TeaChat

The Beauty of Aloeswood. Please share the knowledge and experience with its magic.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65257125@ ... 457fab2af9

Hi Tim,

According to wikipedia Aloeswood/Agarwood is a type of resin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agarwood), while Kyara is a type of incense from Vietnam, right?
What makes them so special?

William wrote:Hi Tim,

According to wikipedia Aloeswood/Agarwood is a type of resin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agarwood), while Kyara is a type of incense from Vietnam, right?
What makes them so special?

Hi William,
There are many grades in Aloeswood, and they are grown all over SE Asia, mostly farm now.
The highest grade is Kyara, and in Kyara grade you have the pinnacle of raw green grade from Vietnam. This grade was extinct years ago.

A traditional top Chinese medicine, use by monks for centuries. Normal grade of wild aloeswood is highly sort after and very expensive.

TIM wrote:

William wrote:Hi Tim,

According to wikipedia Aloeswood/Agarwood is a type of resin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agarwood), while Kyara is a type of incense from Vietnam, right?
What makes them so special?

Hi William,
There are many grades in Aloeswood, and they are grown all over SE Asia, mostly farm now.
The highest grade is Kyara, and in Kyara grade you have the pinnacle of raw green grade from Vietnam. This grade was extinct years ago.

A traditional top Chinese medicine, use by monks for centuries. Normal grade of wild aloeswood is highly sort after and very expensive.

Thanks for the explanation Tim!
It is always a pity when something with such a long history is extinguished.

Extinct but available. Like every finer things in life, there are always a chance that nature will reproduce in rare occasions.

Raw green grade is going for $8000 per gram, if its real.

Kyarazen is an expert in kyara and aloes wood. I have learned a lot from him. His website is under upgrading at the moment and please check it out later.

We brew tea with kyara and aloes wood. Perhaps we will feature some of these exotic combination in our blogs later. Oud or oil from aloes wood has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.

Luckily I managed to grab some kyara and sinking aloes wood before the price shot up. Now it is really too expensive. Locus path again.

Cheers!

Teaism wrote:Kyarazen is an expert in kyara and aloes wood. I have learned a lot from him. His website is under upgrading at the moment and please check it out later.

We brew tea with kyara and aloes wood. Perhaps we will feature some of these exotic combination in our blogs later. Oud or oil from aloes wood has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.

Luckily I managed to grab some kyara and sinking aloes wood before the price shot up. Now it is really too expensive. Locus path again.

Cheers!

Great to have an expert in kyara in the house. I am still learning the art of collecting. Can't wait for Kyarazen to share more of his wisdom.

Here is some of my experiences:
http://themandarinstea.blogspot.com/200 ... swood.html

Enjoy! ~ T

Thank you for starting the topic, Tim

Great collection you have there! I especially love the rosary, I've been looking for one like it but I'm holding off until I can find a source I'm 100% confident in. There are so many scam artists out there!

My experience with Aloeswood at this point is pretty limited, there's a lot to learn. All I know is that I'm hopelessly hooked. My gateway to this was Japanese incense. I noticed that aloeswood was an ingredient in the sticks that I favored, which prompted to to explore a little deeper.

I made the mistake of buying a very small amount of good Oud oil and now I'm afraid I'll never be the same. I expected a nice fragrance, but what I got was an experience that etched itself on my brain in a way that I can't shake. I've never worn anything like this before, it dances around you, changes, vibrates in a low base, hides for a while, comes back on stage in another costume. It's so divinely complex that I'm afraid I'll never be satisfied with anything less or synthetic. My wallet is very afraid.

I'm pretty sure I've never experienced the Kyara note in the oils or chips I've tried, perhaps some day.....

can i turn this thread into an incense discussion as well?

teaism's flattering me, i'm just a fragrant wood obsessed freak whom have been studying fragrant woods intensely for quite a while.

its the same thing with tea, direct experience is essential, and always being willing to learn/share is extremely important.

the combination of kyara and aged "sheng" pu-er in a symbiotic harmony is an intriguing experience. it was actually pioneered by teaism and his tea master and i happened to have tasted the artful combination twice, extremely memorable, and perhaps the epitome of what people consider to be "茶道"。perhaps one day we'll collaborate on an article/blog post on his blog on this

Haha... we are all slaves to our passion in a nice way. Great to share and learn from each other. The internet make this even better.

Having a nice passion like tea and wood is always exhilarating.

Every moment is a great joy in the path of discovery.

Cheers!

kyarazen wrote:can i turn this thread into an incense discussion as well?

teaism's flattering me, i'm just a fragrant wood obsessed freak whom have been studying fragrant woods intensely for quite a while.

Absolutely. Will be a great pleasure to see your collection of incense woods.

I mostly collect these bracelet, easy to carry around and great to make tea with.



Honey Kyara and sinking dark oil.

TIM wrote:
Absolutely. Will be a great pleasure to see your collection of incense woods.

I mostly collect these bracelet, easy to carry around and great to make tea with.

Honey Kyara and sinking dark oil.

bracelets/beads are often some of the hardest things to collect
had many friends whom approached me to help them authenticate beads they bought, and after seeing that majority of what they had bought was fake, i no longer agree to help anyone verify their stuff anymore.. its too much of a "heartbreak" for them.

anyone into preparing kodo cups for mon-koh/listening to incense?



its nice to have some incense before a cup of tea

Great looking pair. What do you usually burn?

Wa..incense!

A cool guy finally came

And a nice pair of oldish porcerlain (looks Japanese?)

learning..learning..