Agarwood

Agarwood

Aquilaria ssp 

Laos

Sustainably cultivated from farmed trees

We were the first company in the United States to deal with agarwood...this was back in 1998 at the lastest. There was virtually no information on any Thymecelaceae plants even at the NY Botanical Garden in the Bronx.

I personally traveled to Laos many times to visit our distiller and also to the trees in Malaysia, Vietnam, and India. The Cambodian forests in those days (1990s) were still off limits--even Battambang was still full of UXO and stray rebels. The Cardamom Mountains and Elephant Mountains were stictly no-go--this changed with de-mining efforts in the late 1990s and early 2000's. Most of our oud came from Laos: Udomxai, Bokeo, Luang Nam Ta, the village areas near Phongsali, and even south to Pakading. When the movement to declare this tree CITES Appx 2 occured in 2004, the competition for the remaining areas began. The CITES listing was not done in good faith, as are many if not most of the botanical CITES listings in process now. It was done in a effort to corner the market on a valuable natural resource, a strongarm method that cotinues to this day, with other flora. You can read any of my articles on this if interested.

However, we do continue to source small amounts of agarwood from these areas.

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This is a comparatively long distillation, at least 10 days, and it happens that in some places, like India, the wood can continuously boil for 6 months. Ours, however, is approximately 10 days because the aromatic constituents we want have all come over in this amount of time. 

These are plantation agarwood trees, and infected by hand. The trees produce a resin in response to cuts into the bark, and the resin riddles the soft white wood; this is basis for agarwood. When the wood chips have only minimal amounts of the resin, the wood can be distilled. Otherwise, it's cleaned and sold as is for incense.

Arctander says....

Not a lot about this oil;  it's pale yellow to brownish yellow to dark amber in color; a viscous liquid of rich, sweet-woody, almost balsamic odor not unlike that of vetiverol or purified styrene-free styrax, and with a sweetness similar to that of sandalwood oil. This will give a general idea perhaps but the agarwood available on mid-twentieth century earth was very different.

It's grown in agarwood plantations in Laos, and distilled on site, for about 10 days. The scent is deep, woody, rich and balsamic, with overtones of rubber and smoke. It has incredible tenacity, and is good paired with vetiver, sandalwood, cedar, rose absolute, patchouli, nagamotha, vanilla and benzoin.

Psalm 45

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.

Proverbs 7

I have spread my couch with coverings,
    colored linens from Egyptian linen;
 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
    aloes, and cinnamon.
 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
    let us delight ourselves with love.

Safety Information

As with most essential oils, dilute before using on skin. Perform a patch test before use if essential oil sensitivity is suspected. Do not take essential oils internally. Do not use on children or pets. Seek advice from a trained aromatherapist before using on people with compromised immune systems. Keep away from eyes and mucus membranes.
Enfleurage makes no medical claims relating to any products, essential oils or otherwise, on our website or through social media. We are an essential oil company, not doctors, The FDA has not evaluated the statements on this website. We present our information in order to educate our customers on traditional and general uses of essential oils; in no way do we diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease or condition.
You the customer are responsible for understanding the safe use of any and all of our products, including essential oils, and use them accordingly.