Red Tea/Rooibos/Aspalathus linearis CO2/Alcohol Select Extract/South Africa

Images of Red Tea/Rooibos/Asplanthus linearis

Olfactory Properties of Rooibos/Red Tea/Aspalathus linearis CO2/Alcohol Select Extract-

The aroma of the the Rooibos Tea CO2/Alcohol select extract began manifesting its qualities shortly after being placed on the AromaStone. Very quickly a warm, rich sweet herbaceous, delicate hay-coumarinic, honey, floral note began to spread in the surrounding area. Its presence was markedly strong as compared with the green tea and black tea co2/alcohol extracts. The full bouquet of the tea established itself within 5 minutes and remained as a notable presence for approximately 90 minutes when its intensity softened a bit. It has a very sunny, friendly and relaxing presence and it is easy to see why this indigenous tea of South Africa has become popular both in the country and abroad.

Blends well with anise star eo and co2; arnica abs; beeswax abs; bergamot eo; boronia absolute,; broom abs; canago eo; cassie absolute; chamomile, blue eo and co2; chamomile, english eo; chamomile morocco, wild eo and abs; clary sage eo and abs; davana eo; elderflower abs and eo; fennel sweet eo and co2; fennel bitter eo; geranium eo and abs; ginger eo, co2 and abs; hay absolute; helichrysum eo and abs; henna flower attar; henna leaf co2; hyssop eo; hop eo and co2; jasmine absolutes; jonquill abs lemon eo; lemon essense eo; lemonbalm eo, co2 and abs; lime eo; lime essence eo; litsea cubeba eo; mandarin eo; mimosa abs; neroli eo; orange blossom abs; rose damascena otto and abs; rosa centifolia eo and abs; rosa bourbonia abs; rosa odorata eo; rosa rugosa eo; sage eo; saffron co2; tangerine eo; tangerine essence eo; tea, black co2 and abs; tea green co2 and abs; verbena lemon eo and abs; verbena white eo; yarrow eo; ylang eo and abs

In perfumery would serve well in culinary blends; herbaceous bouquets; roseaceous bases; colognes; historical creations; geographical perfumes; tea perfumes; high class floral perfumes


Interesting facts about Rooibos

1. Rooibos is grown only in a small area in the Cederberg region of the Western Cape province
2. Several coffee shops in South Africa have recently begun to sell red espresso[3], which is concentrated rooibos served and presented in the style of ordinary espresso (which is normally coffee-based). This has given rise to rooibos-based variations of coffee drinks such as red lattes and red cappuccinos.
3. It is not only enjoyed as a herbal tea, but is also used as an ingredient in cosmetics, in slimming products, as a flavouring agent in baking and cooking and even as a treatment for infants who are prone to colic.
4. In South Africa, rooibos tea is recommended for bathing infants and children with allergic skin conditions, such as nappy rash and atopic eczema. It has been found to have a soothing, non-drying effect to the skin.
5. "Aspalathus family consists of over 247 species of which "Aspalathus Linearis" plant nicknamed ‘ Rooibos ” meaning “ Red Bush ” is the only cultivated and widely consumed specie.
6. The shrub, Aspalathus linearis, has a very limited growing area, only in the Cedarberg Mountains of the Western Cape of South Africa, mainly at three small rural communities: Wupperthal, Eselbank, and Heuningvlei
7. Initially, Rooibos was harvested as the wild-growing "Aspalathus Linearis" plants by chopping them with axes and then bruising them with hammers, leaving them to ferment in heaps, before drying them in the sun. Today, the basic method of Rooibos production from planting to harvesting is largely unchanged. However, the plants are cultivated rather than collected from the wild. In addition, production methods are far more mechanized and refined. Vast improvements in production technology and stringent quality control now ensure a superior quality product every step of the way, from seed to finished product. About 18 months after seedlings are planted, they become fully-grown and are ready for harvesting. Plants are harvested once a year during mid-summer. Cut Rooibos is bound in sheaves and milled to a uniform length, then bruised between rollers to trigger the important chemical process (fermentation) which results in the characteristic amber color, distinctive flavor and sweet aroma of Rooibos. Following fermentation, the Rooibos is spread thinly over large drying yards to dry in the hot South African sun after which it is sucked up by special vacuums...


Links to Red Tea/Rooibos/Aspalathus linearis

Wikipedia article on Rooibos
Plants of Africa Monograph
Health Properties of Rooibos

Black Tea(Camellia sinsensis) co2/alcohol select extract/Kenya

Olfactory Properties of Black Tea CO2/Alcohol CO2 Select Extract/Kenya

The aromatic profile of Kenya Black Tea CO2 which like the Green Tea CO2 is a clear transparent liquid, begins to manifest itself within a few seconds of being placed and the AromaStone. Like the green tea co2 it has a very soft gentle presence but with a significantly different character. The strong green notes that are found in the green tea co2 are replaced by delicate herbaceous, dry, woody one with a fine powdery spicy under-tone. This bouquet builds very quietly in the atmosphere and is not a dominating one but certainly is special and delightful. On needs to carefully pay attention to its presence to savory its beauty. The duration of the black tea co2 as a definitely preceiveable presence in the atmosphere is short-lived. Within an hour it becomes a quiet backdrop in the room.

Blends well with many spicy, floral, herbaceous and woody essential oils, absolutes and co2 extracts as is indicated in the green tea blog. Again since it is already in an alcohol base all additions to it should be done very discreetly so its own delicate fragrance does not get lost in the blend

Can you be used as a central theme in historical perfumes, special tea-centric perfumes, culinary perfumes. The absolute of black tea(which in my experience is a solid black plastic mass) could be used in floral bouquets, woody bases, herbal creations etc giving a unique natural herbaceous/leafy/woody intensity to the composition that is not achievealbe by any other means.



Interesting fact about Black Tea/Camellia sinsensis

1.While green tea usually loses its flavor within a year, black tea retains its flavor for several years.
2. Although green tea has recently seen a revival due to its purported health benefits, black tea still accounts for over ninety percent of all tea sold in the West.
3. Black tea is fully fermented. Leaves are dried for a day after picking. Then they are allowed to fully ferment before firing stops fermentation. The resulting leaves and liquor are usually darker than an oolong. The flavor of a black tea depends on where it’s grown. Tannin (a puckering quality) is often evident in black teas.
4. he best Assam black teas are grown in high altitudes with clouds comforting the tea plant and moisturizing it's leaves. Although tea plants flourish in tropical climate cool mountain air and shade from clouds produce the highest quality teas .
5. Until recently, tea research has focused on green tea. Green tea is loaded with the compound epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), a powerful anti-oxidant. Since the fermentation process used to make black tea converts EGCg into other compounds, researchers assumed black tea had less health benefits than green tea. However, recent studies indicate the compounds contained in black tea - theaflavins and thearubigens - do more than contribute to its dark color and distinctive flavor. They also provide health benefits originally attributed solely to green tea.
6. There is only one plant that produces tea, Camellia sinensis. This single plant produces many varietals which in turn can be produced into thousands of types of teas. The differences are based on where the tea is grown, how it is plucked and how it is processed. The character, flavor and body of quality tea is much more complex than coffee. There are three types of tea: black, green, and oolong.
7. Tea was originally brewed with raw, un-processed wild leaves steeped in boiling water. As the refinement developed, the leaves were dried, crushed and then pressed into "cakes" which were broken up and placed into boiling water.
8. Around 1370 B.C., processed leaves replaced the tea cakes and tea is traded as a commodity throughout Asia and Europe. The Chinese would hold their monopoly on tea until the 1800's when the British were able to successfully grow tea in what was then their largest colony, India.


Black Tea/Camellia sinensis links

Wikipedia article on Black Tea
The making of black tea
Consumption of Black Tea
Beneficial phytochemicals produced during fermentation of black tea
Details of Black Tea Manufacture
Origins and Unique Traditions of Tea in China
Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road

Green Tea CO2/Alcohol Select Extract

Images of Green Tea/Camellia sinsensis
Green Tea Harvest China


Olfactory Properties of Green Tea(Camellia sinensis)/China

Over the past couple of years many customers have enquired about pure essences of black tea, green tea, etc. I have stocked small amounts of green tea co2 total extract and green tea absolute but both were a bit difficult to work with. It should be noted to that the olfactory profile of these types of natural botanical is on the mild side, especially green tea and white tea so in the green tea co2 total extract and the absolute the odor was also mild albeit unique and delightful.

Now one of our colleagues has come up with a fine co2 technique of extracting the essence of the different types of teas. Here is a description of the technique used-

The CO2 select Tea extracts combine all of the desirable features of traditional essential oils and oleoresins into single, readily usable liquid products. The disadvantages associated with oils and oleoresins are eliminated, such as degradation products from heating, loss of volatiles, solvent residues, less soluble viscous resin components. Their unique characteristics lend themselves to a wide range of applications in flavor and fragrance delivery systems.

Liquid Carbon Dioxide
This special carbon dioxide extraction process is in the more selective pure liquid (subcritical) phase as distinct from the supercritical conditions more commonly employed in, for example, commercial extraction of hops and decaffeination of coffee. At low pressures of between 40-60 atmospheres and temperatures between 32-50 degrees farenheit, the liquefied carbon dioxide dissolves the lower molecular weight
organoleptically active components, leaving behind the higher molecular weight unwanted materials such as heavier fats, waxes, pigments, sugars, starches
and tannins.
Tea be it black, green or white does not contain a significant quantity of natural essential oil and will not yield a pure CO2 extract. For such materials, undenatured ethyl alcohol is injected into the flow of clean CO2 prior to the extraction as an
entrainer, creating a unique selective solvent mixture.
The entrained CO2 is still significantly more selective than if alcohol alone is used on the same botanical.
The benefits of this method are:
• No off notes generated during distillation
• More top note, because of low temperature
extraction in a closed pressurised system
• More back note, because CO2 extracts the
character of the absolute
• Improved solubility
• Clear unpigmented liquid
The amount of select tea extract to ethyl alcohol in the final product is approximately 10% of pure extract to 90% alcohol.
Before adding this type of specialized product to our line of natural essences I would like to know what kind of interest there would be for them amongst our customers. If you are interested in this special kind of product please send me a note and I will slowly start adding them to our list.

The clear co2/alcohol select extract of green tea(Camellia sinensis) from China quickly begins to display its olfactory qualities within a 15 seconds of being placed on the AromaStone. As mentioned earlier the aromatic molecules present in the green leaf tea are quite soft and mellow but they are at the same time distinct and unique.
There is an initial fresh, deep green, slightly medicinal/phenolic note with a lightly roasted undertone. Into this initial bouquet a grassy/hay-like note appears after some time and still deeper into the aromatic life of the extract one may detect a discreet herbal/floral bouquet. Once all these fragrant elements have appeared the co2 select continues to display these qualities for well over an hour-gently permeated the entire atmosphere of the room. Even though one may describe the entire bouquet as being soft and mellow-yet the effect is unmistakable. It is a very refreshing, refined and absorbing aroma but one needs to be attentive to its effect because it is one of those fragrances which one has to come too, as compared to those essences which with little effort grab ones total attention.

The co2/alcohol extract of green tea blends well with anise eo and co2; anise star eo and co2; arnica abs; artemisia oils; aruacaria eo; cananga eo; cedarleaf eo; champa, golden attar and abs; champa, white co2; copaiba balsam eo; fennel eo and co2; frangipani abs; davana eo; geranium eo and abs; galangal eo; ginger eo, co2 and abs; gurjun balsam eo; hay abs; helichyrsum eo and abs; jasmine grandiflorum abs; jasmin sambac abs; laurel leaf eo and abs; mariold abs; melissa/lemon balm eo and co2; myrtle eo; neroli eo; nutmeg eo, co2 and abs; orange blossom abs; palmarosa eo; petitgrain oils; rosa damascena otto and abs; rose de mai abs; rosa bourbonia abs; rosa odorata eo; rosa rugosa eo; rose leaf abs; rosewood eo; ruh kewda; saffron co2; tuberose abs and attar; verbena, lemon eo and abs; ylang eo, co2 and abs; yuzu eo

In perfumery the green tea co2/alcholic extract would serve as an excellent base for a whole line of natural tea aroma perfumes into which could be incorporated expensive floral abs and eos like rose, champa, jasmin sambac, osmanthus etc. My feeling is that with one would not wish to lose the unique lift of the green extract itself and should allow it to play a prominent role in ones creations so one would need to add very small amounts of the absolutes etc-just enough to give it an exotic floral touch.
Spices too would be useful additions to the green tea co2 to create some lovely chai type blends. One might wish to add a bit of high quality sandalwood to the compostion to increase the longetivity of the perfume on dry-out. New Caledonia and Australian sandalwood would both work well in this situation.


Interesting facts about Green Tea

1.Green tea is a type of tea made solely with the leaves of Camellia sinensis, that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan to the Middle East.
2. Green tea has been used as traditional medicine in areas such as China, Japan, India and Thailand to help everything from controlling bleeding and helping heal wounds to regulating body temperature, blood sugar and promoting digestion.
3. In the past dynasties, people not only formed a special way of tea-drinking, but also developed an art form called tea-drinking. This art form comprises of many aspects. The most noticeable ones are the making of tea, the way of brewing, the drinking utensils such as tea pot. The art of making tea is called "Cha dao", which was soon accepted as one of the most important cultures that Japan learned from China.
4. China has tea-shrubs as early as five to six thousand years ago, and human cultivation of tea plants dates back two thousand years. Tea from China, along with her silk and porcelain, began to be known the world over more than a thousand years ago and has since always been an important Chinese export.
5. A new tea-plant must grow for five years before its leaves can be picked and, at 30 years of age, it will be too old to be productive. The trunk of the old plant must then be cut off to force new stems to grow out of the roots in the coming year. By repeated rehabilitation in this way, a plant may serve for about l00 years .
6. A skilled woman picker can only gather 600 grams (a little over a pound) of green tea leaves in a day.
7. The tea leaves used for green tea are steamed or pan-dried immediately after picking, arresting bacterial growth and preventing oxidation. Then they are rolled by hand to squeeze out excess moisture and to release flavor enzymes. The leaves are finally fired in large driers and packed. When brewed, then turn a light green color, with a flavor that is sometimes delicate and somewhat tangy.

Green Tea/Camellia sinensis links

1. Wikipedia article on Green Tea
2.University of Maryland Medical Centers article on Green tea benefits
3. Evaluating Chinese Green Teas
4. A brief history of Tea
5. Manufacture of Green Tea
6. Comparison of the Aromas of Black, Oolong and Green Tea

Nagarmotha(Cyperus rotundus) essential oil/India(wild harvest)

IMAGES OF CYPERUS ROTUNDUS/NAGARMOTHA

Olfactory qualites of Nagarmotha(Cyperus rotundus)/India(wild harvest)

The tubers of the grass known as Nagarmotha(Hindi) or Mustaka(Sanskrit) yield a lovely essential oil which is little known in the West. It is in fact a plant which grows world wide but it is considered one of the most noxious invasive grasses but in India it has a revered history in traditional Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine for a treating a wide range of illnesses. The oil has many excellent aromatic virtues as well which we will now explore.
The essential oil of Nagarmotha has considerable variation in both color and odor so each description must be based on the the current stock in hand. It is a wild grown crop with the scented part being the small tubers, hence it will take on the qualities of the soil that it is grown in.
The current batch I have is amber colored slightly viscous oil having a fresh earthy-woody-rooty odor. As it matures in the atmosphere a powdery-spicy-cuminic note emerges.The earthy aroma that radiates from the oil has a lot of similarity to the wonderful odor coming from Mitti Attar which is a direct traditional distillation of the earth as is still done in Kannauj. The woody aroma is somewhat similar to Virginia cedarwood and the rooty odor to vetiver. It is a nice balance of the three odors and it has good tenacity making it a valuable fixative..


Blends well with aglaia odorata abas; amberi attar; ambrette seed eo, co2 and abs; agarwood eo and co2; artemisia oils; arucaria eo; bergamot eo; birch tar eo; cabreuva eo; cade eo; calamus eo and co2; cananga eo; cardamon eo and co2; cassie abs; cedarwood oils; champa abs and attar; cinnamon bark eo and co2; cistus eo and abs; clary sage eo and abs; coriander eo and co2; costus eo and co2; davana eo and co2fir balsam eo; fir silver eo; fir, giant eo; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; guaicwood eo; juniperberry eo and co2; henna flower attar and abs; galbanum eo and abs; labdanum eo and abs; mimosa abs; musk black attar; myrrh eo, co2 and abs; oakmoss abs; patchouli eo, co2 and abs; pine forest eo; rosa damascena abs and otto; rosa centifolia abs; rosa rugosa eo; rosa odorata eo; saffron co2; siam woood eo; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; shamama attar; tagetes eo and abs; templin eo; vetiver eo, co2 and abs,; ylang eo and abs

In perfumery is used in oriental bouquets, forest blends, amber bases, musk bases; woody accords; fougeres; chypres; incense bouquets

Interesting facts of Nagarmotha

1. The dried and powdered tubers form a key ingredient in traditional incense
2. Traditionally the oil was used to perfume clothes and in Bengal sachets of the powdered tubers was used to impart its scent to fine fabric. The powered tubers are also used for scenting hair
3. The distilled tubers form an important part of the Shammama family of Indian attars. It is particularly valued for its synergistic relationship with agarwood as these two oil complement each other and bring out the finest qualities of both
4. The tubers can be used as a famine food
5. The reed like stalks are used for making mats and baskets
6. In addition, the tubers are an important nutritional source of minerals and trace elements for migrating birds such as cranes.
7. Cyperus grows rapidly and fills the soil with its tangle of roots and rhizomes; this one species (C. rotundus) can produce up to 40,000 kg/hectare of underground plant material.
8. The genus name Cyperus is from the Greek "cyper(us)" meaning "a rush or sedge."
The species epithet rotundus derives from the Latin "rotund" meaning "round, spherical" referring to the tubers of the stolons.


Links for Cyperus rotundus/Nagarmotha

Wikipedia article on Nagarmotha
Use of Nagarmotha in Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine
Nagarmotha; its chemistry, uses and description
Nagarmotha in Herbal Tradition of India
Worldwide Ethnobotanical uses

Myrrh(Commiphora Myrrha) Essential oil/Ethiopia(wild harvest)

IMAGES OF MYRRH/COMMIPHORA MYRRHA

Olfactory Properties of Myrrh(Commiphora myrrha) essential oil/Ethiopia(wild harvest)

The viscous amber colored oil of Myrrh is slow to release its volatile aromatic molecules into the air after a few drops are placed on the AromaStone. After 60-90 seconds the first hints of its aromatic beauty begin to make their presence known in the surrounding atmosphere in the form of a warm, sweet balsamic which gradually is joined by a slightly camphoraceous-medicinal , spicy, resinous note. The warm and richness of the aroma continue to grow with the passage of time quietly infusing the atmosphere with its presence. As it heads into the deep dry-out phase a fine warm, musky, sweet resinous, wine-like notes pervades the atmosphere.

Blends well with allspice eo, co2 and abs; ambrette seed eo, co2 and abs; angelica root eo, co2 and abs; bay leaf eo and abs; benzoin abs; bergamot eo; cassia bark eo and co2; cedarwood oils; choya ral, choya loban; cistus eo and abs; clary sage eo and abs; clove bud eo, co2 anda abs; costus root eo, co2 and abs; cypress eo and absolute; davana eo and co2; fir balsam abs; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; galangal root eo and co2; galbanum eo, co2 and abs; geranium eo and abs; juniperberry eo and co2; labdanum eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; mace eo and co2; musk black attar; orange flower abs; patchouli eo, co2 and abs; pepper black eo, co2 and abs; petitgrain oils; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; siam wood eo; tonka bean abs; vanilla abs

In perfumery is used in sacred perfumes, incense creations, forest blends, musk bases, amber bases; heavy floral perfumes, heavy oriental perfumes, chypres, fougeres,historical perfumes

Interesting facts about Myrrh/Commiphora myrrha

1.Myrrh was used as an embalming ointment and was used, up until about the 15th century, as a penitential incense in funerals and cremations.
2. In ancient history myrrh was used as a constituent of perfumes and incense, was highly valued in ancient times, and was often worth more than its weight in gold.
3. Because of its scriptural roles as an anointing oil, myrrh is used in the preparation of chrism which is used by many churches, both Eastern and Western, and is a common ingredient in incense offered during Christian liturgical celebrations
4. Myrrh is a common ingredient of toothpowders, and is used with borax in tincture, with other ingredients, as a mouth-wash.

When I came back that evening, with my brain slightly confused by a few glasses of wine, a vague whiff of Oriental perfume delicately titillated my olfactory nerves. The heat of the room had warmed the natron, bitumen, and myrrh in which the paraschistes, who cut open the bodies of the dead, had bathed the corpse of the princess. It was a perfume at once sweet and penetrating, a perfume that four thousand years had not been able to dissipate.

The Dream of Egypt was Eternity. Her odours have the solidity of granite and endure as long.
The Mummy's Foot, by Théophile Gautier

In the third Ind was the kingdom of Thaars. Of that kingdom was Jaspar king at the birth of Christ. And Jaspar offered myrrh to the young Child, and in this land is the isle of Egrisoulla, where groweth myrrh more plentifully than in any place of the world, and it waxeth like ears of corn that are burnt with the weather, and right thick; and when it is ripe it is so soft that it cleaveth to men's clothes as they go by the way.
IN THE
YULE-LOG GLOW
EDITED BY
HARRISON S. MORRIS

It is embalmed and kept sweet by the myrrh and cassia of many tears. When wisdom has been profitless to me, philosophy barren, and the proverbs and phrases of those who have sought to give me consolation as dust and ashes in my mouth, the memory of that little, lovely, silent act of love has unsealed for me all the wells of pity: made the desert blossom like a rose, and brought me out of the bitterness of lonely exile into harmony with the wounded, broken, and great heart of the world.
De Profundis, by Oscar Wilde

The air was cloudy with the breath of frankincense and myrrh. Deep voices and the heavy organ sounded chants and [Pg 21] anthems. There were prayers to the coming Messiah, and the sprinkling of holy water; and, at last, the midnight mass was ended.
Fairy Book, by Sophie May

As hereditary emir of the tribe of Al-Yam, I am prince of a considerable population. My revenues are sufficient to support life becomingly. But desiring to escape attention, and moreover, feeling that I could better get in touch with all classes of the population, I have established here in Chicago a small bazaar for the sale of frankincense and myrrh, the balsam of Hadramaut and attar of roses from the vales of Nejd, coffee of Mocha—which is in Arabia the Happy—dates from Hedjaz, together with ornaments made from wood grown in Mecca and Medina. Such is my stock in trade.
The Strange Adventures of Mr. Middleton, by
Wardon Allan Curtis

Of wealthy lustre was the banquet-room,
Fill'd with pervading brilliance and perfume:
Before each lucid pannel fuming stood
A censer fed with myrrh and spiced wood,
Each by a sacred tripod held aloft,
Whose slender feet wide-swerv'd upon the soft
Wool-woofed carpets: fifty wreaths of smoke
From fifty censers their light voyage took180[38]
To the high roof, still mimick'd as they rose
Along the mirror'd walls by twin-clouds odorous.
Keats: Poems Published in 1820, by John Keats, Edited by M. Robertson

Then in from the dusky, quiet street there drifted and perched himself upon a corner of my desk old Father Time's younger brother. His face was beardless and as gnarled as an English walnut. I never saw clothes such as he wore. They would have reduced Joseph's coat to a monochrome. But the colours were not the dyer's. Stains and patches and the work of sun and rust were responsible for the diversity. On his coarse shoes was the dust, conceivably, of a thousand leagues. I can describe him no further, except to say that he was little and weird and old—old I began to estimate in centuries when I saw him. Yes, and I remember that there was an odour, a faint odour like aloes, or possibly like myrrh or leather; and I thought of museums.
Sixes and Sevens, by O. Henry

Beauty of color and of form is limited in its showing; it is a fixed quality of existence, whereas fragrance is volatile, ethereal as the breathing of life. So in all religious ceremonies frankincense and myrrh play a prominent part. There is something spirituelle in redolence. When the delicious perfume of the sakura quickens the morning air, as the sun in its course rises to illumine first the isles of the Far East, few sensations are more serenely exhilarating than to inhale, as it were, the very breath of beauteous day.
BUSHIDO
THE SOUL OF JAPAN
BY
INAZO NITOBÉ, A.M., Ph.D.

What particularly struck him
was the almost religious solemnness of the entrance, the heavy hangings,
the mystic gleams of the stained-glass, the old furniture steeped in
chapel-like gloom amidst scattered perfumes of myrrh and incense. Duthil,
who was still very gay, tapped a low divan with his cane and said: "She
has a nicel
The Three Cities Trilogy: Paris, Vol. 1, by Zolay-furnished house, eh? Oh! she knows how to look after her
interests."

Links to Commiphora myrrha/Myrrh

Article on Myrrh/Wikipedia
Myrrh in cosmetics

Myrrh in Legend
Myrrh in Ayurveda
Myrrh in the Bible, Ethnobotanical Uses
Handbook of Arabian Medicinal Plants on Myrrh
Myrrh in Ancient Egypt
Constituents of Commiphora myrrha

Recipes using Myrrh
Holiday Blend
Soap recipe
Toothpaste recipe
Myrrh anointing oil
Myrrh Perfume recipe

Silver Fir(Abies alba) essential oil- wild harvest/Austia

Silver Fir/Abies alba Images
I would like to encourage everyone who is engaging in the in-depth study of the olfactory properties of different natural essences to remember to also view images of the plants that they come from. It is very inspirational. Even better is to come near the living plants from which the essences come, but if that is not possible then to view the images that are accessible on the internet. It will increase ones sensitivity and appreciation for the explorations one is making of their aromatic properties.

Olfactory Properties of Abies alba/Silver Fir eo (Austria) wild harvest

The clear white fluid essential oil of Silver Fir quickly releases its aromatic essence into the surrounding air once a few drops are placed on the AromaStone.
It is displays a wonderful delicate scintillating, sweet, fruity, balasamic, green-resinous aroma which reaches its peak in the 30-30 minute range and then softens into a lovely rich coniferous bouquet. The visual image it produces for me is of a pristine mountain stream flowing through a high mountain forest on a sparkling clear day. It is such a delight to inhale in every stage of its aromatic life. It is simple, pure, sweet essence.

Blends well with balsam fir eo and abs; bergamot eo; champa, white eo; chamomile morocco eo and abs; cistus eo and abs; clary sage eo and abs; cypress eo and abs; douglas fir eo; erigeron eo; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; galbanum eo; grand fir eo;ho wood eo; juniperberry eo and co2; labdanum eo and abs; lavindin eo and abs, lavender eo, co2 and abs; lemon eo; lemon essence; lime eo; lime essence; orange essence eo; orange, sweet eo; pine needle eo and abs; rosemary eo, co2 and abs; spruce, blue eo and abs; spruce, black eo; templin eo; tonka bean abs; thyme eo, co2 and abs; yuzu eo and abs

In perfumery can be used in colognes, fougeres, chypres, incense bouquets, geographical perfumes, amber bases, forest bases, leather bases

Further perfumery notes-
Every natural essence is a treasure house of beauty. Even the simplest essence has many unique qualities within its bouquet. On the surface we may smell an oil from a bottle but this seldom gives us more than a hint of the sublime treasures hidden with the heart of that essence. It takes time, patience and concentration to get to know even one absolute, essential oil, co2 extract or attar. Each such individual essence is a wonderful perfume in itself which has been created in natures distillery over thousands of years for some special purpose. The story that each such precious oil wishes to share with us is very deep and special. The enjoyment of that story is not with held from anyone. Those who are willing to devote time to the study will receive sparks of creative inspiration from delving into the depths of this subject. It is a lifetime study, filled with inspiration and delight. Through giving proper time to this study we can connect ourselves with a hidden world-much like the world one discovers through observing the beauties of the most common leaf or flower through a magnifying glass or microscope.

Silver Fir/Abie alba in Literature

In cool, shady amphitheaters at the head of the trail there are groves of white silver fir and Douglas spruce, with ferns and saxifrages that recall snowy mountains; below these, yellow pine, nut-pine, juniper, hop-hornbeam, ash, maple, holly-leaved berberis, cowania, spiraea, dwarf oak, and other small shrubs and trees.
The Grand Cañon of the Colorado, by John Muir

Sauntering up the foothills to Yosemite by any of the old trails or
roads in use before the railway was built from the town of Merced up the
river to the boundary of Yosemite Park, richer and wilder become the
forests and streams. At an elevation of 6000 feet above the level of the
sea the silver firs are 200 feet high, with branches whorled around the
colossal shafts in regular order, and every branch beautifully pinnate
like a fern frond.
The Yosemite, by John Muir

Between the house and the street was a level green, in which were several fine shady trees, and one particular tree which stood near the centre was what I most loved of every thing connected with the surroundings of my early home—this tree was of the species known in Canada as the Silver Fir, and I am certain that every one familiar with this tree will testify, as to its beauty; they grow to a large size with very thick and wide-spreading branches, which extend downward upon the trunk in a circular form, each circle from the top growing larger, till the lower limbs overshadow a large space of ground beneath. This tree was my delight in the sunny days of childhood and early youth, and in summer most of my school-tasks were committed to memory beneath its friendly shade; and I loved it, in the dreary season of winter, for the deep green which it retained, amid the general desolation by which it was surrounded.
Walter Harland, by Harriet S. Caswell

"Look here! Do you see that silver-fir straight ahead?"
"Yes."
"A little to the left there's a trail. Follow it and skirt along
the edge of the canyon until you see my house. Ask for my wife--
that's Mrs. Bradley--and give her your letter. Stop!" He drew a
carpenter's pencil from his pocket, scrawled two or three words
across the open sheet and tossed it back to the stranger. "See you
at tea! Excuse me--Mr. Mainwaring--we're short-handed--and--the
engine--" But here he disappeared suddenly.
A Phyllis of the Sierras
by
Bret Harte

Descending into the great area of the Canadian zone, with its thousand wild valleys, its shining lakes, its roaring creeks and plunging rivers, the zone of the angler, the hiker, and the camper-out, we enter forests of various pines, of silver fir, hemlock, aged hump-backed juniper, and the species of white pine which Californians wrongly call tamarack.
The Book of the National Parks, by Robert Sterling Yard

A little lady on a pony, attended by
a tawny-faced great square-shouldered groom on a tall horse, rode past,
drew up on one side, and awaited our coming. She was dressed in a grey
riding-habit and a warm winter-jacket of gleaming grey fur, a soft white
boa loose round her neck, crossed at her waist, white gauntlets, and a
pretty black felt hat with flowing rim and plume. There she passed as
under review. It was a curious scene: the iron-faced great-sized groom
on his bony black charger dead still: his mistress, a girl of about
eleven or twelve or thirteen, with an arm bowed at her side, whip
and reins in one hand, and slips of golden brown hair straying on her
flushed cheek; rocks and trees, high silver firs rising behind her, and
a slender water that fell from the rocks running at her pony's feet.
The Adventures of Harry Richmond, Complete
by George Meredith




Silver Fir/Abies alba Links

Wikipedia article on Silver Fir
Description and images of Silver Fir
Essential oil of Abes alba
Technical details of the Silver Fir Essential oil
Silver Fir monograph


FOREST OF FIR TREES IN WINTER

Angelica archangelica root oil organic/Hungary

Images of Angelica archangelica

Sheepfold Tarn

Up on Eagle Lake Highlands,
hours from a byre or barn,
in a world of lonely waters
is one called Sheepfold Tarn.
by Jonas Hallgrimsson


Beneath the brow of North Ridge
nodding angelica grows;
down through a marshy meadow
a murmuring brooklet flows.

I've seen no place more peaceful,
no place I hold more dear:
ice-cold Eiríkur's Glacier
knows everything spoken here.
by Jonas Hallgrimsson



Olfactory Properties of Angelica Root organic essential oil(Angelica archangelica)/Hungary


The essential oil of Angelica root is one of the most powerfully radiant oils that one may encounter. A few seconds after a few drops are placed on the AromaStone-the vaporizing oil rapidly transmits its immensely rich, deep, warm, musky, spicy precious woods aroma of tremendous tenacity into the air . This initial presentation of its olfactory qualities dominates the atmosphere for several hours before softening a bit into a refined sweet musky-earthy, slightly spicy odor. The longer this oil ages the better its olfactory qualities.

Blends beautifully with agarwood/nagarmotha eo; aglaia seed abs; amberi attar; ambrette seed eo, co2 and abs; amyris eo; basil, holy eo and co2; bergamot eo; bois de rose eo; carrot seed eo, co2 and abs; cedarwood oils; coriander seed eo and co2; costus root eo and co2; fir balsam abs; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; galbanum eo, co2 and abs; guaicwood eo; juniperberry eo and co2; lavender eo, co2 and abs; lavindin eo and abs; mimosa abs; musk, black attar; myrrh eo, co2 and abs; oakmoss abs; opoponax eo and abs; orris root eo, co2 and abs; patchouli eo, co2 and abs; sage clary eo and abs; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; shamama attar; tonka bean abs; vetiver eo, co2 and abs

This oil should be used with great discretion as it can easily dominate any composition of which it becomes a part but can produce wonderful effects if used in small amounts(well below 1%) Can produce superb effects in citrus colognes, oriental bases,incense creations, chypres, amber bases, musk bases, forest notes, spicy accords

Interesting facts about Angelica archangelica

1. In Couriand, Livonia and the low lakelands of Pomerania and East Prussia, wild-growing Angelica abounds; there, in early summer-time, it has been the custom among the peasants to march into the towns carrying the Angelica flower-stems and to offer them for sale, chanting some ancient ditty in Lettish words, so antiquated as to be unintelligible even to the singers themselves. The chanted words and the tune are learnt in childhood, and may be attributed to a survival of some Pagan festival with which the plant was originally associated.
2.According to one legend, Angelica was revealed in a dream by an angel to cure the plague. Another explanation of the name of this plant is that it blooms on the day of Michael the Archangel (May 8, old style), and is on that account a preservative against evil spirits and witchcraft: all parts of the plant were believed efficacious against spells and enchantment. It was held in such esteem that it was called 'The Root of the Holy Ghost.'
3. Angelica is largely used in the grocery trade, as well as for medicine, and is a popular flavouring for confectionery and liqueurs. The appreciation of its unique flavour was established in ancient times when saccharin matter was extremely rare. The use of the sweetmeat may probably have originated from the belief that the plant possessed the power of averting or expelling pestilence.
4. From the 10th century on, angelica was cultivated as a vegetable and medicinal plant, and achieved great popularity in Scandinavia in the 12th century and is still used today, especially in Sami culture. A flute-like instrument with a clarinet-like sound can be made of its hollow stem, probably as a toy for children. Linnaeus reported that Sami peoples used it in reindeer milk, as it is often used as a flavoring agent.
5. Angelica root oil is one of the most expensive oils due to its low yield and the fact that the roots are best at 2 years and the seed takes 3 years to be produced.
6. This oil due to its intense olfactory properties needs to be used in very small concentrations as it can easily dominate a composition. It is also considered a photosensitizing agent on the skin so it should not in any case form more than .78% of a composition
7. It requires 12-24 hours to completely distill the oil out of the roots.


Angelica in Literature

The white pollen of early grasses growing on the edge was dusted from them each time the hawthorn boughs were shaken by a thrush. These lower sprays came down in among the grass, and leaves and grass-blades touched. Smooth round stems of angelica, big as a gun-barrel, hollow and strong, stood on the slope of the mound, their tiers of well-balanced branches rising like those of a tree. Such a sturdy growth pushed back the ranks of hedge parsley in full white flower, which blocked every avenue and winding bird’s-path of the bank.
The Pageant of Summer, by Richard Jefferies

And as to the place of my birth, forasmuch as nowadays that is looked
upon as a main point of nobility, it was neither, like Apollo's, in the
floating Delos, nor Venus-like on the rolling sea, nor in any of blind
Homer's as blind caves: but in the Fortunate Islands, where all things
grew without plowing or sowing; where neither labor, nor old age, nor
disease was ever heard of; and in whose fields neither daffodil, mallows,
onions, beans, and such contemptible things would ever grow, but, on the
contrary, rue, angelica, bugloss, marjoram, trefoils, roses, violets,
lilies, and all the gardens of Adonis invite both your sight and your
smelling.
The Praise of Folly, by Desiderius Erasmus

A confectioner of Yvetot had been intrusted with the tarts and sweets. As he had only just set up in the place, he had taken great trouble, and at dessert he himself brought in a set dish that evoked loud cries of wonderment. To begin with, at its base was a square of blue cardboard, representing a temple with porticoes, colonnades, and stucco statuettes all round, and in the niches were constellations of gilt paper stars; on the second stage was a dungeon of Savoy cake, surrounded by many fortifications in candied angelica, almonds, raisins, and quarters of oranges; and finally, on the upper layer was a green field with rocks set in lakes of jam, nutshell boats, and a small Cupid balancing himself in a chocolate swing, whose two uprights ended in real roses for balls at the top.
Madame Bovary, Volume 1 (of 2)
by Gustave Flaubert

The red wood-lily should be met among the great brakes of a sandy wood edge, where white leafless wands of its cousin, star-grass, or colic root, wave above it, and the tall late meadow-rue and white angelica fringe the background....
Angelica spoke of the sweet candied stalks, but when we reached a spot of basil, Martin Cortright's tongue was loosed and he began to recite from Keats; and all at once I seemed to see Isabella sitting among the shadows holding between her knees the flower-pot from which the strangely nourished plant of basil grew as she watered it with her tears.
The Garden, You, and I, by Mabel Osgood Wright
The fire was getting low, and when a hollow
log fell inwards, rousing a cloud of sparks, the
women started. Rosalie, who had been sitting



86 The Secret of Narcisse

perfectly still, with fixed eyes, now said :
" Mother, have you still any of your angelica-
root left ? "

" Why, yes," replied Eudoxie, with a house-
wife's eagerness, " a little. Why ? "

" What is it good for ? " asked Rosalie.

" You know," said her mother ; " it is a
strange remedy against poison, and against the
plague. If you do but chew a piece between
your teeth, you may walk through a dead city ;
it will most certainly drive away the air of pesti-
lence, even though that corrupt air shall have
gripped your heart."

" Has it no other virtue, mother ? " Her
face was so impassioned as she said this, and
the malignity of her expression balanced so ill
with the indifference of her words, that they all
gazed at her with apprehension.

"Yes," said Eudoxie, trying to speak calmly,
" if you carry angelica-root about with you, you
may even consort with those who walk with the
devil, and may take no hurt."
THE SECRET OF NARCISSE
Other Works by Mr. EDMUND GOSSE

In his hand he carried
Angelicas uprooted,
With delicious fragrance
Filling all the place....
Poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Tales of a Wayside Inn

All the halls, chambers, and closets or cabinets were richly hung with tapestry and hangings of divers sorts, according to the variety of the seasons of the year. All the pavements and floors were covered with green cloth. The beds were all embroidered. In every back-chamber or withdrawing-room there was a looking-glass of pure crystal set in a frame of fine gold, garnished all about with pearls, and was of such greatness that it would represent to the full the whole lineaments and proportion of the person that stood before it. At the going out of the halls which belong to the ladies' lodgings were the perfumers and trimmers through whose hands the gallants passed when they were to visit the ladies. Those sweet artificers did every morning furnish the ladies' chambers with the spirit of roses, orange-flower-water, and angelica; and to each of them gave a little precious casket vapouring forth the most odoriferous exhalations of the choicest aromatical scents.
Gargantua and Pantagruel, by Rabelais

Angelica archangelica links
Herbal uses and history of Angelica
Angelica root oil
Wikipedia article on Angelica
The Modern Herbal monograph on Angelica
Angelica: Historical Uses
Chemical composition of roots growing in Luthuania

Holy Basil(Ocimum sanctum)/South India

Images of Tulsi/Holy Basil/Ocimum sanctum


The water-carriers sprinkled all the streets
From spirting skins, the housewives scattered fresh
Red powder on their thresholds, strung new wreaths,
And trimmed the tulsi-bush before their doors.
The paintings on the walls were heightened up
With liberal brush, the trees set thick with flags,
The idols gilded; in the four-went ways
Suryadeva and the great gods shone
'Mid shrines of leaves; so that the city seemed
A capital of some enchanted land.
Arnold, Edwin, Sir, 1832-1904: THE LIGHT OF ASIA

Olfactory qualities of Holy Basil/Tulsi(Ocimum sanctum) essential oil/South India.

Holy Basil essential oil begins displaying its olfactory characteristic within a few seconds of being placed on the AromaStone. It radiates a very warm, rich green herbaceous, spicy(clove-like aroma) that quickly permeates the room. The air become charged with its presence and one comes to know through direct experience why the scent of Tulsi is considered an adjunct to good health in India where the living plant is often found in the courtyard of traditional Indian homes. One naturally delights in taking slow deep draughts of this simple but elegant fragrance and one feels its purifying influence as it enters the body through the breath. The green herbaceous, spicy bouquet carries deep into the dry-out with the addition of a delicate camphoraceous note.

Blends well with angelica seed eo; angelica root eo, co2 and abs, anise seed eo and co2; anise, star eo and co2; birch sweet eo; bergamot eo; cajuput eo; carrot seed eo, co2 and abs; cinnamon bark eo and co2; chamomile, english eo; chamomile, blue eo and co2; clary sage eo and abs; clove bud eo, co2 and abs; dill seed eo; fennel eo and co2; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; geranium eo and abs; hop eo, co2 and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; lime eo; lime essence eo; oakmoss abs; patchouli eo, co2 and abs; rose abs; tagetes eo and abs; seasweed abs; violet leaf abs; ylang eo and ab

In perfumery works well in colognes, culinary bouquets, incense creations, garland perfumes, sacred essences, spicy accords, herbaceous bouquets, temple perfumes

Further perfume notes-

This is, I feel, a very exciting time for people working in natural perfumery. There are so many unexplored avenues outside the boundaries of what has become associated with the conventional perfume world.
For one thing the range of materials avaiable to the aspiring perfumer is extensive.
There was a time when many of the materials that are now available to us were only found in the perfume laboratories of the most advanced perfumers working for renowned perfume houses. Indeed there are many more materials available to us today than even they had access too. Secondly, there is a much deeper understanding of the multidimensional role that fragrance plays in our lives than just the romantic sphere which normally has been advanced in conventional perfumery. Perfume in fact has played an important part in the lives of humans throughout the world, in all times and in all phases of life. There is absolutely no reason why a person cannot explore the realms of literature, music, poety, religion, history etc with the aid of aromatic creations.
Whether we are exploring the realm of natural perfumery simply for our own enjoyment or as a profession, there is a whole range of wonderful avenues to explore.


Interesting facts about Holy Basil/Tulsi/Ocimum sanctum
1.Holy Basil has a long tradition of use in Ayurvedic medicine and is a well-known sacred plant of the Indian subcontinent. Holy Basil has been called the “Incomparable One”, the “Queen of Herbs” and “The Elixir of Life.”
2. Many Hindu homes contain a holy basil plant, also known as tulsi. It is believed to protect against misfortune and represents purity, harmony, serenity and luck.
3. Holy basil is mentioned in the Rig Veda, written in about 1500 BC, and its holiness is celebrated in the Puranas. It is highly regarded in the Ayurvedic system of medicine and is noted in medical treatises such the Charaka Samhita written between the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD.
4. Because holy basil is regarded as a very sacred plant in Hinduism it is often used to make rosaries. The woody roots of the plant are carved to make the beads.
5. Leaves and flowers from the holy basil plant are added to bath water and to bowls of water kept near the entrance to a home. The hands of guests are sprinkled with this water as they enter a house or they are invited to clean their hands in the water. Holy basil contains compounds with antiseptic activity that would help kill germs. The scent from the plant also deters insects. Thus flies, including mosquitoes, which can spread diseases such as malaria, would be deterred from landing on people that had bathed in holy basil water.


Links for Holy Basil/Tulsi/Ocimum sanctum
Plant Cultures article on Holy Basil
Wikipedia article on Tulsi
Holy Basil in Ayurveda
Tulsi in History and Legend
Organic India-Holy Basil

Monsoon Song

Clary Sage organic(Salvia sclarea)/East Europe(Moldavia)

Images of Clary Sage/Salvia sclarea


Olfactory Properties of Clary Sage organic eo(Salvia sclarea)/East Europe(Moldavia)

The essential oil of organic Clary Sage from Moldavia almost immediately begins to release its volatile aromatic molecules when a few drops are placed on the AromaStone.
It imparts to the surrounding air a distinct sweet, resinous, mildly camphoraceous, herbaceous aroma that fills the room within a couple of minutes. The atmospheric effect of this balance of olfactory characteristics is of a refined uplifting aromatic elixir. It maintains this aromatic peak approximately an hour at which time it softens into a dry, fruity, powdery, amber-balsamic bouquet, the olfactory imprint of which lasts for several more hours in the atmosphere.

Blends well with ambrette seed eo and abs; amyris eo; artemisia oils; angelica root eo, co2 and abs; arnica flower abs; basil eo and abs; benzoin abs; bergamot mint eo; bergamot eo; boronia abs; cajput eo; camphor eo; cananga eo; caraway eo and co2; cardamon seed eo, co2 and abs; carnation abs; carrot seed eo, co2 and abs; cedarwood oils; cedar, white abs; chamomile, english eo; chamomile, blue eo and co2; champaca attar and abs; cistus eo and abs; clove bud eo, co2 and abs; coriander seed eo and co2; currant, black abs; elemi eo; fir balsam abs; genet/broom abs; geranium eo and abs; grapefruit eo; hay abs; hop eo, co2 and abs; hyssop eo; labdanum eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; lavindin eo and abs; lime eo; lime essence eo; mace and co2; myrtle eo; orris root eo, co2 and abs; petitgrain oils; pennyroyal eo; seaweed abs; spruce, blue abs; tagete eo and abs; tansy, blue eo; tea, black abs; tea, green abs; vanilla co2 and abs; verbena eo and abs; vetiver eo, co2 and abs

In perfumery can be used in amber bases, chypres, fougeres, oriental bouquets, incense compositions, historical creations, forest notes, musk bases, colognes, forest notes




Links for Clary Sage/Salvia sclarea

Medicinal uses of Clary Sage
Images of Salvia sclarea
Description, uses and history of Clary Sage
Clary Sage, essential oil chemistry and use as a flavoring agent
Chemistry of the Clary Sage Essential oil
Culpepers monograph on Clary Sage

Aromatherapeutic uses for Clary Sage

Vetiver organic(Vetiveria zizaniodes)-Indonesia

Vetiver Images-1

Vetiver Images 2

Olfactory Properties of Vetiveria zizanoides/Vetiver organic-Indonesia

Each vetiver oil is distinctly unique depending on the country of origin, the way it is distilled, the length of distillation, the type of materials the distilling vessels are made of(copper, iron, stainless steel) the type of soil it is grown in, etc.
It is important to envision that there are hundreds of fine vetiver rootlets in contact with the soil and that these rootlets absorb the qualities of the soil that it is grown in. Each type of soil is unique and hence the aromatic qualities of the oil distilled from the rootlets will have its own special qualities.
Vetiver oil from Indonesia that is distilled in stainless steel vessels is the most heavy, intense, somewhat pungent, earthy, rooty, odour of all the vetiver oils I have encountered. Within a few seconds of being placed on the aroma stone this distinct note begins to spread in the room and within 2 minutes the atmosphere is totally saturated with it. For the first 30 minutes or so when becomes increasingly enveloped in the power of its odor-but gradually as the odor matures, one is able to appreciate the fine wet-earthy, rooty odor that the oil captures. Well into the dry-out(well beyond 1 hour) the oil displays a delicate sweet ambery/spicy note that interplays well with the earthy/rooty/mossy bouquet which becomes quieter and more subtle.

Blends well with agarwood eo and co2; agalia odorata abs; allspice eo, co2 and abs; angelica root eo, co2 and abs; benzoin abs; bergamot eo; bois de rose(rosewood) eo; broom/genet abs; cananga eo; carnation abs; cassia bark eo and co2; cassie abs; cedarwood oils; choya nakh; choya loban; choya ral; cinnamon bark eo and co2; cistus eo and abs; clary sage eo and abs; coriander eo and co2; clove bud eo, co2 and abs; costus eo and co2; fir balsam abs; frankincense eo, co and abs; ginger root eo, co2 and abs; guaicwood eo; gurjun balsam eo; hay abs; juniper berry eo, co2; labdanum eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; mimosa abs; myrrh eo, co2 and abs; musk, black attar; oakmoss abs; opoponax eo and abs; orange flower abs; patchouli eo, co2 and abs; pepper eo, co2 and abs; rosa damascena abs; rose de mai absolute; rosa bourbonia abs; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; tonka bean abs; vanilla abs; violet leaf abs

In perfumery it is an excellent addition to chypre, fougere, incense compositions, historical bouquets, culinary perfumes, oriental bases, precious woods notes, amber creations etc


Interesting facts about Vetiver, Vetiveria ziazaniodes

1. Mats made by weaving Vetiver roots and binding them with ropes/cords are used in India to cool rooms in a house during summer. The mats are typically hung in the doorway and kept moist by spraying with water periodically. It acts like an air-cooler when wind from a fan or outside hits it. It also adds a pleasant aroma in the house which is commonly described as "cool" and "refreshing".
2. In the hot summer months in India, sometimes a muslin sachet of Vetiver roots is tossed into the earthen pot that keeps the household's drinking water cool. Like a bouquet garni, the bundle lends its distinctive flavor and aroma to the water.
3. The plant has deep-rooted and far-ranging roots that make it a valuable plant for controlling soil erosion in cultivated fields. It is often planted along the contour lines for this purpose.
4. In Vedic times the ancient Hindus were instructed to build their houses in a place where the Virana and Kusa(Vetiveria ziazaniodes) were abundant, and on some copper-plate inscriptions discovered near Etawah, dated A.D. 1103 and 1174, this plant is mentioned as one of the articles upon which the kings of Kanauj levied imports
5. Externally it is used in a variety of ways: a paste of the root is rubbed on the skin to relieve oppressive heat or burning of the body; an aromatic cooling bath is prepared by adding to a tub of water the root in fine powder, together with the root of Pavonia odorata, red sandalwood and the wood of Prunus puddum. The same ingredients are applied in the form of a thin paste to the skin. (Chakradatta.)
6. In Kerala, the roots are woven along with bamboo splits and madeinto flat mattresses for use as under-beds to give a cooling effect.
7. India is inhabited by a wide variety of tribal populations who dwell in forested areas and depend onsurrounding resources for their livelihood. Among the several hundreds of plants which are gathered bytribal populations, Khas grass, particularly in North Indian plains, takes a leading role. Various tribes usethe different parts of the grass for many of their ailments such as mouth ulcer, fever, boil, epilepsy, burn,snakebite, scorpion sting, rheumatism, fever, headache, etc.
8. Apart from the medicinal uses, the culms along with the panicles form a good broom for sweeping. Theculms and leaves are also extensively used by the tribes and villagers for thatching their huts, mud walls,etc.

Vetiver in Literature

Vetiver blinds, that lend
To burning summer noons
The scented chill
Of winter nights.
Bihari(1595-1664)

Later in the afternoon a young woman comes from the town.
She is foreign to these parts and her sad face
is drawn and pale from the heat.
In a low voice she teaches the poetry of a foreign poet.
In a room where a tattered blue screen obscures the light
and the damp odour of vetiver fills the air,
enters the pain of a human heart from beyond the seas.
Tagore, Rabindranath, 1861-1941

The rich, mysterious vetiver fragrance, known as the "aroma of tranquility" in the East is a wonderful gift to mankind from the botanical kingdom. Its aesthetic and therapeutic value has been appreciated for thousands of years and hopefully will continue to provide enjoyment and healing virtues for future generations. Its story is intimately interwoven with the lives of many people; collectors, distillers, and users. When we contemplate the exquisite beauty of any such oil, we can greatly deepen our level of appreciation if we endeavor to connect ourselves with all the hard work that went into producing each precious drop. When our thoughts dwell on how the plant has been brought into being by a long evolutionary process in
nature's alchemical laboratory, we can further refine our awareness of the oils unique qualities. When such sensitive thoughts appear in our heart and mind we will undoubtedly contact those wonderful feelings of joy, and purity which the world of fragrance produces in the heart and mind.
http://members.aol.com/parijata/vetiver.html

Here we slept in peace until eleven o'clock, and awoke from dreams of Cashmere to the unpleasant realities of a violent dust-storm. The usual "Khus-khus tatties," or screens of fragrant grass, which are kept in a continual state of moisture at door and window, and convert the dust-charged scorching blast into a comparative coolness, were not forthcoming, and our halt was not a pleasant one by any means: still our faces were towards the mountains, and the pleasures of hope enabled us to take our misfortunes with entire philosophy.
Diary of a Pedestrian in Cashmere and Thibet
by William Henry Knight

But we digress. There is more to life with tall, cool, sweet summer drinks than fizzy foreign or local colas. No, we are not talking about tetra-pack bricks brimming over with fruit drinks and sugar-laced juices. The realm of Indian sherbets is a many-splendoured universe. Just look at the vibgyorous array: rose red gulab, emerald green khus, yellow bel, violet phalsa and white thandai.

These rehydrants were made with hundred per cent natural ingredients and one could guzzle gallons without worrying ourselves sick about carcinogenic synhetic colours and added artificial flavours. Then there are aam ka paana, saunf ka sherbet prepared to celebrate Ganga Dussehra.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060611/spectrum/food.htm

Links for Vetiver

1. VETIVERIA ZIZANIOIDES (LINN.) NASHA MULTIPURPOSE ECO-FRIENDLY GRASS OF INDIA
2. Vetiver a historical perspective
3. Uses of vetiver
4. Vetiver as a Medicinal Plant

Patchouli organic(Pogostmeon cablin)-Indonesia

IMAGES Of PATCHOULI

Olfactory Properties of Patchouli organic(Pogostemon cablin)-Indonesia
The essential oil of Pogostemon cablin/Patchouli can have a wide range of aromatic characteristics depending on the country of origin, the type of equipment that it is distilled in, the manner of fermentation, the age of the plants etc.
A well distilled patchouli from correctly fermented dried leaves is a lovely material.
The oil distilled in stainless steel vessels is lighter in color as compared that which is distilled in crude iron vessels(which have been traditionally used in Indonesia in recent years) If the leaves are correctly fermented then the oil should be free of the musty/mouldy odor which poorer qualities of the oil sometimes exhibit,

The oil distilled in stainless steel is golden in color and is slightly viscous. It takes a few seconds for the aroma to begin radiating into the room when a few drops are placed on the AromaStone. The first notes to appear are creamy balsamic ones that are followed by a delicate ethereal sweetness. Within minute or two the rich, deep, herbaceous-precious woods notes appear which form the heart of the patchouli complex. The richness of this body note is full, deep and mellow yet not overbearing. The complexity of this heart-note has never been successfully duplicated in any lab. It has a wonderful soft radiance and tenacity which make it one of the prized fixative oils in the creative perfumers paletter. This fine patchouli bouquet remains present in the atmosphere for many hours and grows ever more rich, subtle and refined with the passage of time.

Blends well with a great variety of materials including all agarwood eo and co2; ambrette seed eo, co2 and abs; angelica root eo, co2 and abs; benzoin abs; bergamot eo; cardamon seed eo, co2 and abs; cedarwood oils; cinnamon eo and co2; cistus eo and abs; clary sage eo and abs; clove bud eo, co2 and abs; cypress eo and abs; elemi eo and abs; fir needle eo and abs; galbanum eo, co2 and abs; geranium eo and abs;ginger root eo, co2 and abs; hay abs; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; helichrysum eo and abs; juniper berry eo and co2; labdanum eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; lavindin eo and abs; muhuhu eo; myrrh eo, co2 and abs; nagarmoths eo and co2; neroli eo; nutmeg eo, co2 and abs; pepper, black eo and co2; oakmoss abs; orange blossom abs; opoponax eo and abs; orris root eo, co2 and abs; pine needle eo and abs; rosemary eo, co2 and abs; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; spikenard eo; tonka bean abs; vanilla abs and co2; vetiver eo and co2; wintergreen eo

In perfumery is used in incense bouquets, oriental compositions, fougeres, chypres, precious woods bases, historical perfumes, amber bases, earth accords, forest blends

Interesting facts about patchouli

1.In several Asian countries, such as Japan and Malaysia, Patchouli is also used as an antidote for venomous snakebites.
2.In India, patchouli leaves were packed with fabric and woven items for protection from insect damage. Whether by camel caravan or clipper ship, the crates arrived at their destinations redolent of the fragrance. The scent lasted for months afterwards, and was often the factor that signified that the shawls or fabrics truly came from that foreign land. Eventually, cheap local mills doused their copies in patchouli oil, hoping to fool their customers and claim the higher price that authentic fabrics could garner.
3. Patchouli has a great part to play in perfumery as it acts as a natural fixative, reinforcing the woody note of perfume and giving it even greater intensity.
4. It is the combination of patchouli and camphor that gave India ink its characteristic odor.
5. The word derives from the Tamil patchai (Tamil: பச்சை) (green), ellai (Tamil: இலை) (leaf). In Assamese it is known as xukloti.
6. Patchouli is an important ingredient in traditional Chinese and Japanese incense
7. Leaves were once placed in books to keep insects away
8. The Arabian people once employed the dried leaves in stuffing mattresses and pillows with the belief that it was very effective in preventing contagion and prolonging life.

Patchouli/Pogostemon cablin links

Monograph on Patchouli
Patchouli uses, medicine an chemistry
Patchouli in Aromatherapy


"This dainty and charming animal was extremely fond of perfumes, especially of patchouli and the scent exhaled by India shawls. She was also very fond of music, and would listen, sitting on a pile of music-books, while the fair singers who came to try the critic's piano filled his room with melody. All the time Madame Théophile would evince great pleasure. She was, however, made nervous by certain notes, and at the high la she would tap the singer's mouth with her paw. This was very amusing, and my visitors delighted in making the experiment. It never failed; the dilettante in fun was not to be deceived.
Concerning Cats, by Helen M. Winslow

But this language had not remained stationery since the period of 1830. It had continued to evolve and, patterning itself on the progress of the century, had advanced parallel with the other arts. It, too, had yielded to the desires of amateurs and artists, receiving its inspiration from the Chinese and Japanese, conceiving fragrant albums, imitating the Takeoka bouquets of flowers, obtaining the odor of Rondeletia from the blend of lavender and clove; the peculiar aroma of Chinese ink from the marriage of patchouli and camphor; the emanation of Japanese Hovenia by compounds of citron, clove and neroli.
AGAINST THE GRAIN
by
JORIS-KARL HUYSMANS

My whole is no exotic rare,
A common flower found everywhere;
In form 't is somewhat like the pink,
But its scent is finer, I declare,
Than musk, or your patchouli.
You 've guessed it now, I really think,
So I'll refrain from wasting ink.
Sweet Will, I am
Yours truly,
GRACE GREENWOOD.
tories of Many Lands, by Grace Greenwood

Black Pepper organic(Piper nigrum) essential oil/Indonesia

Images of Piper nigrum

Olfactory Properties of Black Pepper essential oil(Piper nigrum)organic/Indonesia

Oil from freshly distilled black peppercorns from Indoneisa has a pale greyish-green almost blue color. It presents a classic case of how distinctly different an oil will smell if one whiffs it directly from the bottle and if one studies its olfactory profile over a period of time. An initial whiff from the bottle gives only a slight hint of the many wonderful notes contained in this oil. One might expect to be knocked over by the strong peppery aroma that one perceives in the freshly ground spice but in reality a first whiff from the bottle presents a mild spicy aroma that seems only distantly related to the spice. But when one puts it on the AromaStone a whole new olfactory adventure awaits one.
With a bit of warmth(from the AromaStone) the oil begins to unfurl its magical aromatic qualities moment-by-moment. The fresh, dry, woody, pungeunt, aromatic-spicy aroma begins to fill the room quite rapidly and one then begins to enter into the spirit of the oil. It is much more complex in aroma then one would expect if one was simply smelling the fresh ground punguent odor of the dried spice. It has that peppery zest as well but the full spicy aroma which reveals itself while sitting in its company permits one to understand what a unique essence it is and how it could become part of some really fine perfume compositions.

There is something very ancient and mysterious in this odor. One can easily understand how it became a much sought after spice amongst countries who had evolved their seafaring capabilities as the smell alone captures the aura of ancient trading ports of India on the West Coast.

It is in such smells that we begin to appreciate how fascinating the whole world of aromatics is and how it has captured the attention of perfumers throughout history.
As we steep our own attention in the history and uses of various aromatics such as black pepper we greatly enhance our own enthusiasm and appreciation of everything that surrounds them and this in turn allows us to infuse our creations with the knowledge we have gained.

Again I would like to emphasize how important it is to take the time to evaluate each essence one is using. There is much much more to its total aromatic personality then we might realize. It is virtually impossible to appreciate its qualities by smelling it directly from the bottle. The human nose is not capable of dissembling its virtues in so concentrated a form. One needs to slowly savor the qualities of each oil by one means or another. It is by studying each such botanical treasure over a period of time that we first begin to understand the secrets hidden within it, but also at one points in its chain of beauty other materials can be added to create something new and intriguing.


Blends well with allspice eo, co2 and abs; ambrette seed ceo, co2 and abs; angelica root eo, co2 and abs; amyris eo; angelica seed eo; benzoin abs; bergamot eo; bois de rose eo; caraway eo and co2; cardamon eo, co2 and abs; carrot seed eo, co2 and abs; cassia bark eo and co2; cedarwood oils; clary sage eo and abs; copaiba balsam eo; coriander seed eo and co2; currant, black abs; elemi eo and abs, fennel eo and co2; fir balsam abs and eo; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; geranium eo and abs; guaicwood eo; hay abs; juniberry berry eo and co2; labdanum eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; rosemary eo, co2 and abs; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; spruce, blue eo and abs,; vetiver eo, co2 and abs;

In perfumery can be used in carnation creations; rose bases; Oriental fragrances, incense compositions, historical bouquets, amber bases, spice colognes, culinary blends


Interesting facts about Black Pepper

1. Black pepper is native to South India
2. Peppercorns were a much prized trade good, often referred to as "black gold" and used as a form of commodity money.
3. Until well after the Middle Ages, virtually all of the black pepper found in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa travelled there from India's Malabar region
4. As a medicine, Pepper appears in the Buddhist Samaññaphala Sutta, chapter five, as one of the few medicines allowed to be carried by a monk
5.Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from the piperine compound, which is found both in the outer fruit and in the seed. Refined piperine, milligram-for-milligram, is about one percent as hot as the capsaicin in chilli peppers.
6. Pepper reached South East Asia more than two thousand years ago and is grown in Malaysia and Indonesia since about that time. In the last decades of the 20.th century, pepper production increased dramatically as new plantations were founded in Thailand, Vietnam, China and Sri Lanka. In the New World, Brazil is the only important producer; pepper plantations there go back to the 1930s.
7. In spite of its astronomical price, pepper has been much used by the Romans (see Silphion on Roman cuisine) and became, in the Early Middle Ages, a status symbol of fine cookery.
8. A peppers' guild of wholesale merchants was founded in London in 1180 and was later incorporated into a spicers' guild. In 1429 it was succeeded by the Grocers' Company which still exists today.

Black Pepper/Piper nigrum links

1. wikipedia article on black pepper
2. Monograph on Black Pepper
3. 3. Black pepper in history, medicine etc
4. Pepper: King of Spices
5. Pepper in Indian medicine
6. Images of Black Pepper
7. Ancient pepper trade
8. Etymology of Pepper


Spice Routes India-Part 2

Golden champa(Michelia champaca)/vetiver(Vetiveria ziazaniodes) codistillaton eo/India

Michelia champaca/Golden Champa Images


Olfactory Properties of GoldenChampa(Michelia champaca)/Vetiver(vetiveria ziazanidoes)codistillation essential oil

We are living in a fascinating time in many ways. In the world of natural aromatics there has been an amazing creative surge amongst distillers and extractors in different parts of the world, who are distilling and extracting new materials both from single botanicals and also as co-distillations and co-extractions.
The man who I have worked with from the very beginning of White Lotus Aromatics and with whom I traveled many times through the length and breadth of India, is one of the most creative and is continually coming up with new distillations. In the last year he evolved a series of codistillations based on vetiver combining it with flowers like Jasmin sambac, Tuberose, Kewda and Champa. Traditionally sandalwood has been used for these special co-distillations and in Indian tradition are known as attars but with sandalwood becoming costly and scarce, Ramakant decided to use vetiver as a base as it is a readily renewable aromatic resource and his family is directly involved in the cultivation of this fine botanicals whose roots yield the deep, rich, earth-scented roots. I call this series of vetiver co-distillations as the "monsoon attars" as there olfactory properties capture both the unique qualities of the flowers but also contain the rich scent of the earth which one experiences when the rains first come to the sun parched soil of rural India.
This co-distillation displays a sharp, sweet, exotic floral aroma with a spicy, dry,tea-like undertone that interweaves with the earthy/rooty notes which are firmly at the base of the co-extraction. A few seconds after placing a several drops on the AromaStone the scent begins to rapidly spread in the room. Once it gets a foothold the fixative effects of the vetiver allow for the uniform dispersion of the volatile molecules over many hours. Gradually the very high, sharp floral notes soften and become more delicately sweet and intermingle with the spicy-tea-like notes on a balanced way and after 3-4 hours the earthy/rooty notes rise a bit more to the surface.

Golden champa/vetiver blends well with agarwood eo; agarwood/nagarmotha eo; amberi attar; anise, sweet eo and co2; anise, star eo; basil, holy eo and co2; beeswax abs; benzoin abs; calamus eo and co2; cananga eo; cardamom eo, co2 and abs; carnation abs; cassie abs; cinnamon bark eo and co2; cistus eo and abs; costus eo and co2; fennel eo and co2; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; gingergrass eo; jasmin grandiflorum abs; jasmin sambac abs; jasmin auriculatum abs kewda ruh and abs; labdanum eo and abs; laurel leaf eo and abs; lovage root eo, lovage leaf eo; marjoram eo; mimosa abs; myrtle eo; neroli eo; nutmeg eo, co2 and abs; opoponax eo and abs; orange blossom abs; orris root eo, co2 and abs; osmanthus abs; palmarosa eo; peru balsam eo and abs; rosa damascena abs; rosa bourbonia abs; rosewood eo; shamama attar, siam wood eo; styrax eo and abs; tarragon eo and abs; violet leaf abs; ylang eo and abs

In perfumery could be used in oriental bouquets, sacred perfumes, garland essences, high class modern perfumes; incense accords; tropical bouquets

Interesting facts about Golden Champa

1. The flowers are used in Southeast Asia for several purposes. They are floated in bowls of water to scent the room, as a fragrant decoration for bridal beds, and for garlands and hair ointments
2. Michelia is a timber producing tree and the fine grain wood is used for the construction of buildings, furniture, toys, and carvings.
3. The people of India held the tree in such high esteem that it was often planted near temples and ashrams where its color, form and fragrance could be enjoyed by people coming into those refined enviroments.
4. The flowers are also used for producing a yellow dye for dyeing textiles.
5. Flowers beaten up or macerated in sweet oil form excellent external applications for diseases of the head, eyes and nose. This oil has also been found useful in treating sub-acute rheumatism, vertigo, and gout and is valued in relieving common headache.
6. Fruit and seed are both used in a preparation for healing the cracks on the feet.
7. In India it is known as the Flower of Paradise.
8. Rhinocerous beetle (Oryctus rhinocerous) is a major pest in coconut plantation. To control this, plant a few Michelia champaca trees(locally known as 'sampige') in between coconut trees in the orchard. The fragrance of champaca flowers drives away the beetles.


Champa in Literature

Supposing I became a champa flower, just for fun, and
grew on a branch high up that tree, and shook in the wind with
laughter and danced upon the newly budded leaves, would you know
me, mother?
The Crescent Moon, by Rabindranath Tagore

Come and share my exquisite March morning with me: this
sumptuous blaze of gold and sapphire sky; these scarlet lilies
that adorn the sunshine; the voluptuous scents of neem and
champak and serisha that beat upon the languid air with their
implacable sweetness; the thousand little gold and blue and
silver breasted birds bursting with the shrill ecstasy of life in
nesting time.
The Golden Threshold, by Sarojini Naidu

Mother mine, to the wild forest I am going,
Where upon the champa boughs the champa buds are blowing;
To the koil-haunted river-isles where lotus lilies glisten,
The voices of the fairy folk are calling me: O listen!
The Golden Threshold, by Sarojini Naidu

Along with its flowers the priests use likewise those of the Champac (Michelia Champaca), belonging to the family of magnoliaceæ. They have a pale yellow tint, with the sweet oppressive perfume which is celebrated in the poetry of the Hindus. From the wood of the champac the images of Buddha are carved for the temples.
Ceylon; an Account of the Island Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of Its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions, Volume 1 (of 2), by James Emerson Tennent

Here, rich in blossom, creepers twined
O'er grots with wondrous art designed,
There Champac and Aśoka flowers
Hung glorious o'er the summer bowers,
And mid the waving verdure rose
Gold, silver, ivory porticoes.
The Ramayana

See the tall Mango lift his head,
Aśokas all their glory spread,
The Ketak her sweet buds unfold,
And Champacs hang their cups of gold.450
The spot is pure and pleasant: here
Are multitudes of birds and deer.
The Ramayana

There were magnolias, shaddocks, hibiscus, the almost too fragrant yellow-flowered champac, sacred to Hindoo mythology; nutmeg and cinnamon trees, tea and coffee, and every other conceivable plant and tree, growing in the wildest luxuriance. Through the centre of the gardens flows the river Ambang Ganga, and the whole 140 acres are laid out so like an English park that, were it not for the unfamiliar foliage, you might fancy yourself at home.
A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam', by Annie Allnut Brassey

When Vandiya Devan entered that holy city, he felt that he had stepped into a new world. Fresh flowers enchanted him with their fragrance; street corners were filled with carts and baskets full of lotus buds and champaka. The devout bought those flowers and carried them in small wicker baskets as they walked towards the temple. Groups of men and women pilgrims filled the streets. Buddhist monks clad in ocher mingled with them. Cries of the devout, `Sadhu, sadhu; peace, peace!' filled the town.
Ponniyan Selvan of
Kalki Krishnamurthy
English Translation by
Indra Neelameggham

We have just half an hour left for our appointment. Come let us go!" said Prince Arulmozli. They came down to the street level and began walking in a direction away form the procession. Since everyone was involved with the carnival procession, the streets through which they walked were deserted. Very soon they reached the raised banks of a spreading lake. The lake was brimming with water, gentle waves lapping at the shores. Moonbeams skipped over those soft waves making them threads of molten silver. They climbed down the bank entering a well laid garden; fragrance of champaka flowers assailed their noses; they could see bunches of white flowers dangling like silver bells on short bushes. Man-made hillocks and reflecting pools could be seen here and there. One such elevated pool was carved like the face of a roaring lion: a cascade of water flowed out of its mouth to form another pool. The three men waited beside this pool.
Ponniyan Selvan of
Kalki Krishnamurthy
English Translation by
Indra Neelameggham

he Indian flora is too often slandered and misrepresented as being full of beautiful, but scentless, flowers. At some seasons this may be true enough, but, as long as jasmines, the various balsams, white tuberoses, and golden champa (champaka or frangipani) are in blossom, this statement is far from being true. The aroma of champa alone is so powerful as to make one almost giddy. For size, it is the king of flowering trees, and hundreds of them were in full bloom, just at this time of year, on Mataran and Khandala.
FROM THE CAVES AND JUNGLES OF HINDOSTAN
By Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

Very early in the morning when the eastern sky is taking a red hue, one can hear the sweet sounds of the morning arati and the morning music played on the shahnai. At this time they start plucking the flowers from Mother Kali’s flower garden. On the bank of the Ganga in front of the Panchavati are trees of vilva and the flower plants of fragrant (pagoda flower). Sri Ramakrishna was very fond of tulip, madhavi (myrtle) and gulachi flowers. He brought madhavi creeper from Vrindavan dham and planted it here. On a part of the land that is to the east of the Hanspukur and the Kuthi are champak plants on the bank of the tank. At a little distance are plants of jhumka, hibiscus, roses and kanchan (gold flower). On the hedges grows the aparajita and close to it are jasmine and shafalika flowers. Alongside the western wall of the line of the twelve temples are the white oleander, the red oleander, the rose, the jasmine and the larger jasmine. At places there are thorn apple flowers used for the worship of Shiva. At intervals there is the tulasi (basil) growing on high brick-built platforms. To the south of the Nahabat are larger jasmine, jasmine, gardenia and rose. Not far from the brick-built ghat are padmakarvi (lotus oleander) and the cuckoo-eyed. Near the Paramahansa Deva’s room are a couple of plants of cock spoon and close by are double jasmine, jasmine, gardenia, rose, tulip, white oleander, red oleander, double hibiscus and Chinese hibiscus.
Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita

Bright glow the champaka and pomegranate flowers,
Like stars that have fallen to Earth with a blush!
And the wild bulbul's strains are prolonged thro' these hours,
Till the zephyr streams by one rich musical gush!
Oh! how this deep beautiful music of night
Is stirring up echoes like spirits around---
Till the stars---those great, glorious Creations of Light---
Are listening like lovers to love's tenderest sound.
Stuart-Wortley, Emmeline, Lady, 1806-1855: AN EASTERN NIGHT. [from Hours at Naples, and Other Poems (1837)]

Links for Michelia champaca/Golden champa
Golden champa in Indian medicine
Images of Michelia champaca
Golden Champa explorations in India