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Thousands of years ago, when human civilisation started, almost all agarwood would sink in water. The reason is because the untapped forests, millions of years in age, has all the conditions to nurture very resinous agarwood that is ancient. The factor that makes agarwood sinks is because of the resin content, which is denser than water. If a piece of agarwood has 50% of resin content or more, it could sink. The problem is it takes hundreds of years for such dense amount of resin to be formed on a piece of agarwood. In the recent few hundred years, with wild agarwood dwindling in numbers, a distinction between sinking and non-sinking agarwood came about. The one that sinks is undeniably the higher graded ones and less so for the latter. In the Middle-Eastern tradition, the darker a piece of agarwood, the more resinous it is deemed. Super, Double Super, Triple Super – the arabs developed a three grade system to classify agarwood according to how dark the resin is on the agarwood. While this seemed like a logical approach, it is not a definite manner to grade a piece of agarwood. In my collection journey with many East Asian Maestros, we grade agarwood differently. The water-test is the best way to determine the grade since the resin content on a piece of agarwood would determine the extent of how much the wood would submerge in water. Did you know? Agarwood from dead trees or buried in soil often gives off a yellowish and reddish appearance. However, there are many instances where these “not so black” agarwood sinks in water because they are very old pieces that overgrew the age of their mother trees. In the East Asian tradition of incense knowledge, we do not judge agarwood based on appearance but its scent profile and sinking level. ------------------------- **The Grading System: For young agarwood in the forests (20 years or less) and in plantations, they are usually half sinking. These are recommended for daily usage since it costs relatively cheaper. There comes the collectible grades, usually a piece where it is 80% to 90% sinking and above. Collectible grade usually require 80 years and above for it to be formed. Amongst all the grading system there is one that stands out in particular – Kyara. What is Kyara? In modern day, many refer to Kyara as Kinam/Kynam. Kinam/Kynam is known as the “Diamond of Agarwood”, each gram of wild Kinam could easily fetch few hundred to thousands of USD in the market. Kinam is said to occur only in 1 out of 100,000 wild agarwood trees. The mythical stories of kinam in Buddhism and Fengshui further pushes up prices of this kind of agarwood. I would dedicate a post just to explain kinam separately. Kyara, in ancient Chinese and Japanese texts, does not refer to kinam in the strictest definition. Kyara is a grade to describe agarwood that displays the characteristics of kinam but is not kinam. In a simple sense, agarwood that is kinam alike – Soft-resin and Strong scent profile that carries cooling notes and flowery scent. For collectors, 80% sinking agarwood and above, Sinking agarwood, Kyara grade agarwood and Kinam are must haves since it would no longer be seen in the wild at least for the period of one or two generations. Did you know? Kinam only occurs in Vietnam & Hainan, Guangdong, Hong Kong because they grow in Aquilaria Sinensis species native to Vietnam and South of China. This is the reason why the Chinese managed to genetically modify Aquilaria Sinensis in a plantation setting to produce higher yield of cultivated kinam. Beware! There are many unethical sellers in the market selling Tarakan Kinam, which does not exist in the market. Tarakan Agarwood comes from an offshore island on Kalimantan, some high grade Tarakan could be Kyara graded but not Kinam as advertised by many sellers.
September 18 2024, 00:09:00
Zhi Wen is an inspiring expert in the field of agarwood, known for his deep proficiency and knowledge of this precious material. His expertise has enabled him to share the immense benefits of premium agarwood with a wide audience. Through his passion and dedication, Zhi Wen has developed his own premium brand of agarwood, offering a range of product levels that cater to different needs, while maintaining the highest standards of quality and authenticity.
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