I’ve been lucky enough to have been involved with Agarwood for over 8 years now. It’s by far and away the best scent you will find on earth! Let’s discover exactly what it is, where it comes from and how it’s created!
Oud wood, also known as agarwood, aloeswood, eaglewood, gaharu is a fragrant and resinous wood used for incense, perfume, bead necklaces, bracelets and hand carvings. Derived from the heartwood of Aquilaria trees infected with Phialophora mold, it transforms from a scentless, light wood to a dense, dark, and resin-saturated material as the tree fights to guard itself in response to the fungus. The infection takes place in the trunk or roots. This prized substance, valued across religious communities and appreciated by royalty for millennia in the Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures for its distinctive fragrance burned as incense, and as an aromatic oil to be worn neat on the skin. Over 100 chemical compounds including terpenes have been noted within Oud oil. It’s complex and unable to be replicated synthetically, although people have tried. This makes Oud oil very useful in perfumery and Attar oils to create unique fragrances. The significant scent varies depending on the region, sub region, species and on whether the wood itself is cultivated or wild.
The scarcity and rapidly rising cost of agarwood primarily stems from the depletion of the wild resource. Aquilaria malaccensis, the main source, has been listed as potentially threatened since 1995 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, with all Aquilaria species included in 2004. Often regarded as one of the world's most expensive woods, alongside African blackwood, some sandalwood species, pink ivory, and ebony, first-grade agarwood can reach prices as high as US$100,000/kg. However, due to common adulteration, prices as low as US$100/kg are observed. The market, with a diverse range of qualities and products, is estimated to be between US$6–8 billion globally as of 2013, showing rapid growth.
In the wild maybe 1 in 15 trees will be naturally inoculated where as farmed trees have a very high success rate with intervened inoculation techniques. Agarwood trees are predominantly found in the rainforests of Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Northeast India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Borneo, and New Guinea. These trees typically reach heights of 6–20 meters. The leaf can be used to make tea with reported health benefits as well as a way to aid restful sleep. The taste is slightly sweet and akin to mushroom.
There are 17 species of Aquilaria tree, of which 9 are known for producing agarwood. these are some of them.
- Aquilaria crassna: Found in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam
- Aquilaria filaria: Found in New Guinea, the Moluccas, and Mindanao (Philippines)
- Aquilaria hirta: Found in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia
- Aquilaria malaccensis: Found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Thailand, and India
- Aquilaria microcarpa: Found in Indonesia and Malaysia
- Aquilaria Gyrinops: Found in Sri Lanka
I hope you found my blog post insightful in some way. Please feel free to take a look at our products in store! Oli