. “This is an on-the-spot business,” said Chong. “Each piece has to be evaluated.”
Each buyer’s selection was weighed, and as all of the buyers that morning were old customers, only a minimal amount of haggling led to an agreement on a price. Nobody, it seemed, bought more than he could easily carry by hand, and each parcel was tied up for stowage as in-flight baggage. The visits concluded with tea and soft drinks in Chong’s air-conditioned office.
Before leaving Singapore, I went to visit Haji V. Syed Mohammed. His shop, V. S. S. Varusai Mohamed & Sons, is just across the street from the Sultan Mosque. The store sells ‘ud, perfume, money belts, cassette tapes, shawls, skull caps and highly decorative incense burners made in Bangladesh. While we were talking, he told me of one of the most renowned ‘ud dealers in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates: Ajmal’s Perfume Manufacturing & Oudh Processing Industry. It was a fortuitous meeting, for Dubai was my next stop.
In Dubai, there are entire streets lined with shops selling ‘ud. Among them, the family-run Ajmal company is one of the largest dealers in pure and blended ‘ud perfumes in all of the Middle East. From their 22 shops throughout the Arabian Peninsula, they sell ‘ud oils from Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and their most extravagant creation is a blend of aged ‘ud oils called Dahnal Oudh al-Moattaq. The price: $850 for a 30-gram (1-oz) bottle. This is out of the reach of all but the most affluent, but nearly everyone can afford to buy modest amounts of ‘ud chips for daily use, rituals and ceremonies—which might include driving, for Dubai automotive shops sell clip-on electric braziers that plug into a car’s cigarette lighter.
Because of the popularity of ‘ud, its high price and the difficulty of collecting it from the wild, several companies in peninsular Malaysia and India have begun to look into the possibility of artificially introducing the ‘ud fungus into Aquilaria trees in hopes of creating commercial ‘ud plantations. Thousands of trees have been inoculated with the fungus and people are waiting to see if the ‘ud will start to grow, and if perhaps they can even harvest it without cutting down the tree.
Nearly a year after my visits to Singapore and Dubai, another trip took me back to Borneo. I ran into a group of Penan friends at the riverside shop of Towkay Yong Khi Liang, a Hakka Chinese trader on the upper Limbang River in Sarawak. The Penan had just traded a kilo of low-quality ‘ud for a few sacks of sago flour, a replacement part for a chainsaw, some cartons of tinned food, some rolling tobacco, several pairs of cheap tennis shoes and soft drinks for everyone present.
As we stood on the dock, the Penan asked me if I had ever found out what the people in the Middle East did with the gaharu. I told them what I had discovered about the history of its trade, and then I explained the long and complicated journey it makes before arriving on the other side of the world. I described the networks of middlemen, the refined grading techniques and the marketing efforts that multiplied the price 25 times or more before it reached the final customer. They listened patiently to these facts, but what they really wanted to find out was what people did with the wood after spending so much money on it.
I suspected that they wouldn’t believe me, but I had to reveal the astonishing truth: I told them people buy ‘ud so that they can take it home and burn it.
Actually there is no special way to burn aloes wood (agarwood) you only needs charcoal that have been burnt until it is red, then place the Agarwood over the charcoal which would you burn.
But there is also a unique way, some people do something else in burning aloes wood (agarwood), there is little difference, that is, before the aloes wood (agarwood) is placed above the charcoal,, they put aloes wood (agarwood) into their mouths, suck the small chips of aloeswood that they will burn, not a big piece of aloes wood (agarwood), the point is, they dampen the aloes wood with saliva, so that if you burn it over charcoal, then the wood will burned slightly – by little, burn longer than wood that has not dampened.
If you put aloe dried over charcoal, charcoal will directly burn the wood immediately, if the wood was wet, it will not directly burned, the wood will burn longer.
I do not teach you dirty, you can use the water, without need to use saliva, you just dip in water, then sprinkle and place it over charcoal.
Tips of burning Agarwood
When burning Oud wood chips, it is always better to burn it ‘clean’ on a mica plate that can commonly be found for burning incense. This will ensure that you get a ‘cleaner’ scent out of your burned Oud wood, as burning on coal requires that you not prepare the coal too hot, lest you will have some ‘coal scent notes’ together with your Oud wood scent during fumigation.
The best way to optimally heat up the coal is not through the stove but rather by a blowtorch lighter you can get for lighting up cigars. Just aim to torch the far sides of the 4 sided squarish coal instead of the middle part of it, and immediately place your Oud chip on the middle spot once you have done lighting. The heat from the sides will slowly move up to the middle of the coal and will give the slow burning effect on your Oud. The scent will be longer lasting and better smelling (without the coal notes) this way. The traditional way of burning is with a burner and coal and that is how we like to do it.
There are two main reasons for wearing oud: for one’s personal enjoyment, and for others.
It is an absolute delight studying the evolution of the complex smell of oud on your skin for hours, for your own enjoyment. Many specimens of oud evoke olfactory memories, and it often becomes a fun exercise trying to identify them.
For one’s personal enjoyment, it is recommended to apply the oil to one’s outer forearm,, 2 – 3 inches above the wrist. Even a tiny amount, the size of a cumin seed, will be sufficient. This is then gently dabbed below the jaw line.
Needless to say, oud oil is so potent that even this tiny amount you apply can scent the entire room you are in.
It is important that you do not rub too hard. There should be a sheen remaining on your arm, after applying to the neck. The skin is highly absorbent, and rubbing too hard will make the oil (and the scent) disappear much faster. It can also damage the scent molecules.
Moisturizing your skin will also ensure that the smell lasts longer.
For the ultimate ‘broadcasting’ effect, there are two ways to use the oil:
Applying to your clothes, bracelet, or other item: This will give you the longest lasting smell as the oil will not be absorbed by the skin. For clothes, it is best to apply a bit to the shoulders, and some to the chest and back of your shirt.
Applying to the skin: while this will not last nearly as long, in most cases the smell will be much more appealing due to the unique chemistry between the skin and oud. Apply the oil just below your outer wrist, then smear it onto your neck. Once again, remember to keep a sheen remaining so don’t rub too hard!
About 1 – 2 healthy swipes of the dip stick should be used if you want to share the beautiful smell of oud with those around you.
Don’t forget that others might not be accustomed to the smell of oud like you! So do not over apply, even if you yourself can not detect too strong a smell. Remember that one’s own nose gets quickly accustomed to the scent due to olfactory fatigue. It’s usually a good idea after applying oud, that you wait about 15 minutes before meeting someone.
Different ouds have different scent lives, and different chemistries with the skin. You may find, for example, that you like your Indian oud best applied to the skin, while you like to have your Cambodian oud scenting your clothes.
What is oud?
Also known as agarwood, aloeswood and jinkou, oud is nature’s most exquisite fragrant offering.
Deep in a Far Eastern jungle, an evergreen tree is attacked by an infection. Much like our bodies’ immune system produces white blood cells, the tree starts producing a substance to combat the infection.
Over the years, the infection grows – as does the substance the tree produces. This is agarwood.
There are few natural aromatics that have as complex a scent spectrum as agarwood (oud). Natural ambergris, musk and rose also rank as some of the most valuable natural fragrances, but none come close to oud in the sheer transcendence and sublimity its fragrance boasts.
More than just a scent, oud can be mentally and spiritually engaging. In fact, specimens from different regions also seem to have an effect on a person’s emotions.
What is the difference between oud and attars/mukhallats/perfumes/colognes?
Attars, mukhallats, perfumes, colognes and other commercially sold fragrances are a combination of different ingredients.
In contrast to the above, with regard to its composition, pure oud oil is itself the fragrance, not being blended with any other ingredients.
This was in regard to the composition. As for the difference in their scents, then none of them can be compared to oud. While many attars and other fragrances can be quite pleasant, oud is more than just a scent, and it engages the one wearing it on many different levels.
Can I combine oud with other fragrances?
Absolutely.
If you are new to oud, you might find that you like it better blended with a cologne, attar or mukhallat because oud itself has a very powerful smell. You might want to tone it down a bit.
However, once you get more and more accustomed and addicted to the fragrance of pure oud,, you might become more reluctant to mix it with anything else.
And that is, in fact, giving oud its due right!
I heard oud is very strong, and I’m afraid I will be overwhelmed
It’s true that oud has one of, if not, the most powerful smell in the world of perfumery. But it is usually the initial hit after application and smelling it right out of the bottle that can be overwhelming for the unexperienced nose. That is why, we strongly recommend starting off by applying very tiny amounts, and not smelling the oils directly.
Over time, as your nose gets used to the smell, you will find the smell of oud an absolute delight in its entirety, from application to the dry down.
Which oud will I like the most?
We recommend you get samples of the different ouds. Many people absolutely love the earthy, barnyard and slightly fecal quality of Hindi (Indian) ouds, while others are all for the sweeter, more ethereal Indonesian specimens.
Ultimately, you may find that you like ouds from all the regions since they all have something unique to offer, even if they all vastly differ in their characters and scent profiles.
Why do different ouds smell so distinctive?
The climates the trees were grown in, the age of the trees, the distillation and aging techniques all have an effect on the smell of different ouds.
How long will the scent last on my skin?
Different oud oils have different scent lives on the skin. You will find some ouds that are of very high quality whose smell will fade before that of much lower grade specimens. The same oil, however, might be incredibly long-lasting if applied to clothes, bracelets, etc.
In general, every oud oil, should be discernable to your nose for a good 2 – 3 hours. After that, your nose may get used to the scent, but those around you will still be able to smell it for hours to come.
How long will a bottle of oud last?
The short answer is: it depends on how frequently you use the oil, and how much you apply.
Used for personal enjoyment, a bottle could last you a whole year or more with daily use. Oud, however, is generally not used as an every-day scent and so a bottle will probably last you much longer.
Is oud gender specific?
Absolutely not.
In the Gulf countries of the Middle East, where oud oil is most celebrated and used, men use oud for special occasions, parties and things of that sort. In Yemen, a gift of oud is an expected part of the dowry that the bride receives from the groom.
Oud is more than just a ‘scent’, which could be classified as masculine and feminine.
Rather, it has so much more to offer, and gender requisite is not a condition to be able to enjoy the offerings of this precious gift of nature.
When should I use oud?
You may initially find that you want to use oud for special occassions.
However, as is usually the case, you may find yourself loving oud so much that you will want to use it daily. In fact, some people even use it several times a day because they can’t get enough of it!
Where do Oud Oils get their distinct aroma?
Oud Oils owe their distinct aromatic scent to naturally-occurring organic compounds called terpenes and terpenoids.
Chemical composition of Oud Oils
A terpene is an organic compound which is widely produced by a variety of plants. These terpenes can be found in the essential oils and resins of plants as well as in the scent glands of flowers, and often are characterised by their strong smell and aromatic qualities.
Chemically, a terpene is an unsaturated hydorocarbon which consists of a combination of isoprene units (C5H8) and have the general formula (C5H8)n. Simple terpenes can be modified chemically through the natural process of oxidisation (reaction with oxygen in the air) to produce more complex compounds known as terpenoids. These natural terpenes and terpenoids are the major constituents of the essential oils of many plants and flowers.
Terpenes are structurally diverse and may take on different molecular structures despite having similar chemical formulae. Subtle variations in the basic terpene molecular structure have resulted in tens of thousands of unique terpene profiles present in our natural environment, each possessing its own unique chemical and aromatic qualities. Some plants may possess a particular terpene profile which gives the plant its distinct flavour. Other plants, on the other hand, may possess an endless variety and combination of terpene profiles, resulting in these plants having a wide diversity of possible aromas and flavours.
Why are Oud Oils so diverse in aroma?
Precisely because of their chemical composition (above). Different terpene profiles can be found even within the same species of agarwood tree. The type of terpene known as sesquiterpenes is an active compound in agarwood. The possible sesquiterpene chemical structures of each extracted agarwood essential oil are endless and coupled with the various rates of oxidation, would result in an even wider diversity of Oud scent profiles.
Factors which may affect a particular Oud Oil’s chemical composition and scent profile includes the age and quality of the agarwood tree’s fungal infection, the age, species, environmental conditions and geographical location of the agarwood tree, the age of the extracted oil and the amount of its exposure to air and sunlight (this affects oxidisation), the type of distillation used and the purity of the oil (blended v. pure, diluted v. undiluted).
Terpenes and terpenoids are known to contribute to the scent of eucalyptus, cinnamon, citrus, cloves, ginger, and menthol, among others, which are just some of the scent notes typically found in Oud.
Sinking Agarwood under some circumstances (infected with parasites or fungus), the agarwood trees produce resins as a defense mechanism. Under certain conditions, after the passage of time these resins accumulate on the wood to form resinous wood that emits a special aromatic perfume. Because of the resinous accumulation above 25% volumetric, the specific weight of agarwood is larger than water and as a result will sink. The resins produced by agarwood have special aroma and is therefore very valuable. In China Agarwood price is incresing yearly 20~30%,, everyone knows that Agarwood harvesting is getting difficult, especially sinking grade. You may keep the wood for yourselves, it is much valuable than the gold by few folds.
Story of Agarwood
There is a very wise monk disciples ask a Master , “Master, what is the true value of life ? “
Master took an agarwood from the room , said to him: “You put this agarwood, to get the market to sell, but do not really sell , as long as someone bids enough , look at people in the market , how much money to buy it block incense? ”
Disciple took agarwood to the market , some people say this agarwood great, look great , they offer a thousand dollars ; someone say this incense, it can do decorations, bid three thousand dollars.
Disciple very happy to go back and tell the master : ” useless piece of agarwood , but also can be sold for three thousand dollars, which really sold it .”
Master said: ” Let not sell, then you take it to see people in the gold market how to bid, and do not really sell .”
Disciples put this incense, take it to the gold market to sell, the outset person bid ten thousand, the second person bid one hundred thousand , and finally bid three hundred thousand . Disciples excitedly ran back to report to master this incredible result .
Master said to him: ” Take the agarwood to the most expensive, most exclusive jewelry mall to evaluate .” Disciples went.
The first person asking price is three hundred thousand , but he does not sell , then five hundred thousand , eight hundred thousand , have been added to the person angry , asking to his own bid.
He said to the buyer, the master would not allow him to sell , put agarwood back to the Master said : ” this is actually agarwood bid to one million .”
Master said: ” Yeah , I now teach you how to understand the value of life , you have been in the market, look on with your life , so it has been rocking the value of life with the people. The value of life, should not that to the anyone evaluation, but that we how to evaluation yourself. The value of anyone, is unique, to understand their nature , accept yourself, sharpen yourself. give yourself room to grow , each of us can become a ” priceless .”
There have been at least a dozen oud-based fragrances released in the last two years—Killian’s ultra-expensive Pure Oud, Le Labo’s Oud 27, Al Oudh by L’Artisan Parfumeur and Juliette Has A Gun’s Midnight Oud, for example—but what exactly is oud?
Oud, also known as agarwood, is an exotic and expensive wood resin created when the Southeast Asian Aquilaria tree is attacked by a certain type of mold. The richly fragrant resin, which the tree produces in its core to fight off the infecting mold,, has been harvested from affected trees for centuries (it is apparently even mentioned in the Bible) and used for incense and perfume oil.
From The RainForest Project:
The “Wood of the Gods” has been traded and highly appreciated for thousands of years. Resinous wood is used as incense, for medicinal purposes, and pure resin in distilled form is used as perfume and perfume component. Outside native countries it is most widely known in the Middle East, China, Taiwan and Japan. A strong connection exists between use, religion and curative properties, and elaborate traditional and religious ceremonies are known from around the world. Faith healers in the Middle East use it at curative ceremonies, Japanese pilgrims donate flowers and Agarwood oil to Shinto-Buddhist temples, and Vietnamese religious groups are obliged to bring Agarwood to ceremonies at their temples in Mekong delta communities.
Because of over-harvesting, many countries protect Aquilaria trees, but some scientists, including the University of Minnesota’s Professor Robert Blanchette, have been working on sustainable agarwood farming, wherein the resin is collected from young trees instead of old ones.
The RainForest Project says that efforts to create a synthetic agarwood oil have proven even more difficult and expensive than harvesting the real thing.
Pure oud oil, that is, agarwood oil made from boiling down the tree resin, is very expensive. It’s got a powerful smell that isn’t quite like anything else. They can cost hundreds of dollars per ounce. A few online retailers sell it, either as incense or as oud oil.
Smelling various oud-based fragrances gives you a pretty clear idea what the real thing smells like, and how well it combines with other fragrances. L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Al Oudh ($155 for 100ml) is a strong, pungent oud that wouldn’t work for everyday wear. Le Labo’s Oud 27 ($200 for 100ml, but it comes in smaller bottles) is very sweet and wearable. By Killian’s Pure Oud ($395 for 50ml) is quite good, but ridiculously expensive. My favorite oud so far, by Juliette Has A Gun, is Midnight Oud ($135 for 100ml): it’s the perfect balance between the sweet and pungent aspects of other oud scents on the market. Combine Oud 27 with Al Oudh, and it might smell like this.
Cholesterol levels is an important element of the physical, a lipid (fat), that is primarily created by the liver. It may additionally be located in cells ( on the surface) and some certain groups of food such as, dairy, meat and many more.. The physique requires cholesterol in the buildup of Supplement D, certain hormones and structure mobile walls for this reason, making it vital for regular body function.
The liver generates about 1,000 milligrams of cholesterol a day, and you most likely eat concerning 150 to 250 milligrams in the meals you consume. (Mary L. Gavin, 2009).
Cholesterol levels among United States adults today are generally more than in all other industrial countries. During the 1990s there was some issue pertaining to cholesterol levels in American kids. According to the CDC (Centers for Illness Command and Deterrence), virtually 1 in every 10 children/adolescents in the UNITED STATE has elevated overall cholesterol levels; and this sought focus had actually dropped over a 20-year duration. (Nordqvist, 2009).
KINDS OF CHOLESTROL.
Cholesterol levels could not travel alone intro our blood flow hence, they are held by particles called lipoproteins. The major types of lipoproteins are:.
LDL (low thickness lipoprotein).
Frequently referred as bad cholesterol levels High thickness of LDL can cause arterial and heart diseases.
HDL (high density lipoprotein).
Contrary to LDL, HDL is described as excellent cholesterol levels. It assists in the removal of cholesterol levels from cells and holds it back to the liver where it is broken down or secreted from the physique.
TYPICAL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS LEVELS.
The amount of cholesterol levels in human blood could differ from 3.6 mmol/liter to 7.8 mmol/liter. The National Health Service (NHS), UK, states that any reading over 6 mmol/liter is higher, and will substantially increase the danger of arterial condition. The UK Division of Wellness recommends a target cholesterol levels level of under 5 mmol/liter. Unfortunately, two-thirds of all UK adults have a overall cholesterol degree of at the very least 5 ( typical men 5.5, typical ladies 5.6). (Nordqvist, 2009).
WHAT INDUCES HIGH CHOLESTROL.
Several of the major aspects of higher cholesterol are:
PARTICULAR TYPES OF MEALS.
Many meals contain cholesterol such as, meat, dairy products, fowl and so on though, these foods do not tamper with the cholesterol degrees in a profound fashion. Nevertheless, foods that are high in filled fat greatly affect the cholesterol degrees in our blood flow. These meals consist of junk food, cheese, cream etc.
EXCESSIVE WEIGHT.
Weight is among the significant reasons behind higher degrees of LDL (bad cholesterol) and reduced levels of HDL (good cholesterol levels). Individuals who have a moderate weight are less likely to establish high cholesterol levels.
SMOKING/ALCOHOL USAGE.
Individuals who are regular customers of cigs and alcohol are prone to create high levels of LDL cholesterol when compared from people who practice sobriety.
RESULTS OF HIGH CHOLESTROL LEVELS.
HEART PROBLEM.
High cholesterol levels can easily create the arteries to decrease hence, restricting the blood circulation. This irregularity of the canals that carry oxygen and blood to the heart can lead to a clot or a stroke.
BLOOD STRESS.
High cholesterol degrees may result in a condition called, coronary artery disease ( constricting and hardening of capillary). When excess fat is placed inside the blood vessels, they become less manageable creating the advancement of hypertension.
AGARWOOD tea has polyphenols which lessen the absorption of cholesterol levels within the intestinal framework of the body considering that polyphenols additionally have the capability of lessening irritation and accumulation of free radicals within the human body. Polyphenols likewise help in the excretion of cholesterol from the physique by reducing the degrees of bad LDL cholesterol levels.
Demographics state that two-thirds of the United States is grouped under the group of being obese which is no less than an overweight-epidemic around the basic populace. The problem with acquiring too much weight is that it makes the body prone to some of the most horrible ailments.
The National Principle of Health and wellness states that being overweight spots you at risk for type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease and movement, specific sorts of cancer, osteoarthritis,, and gallbladder illness. (Brown, 2011).
2 essential and effective ways of reducing weight is to either decrease the quantity of fat intake as an example, diet plan, or enhance the process of burning extreme fats compared to eaten, for instance,, exercising. Some foods/drinks aid in the process of energy expenditure. Agarwood tea is one of one of the most clever refreshment that could help in decrease of excessive weight by mobilization of fat inside the body and proliferate our metabolism.
Before talking about the impacts of Agarwood tea we need to recognize some fundamental terms that are connected to fat loss.
WHAT IS EXCESSIVE WEIGHT.
Excessive weight is a medical problem in which excess physique fat is accumulated within the physique. This ailment could cause long-term health and wellness hazards. Obesity is measured with a procedure where a individual computes their Physique Mass Index (BMI). A person is pointed out to be overweight if their complete physique weight is 20 % more than their normal weight. BMI can be figured out utilizing BMI-CALCULATOR.
WHAT IS METABOLIC RATE.
After ingestion, the physique breaks down food in to power. The amount of energy (calories) that the body burns in order to preserve weight is known as metabolic rate. Metabolism is a natural phenomenon that exists in human beings that’s starts from birth and finishes after a person perishes. A quick metabolism indicates that body has the ability to burn even more calories and fat in the body thus, causing weight loss/management. Unfortunately, given that metabolism is a organic treatment, it has the tendency to decrease as a person ages and decline muscle mass. At some point, a sluggish metabolism would lessen the indications of fat burning though a person takes a low-calorie diet.
WHAT INDUCES EXCESSIVE WEIGHT.
There are numerous reasons that account to excessive weight. One of one of the most essential factor is age. The physique’s capability to break down meals after intake reduces as a individual ages. One more factor that causes excessive weight is genetics. The opportunities of a youngster being obese are even more most likely if his parents are obese as well. Sex is additionally a element that influences excessive weight. According to researchers, men have higher metabolism ( talked about here) than female. As individuals become sluggish and decrease the quantity of exercise they execute everyday, they get overweight. Various other reasons that cause obesity feature emotional variables and medicines.
EXCESSIVE WEIGHT AND METABOLIC RATE.
According to Dr. Michael Goran, of the Institute for Avoidance Analysis at the School of Southern California, the ordinary grownup eats near to 1 thousand gram calories every year. A fat is a unit of power. If power, or fat, intake surpasses energy expenditure by as little as 25 kcal/d, or kilocalories every day, a individual comes to be obese. In the long run, claims Goran, weight problems is the end result of a mismatch in between energy intake and energy expense, and a net accumulation of fats stored in the body. Your body size and gender affect your BMR, making it slower compared to you wished, and as you age, your BMR decreases, as a result of decreases in muscle mass. However, sluggish metabolism, according to MayoClinic.com, is hardly ever the exclusive reason of obesity, although some clinical ailments, such as thyroid issues and Cushing’s disorder, will considerably decelerate your metabolism enough to create weight gain. (Andrews, 2011).
HOW CAN AGARWOOD TEA AID.
Healthy Tea
Agarwood tea are jazzed up with flavonoids (genkwanin glycosides), which help the body to release excess fat. They aid in fat burning operation and prevent energy to be improved in to physique fat. They also help improve metabolism inside our physiques. Improvement of metabolism lead to lessened fat absorption.
The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry reported that fat cells exposed to certain flavonoids caused reduced degrees of an enzyme that develops triglycerides– fat in the blood. Researchers think that flavonoids may enhance the indicators of metabolic {syndrome| disorder| symptoms| . (Blankstein, 2010).
Vietnam Agarwood 