I have green kyara and purple kinam - and a "Genboku" AA grade kyara from Yamadamatsu - they are very nice - smell very refined and perfume like to me, rather than the coarser, more rugged smell of other agarwood.. Kyara smells a lot more like various oud oils to me than regular agarwood - it's like the perfume, concentrated essence of the wood rather than a woody smell per se..
I do not prefer kyara to other high grades of agarwood though... For sure it is radically overpriced in terms of the actual scent vs cost.. Let's put it this way, if some dank super king grade agarwood were $50/g, then I think a fair price for quality kyara would be maybe $75/g - if we go on aroma alone.. But again, I don't prefer it to other high grades of agarwood...
I do not prefer kyara to other high grades of agarwood though... For sure it is radically overpriced in terms of the actual scent vs cost.. Let's put it this way, if some dank super king grade agarwood were $50/g, then I think a fair price for quality kyara would be maybe $75/g - if we go on aroma alone.. But again, I don't prefer it to other high grades of agarwood...
Oud_learner
Junior Member
Ah...i am quite the opposite of 5MeO.
Think this discussion has been raised previously on BN and the value of it is pretty subjective based on individual's preference. Yes the smell is not as complex and diversified as normal agarwood but that particular refined smell for me is very soul stirring for me and bring me to a different level of olfactory experience.
But I do agree the price is inflated due to its rarity.
Think this discussion has been raised previously on BN and the value of it is pretty subjective based on individual's preference. Yes the smell is not as complex and diversified as normal agarwood but that particular refined smell for me is very soul stirring for me and bring me to a different level of olfactory experience.
But I do agree the price is inflated due to its rarity.
Oudamberlove
Member
My first thought trying Kyara was, "small piece, big smell". It's like an oud oil that is sweetish, otherworldly floral-fruity, with a shimmering twang that's not camphoric. It's a special agarwood, wonderful when heated, transcendental when used in an incense stick. Too bad it costs so much, but that's because it's rare, or is it?? Are the incense houses haording tons of this stuff to drive up the price, is De Beers in on it? Lol
peter4ptv
Member
I have never smelled Kyara the wood, not into burning wood anyway.
But I have read that the Green Burmese oils like Kyara LTD, Royal Chen Xiang, Kachin Ko-Shwe etc……Who represent very close the real Kyara scent at least from what I have read that people are saying are not for me at all, I find the green note (most people say this is the green kyara smell) from this types of oils is very off-putting and unpleasant smell to me. I much prefer the nice mellow green type of smell like the one in OR85. Or some of the nice green notes you can pick in a nice Hindi oils.
But I have read that the Green Burmese oils like Kyara LTD, Royal Chen Xiang, Kachin Ko-Shwe etc……Who represent very close the real Kyara scent at least from what I have read that people are saying are not for me at all, I find the green note (most people say this is the green kyara smell) from this types of oils is very off-putting and unpleasant smell to me. I much prefer the nice mellow green type of smell like the one in OR85. Or some of the nice green notes you can pick in a nice Hindi oils.
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bhanny
Guest
I have some Hainan kinam and it is very nice. I have monkoh style burner and I am still learning to listen to it better. I do think some kinam oils greatly resemble it. I overall prefer the oils, but it is fun to swipe these oils and burn the wood and listen to both at the same time. I love the kinam note. I find it very deep and meditative for me.
Oud_learner
Junior Member
Well...i would say the green note is just one facet of the Kyara total scent profile and in totality, the smell from those oils are hardly an exact representation of a heated kyara sliver.
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bhanny
Guest
Hey rojas. It is good and meditative. Part of it is the practice of listening closely for all the notes, as there are some subtle ones exposed with the low heating monkoh method. And adding a good kinam type oil makes it even that much more deep and introspective for me.
I heated some lovely purple kinam last night, and also spent some time smelling the raw wood after freshly shaving my heater qty off it - very beautiful smell indeed - I agree LC that it is soul stirring..
There are many notes in kyara - and the smell depends also on if the kyara is heated or unheated - With all 3 types of kyara I have there are green notes - it is a sort of fresh, wintergreen type smell that is very apparent when smelling the raw wood, and increasingly less apparent the longer the wood is heated - the wintergreen smell becomes more of an otherworldly floral/nectar type smell when heated.
Now, in comparing the smell of the unheated kyara to certain oils, I can see some comparison - but generally with respect to certain notes, rather than the whole oil smelling just like kyara. The floral/nectar type note I find in oils like Oud Yusuf (EO) and various other Cambodian and ethereal Malaysian type oils - these oils remind me of heated kyara... Oils like Kyara Sayang (EO), Kinamantan (EO), and the fabulous new Adhirajya (IO) remind me instead more of the wintergreen smell of the unheated kyara.. Maroke LTD (EO) has green notes that are different than those other 3 oils, but remind me quite a bit of the unheated kyara green notes also - perhaps more so than any other oil..
Now, there is also this sort of saturated honey/milk sweetness in kyara - and certain other oils seem to capture this part of it - in oils, this is perhaps my favorite type of kinam note - I find this aspect of kyara/kinam in oils like Purple Kinam (EO), Ketenangan (AA), Kannan Koh (EO).. This is a full-bodied sort of note, and I notice it seems to emerge with some aging - oils like Ma Maroke (FO) and Kemewahan (AA) seem to be developing this note as they age..
Oils like "Royal Chen Xiang (AA) and Kachin Ko Shwe (AA) seem to have more of the honey milk bitter kyara note in them - to me these 2 oils have a sort of sweetness, but mostly seem bitter, very clean, green sort of things..
Lol, it is so hard trying to describe these smells..
There are many notes in kyara - and the smell depends also on if the kyara is heated or unheated - With all 3 types of kyara I have there are green notes - it is a sort of fresh, wintergreen type smell that is very apparent when smelling the raw wood, and increasingly less apparent the longer the wood is heated - the wintergreen smell becomes more of an otherworldly floral/nectar type smell when heated.
Now, in comparing the smell of the unheated kyara to certain oils, I can see some comparison - but generally with respect to certain notes, rather than the whole oil smelling just like kyara. The floral/nectar type note I find in oils like Oud Yusuf (EO) and various other Cambodian and ethereal Malaysian type oils - these oils remind me of heated kyara... Oils like Kyara Sayang (EO), Kinamantan (EO), and the fabulous new Adhirajya (IO) remind me instead more of the wintergreen smell of the unheated kyara.. Maroke LTD (EO) has green notes that are different than those other 3 oils, but remind me quite a bit of the unheated kyara green notes also - perhaps more so than any other oil..
Now, there is also this sort of saturated honey/milk sweetness in kyara - and certain other oils seem to capture this part of it - in oils, this is perhaps my favorite type of kinam note - I find this aspect of kyara/kinam in oils like Purple Kinam (EO), Ketenangan (AA), Kannan Koh (EO).. This is a full-bodied sort of note, and I notice it seems to emerge with some aging - oils like Ma Maroke (FO) and Kemewahan (AA) seem to be developing this note as they age..
Oils like "Royal Chen Xiang (AA) and Kachin Ko Shwe (AA) seem to have more of the honey milk bitter kyara note in them - to me these 2 oils have a sort of sweetness, but mostly seem bitter, very clean, green sort of things..
Lol, it is so hard trying to describe these smells..
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bhanny
Guest
Wow! For being so hard you did an amazing job! That was wonderful. Great reading and from my limited listening experience I certainly wouldn't disagree one bit. Thanks for taking the time for that!
peter4ptv
Member
Hi oud learner, I have no doubt about your experience with the wood and you are most likely right about it, but this is not what is representing by 2 of the vendors who are selling this type of oud oils:
<<<<<The moment I smelled it, I knew it was Kyara. It smelled nothing like Burmese oud, and had none of the 'barnyard' characteristics of Chinese oud. It resembled the most unearthly fragrance I had ever smelled in my life – the smoke of green kyara. The rarest type of agarwood, Kyara is the most expensive aromatic substance on earth. A single gram of authentic green kyara retails for $500. A solid piece weighing a kilogram or more would be in the millions. And no wonder, the fragrance I was inhaling smelled almost exactly like the precious smoke of green kyara wood chips.>>>>>>>>
So the vendors do not know anything about Kyara or purposely misleading their clients about the product they sale. If I am not mistaken now a lot of people who never smelled the real think including me are thinking this is what kyara smells like.
Thanks!
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bhanny
Guest
Wow Peter it seems you have quite the vendetta against this particular vendor. If you ever had the chance to chat with him you'd never question his knowledge of the subject. And I suspect if you took the time to ask him to discuss his viewpoint, instead of continually attacking him on this public forum, he might have taught you a thing or two.
Perhaps before making such libelous accusations YOU should compare both. At least then you could base your claims on actual experience.
5MeO, this is a wonderful, very informative and very helpful post. Nice job distinguishing the various strains of Kyara-type notes! Your impressions will help me on my oud journey for sure, thanks for sharing.
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bhanny
Guest
Peter. You have on at least 3 occasions accused him of false advertising. Yes, I have purchased many oils from him. And yes, he has been very kind and has taught me a great deal. But I also have purchased multiple from most vendors on this forum, several based on their personal recommendations to me. I am open to ALL vendors of good oud.
And I believe we were all having a pleasant conversation about a subject prior to you turning it, yet again, into a personal mission against Ensar.
And I will be clear, I receive nothing in return for reviews, discussion, etc, of his or anyone's oils.
In fact I just came here to learn and to share. The funny thing was I was literally set to compose a PM to you to see if we could find a way to get you a bit of Al Shareef's lovely CEEN. I felt bad you could not get your split filled.
Talk about judgemental, geez, nobody thought that I might just have been so excited about this new world I had found that I came to share what I had found, and mostly that had been Ensar's oils.
And I believe we were all having a pleasant conversation about a subject prior to you turning it, yet again, into a personal mission against Ensar.
And I will be clear, I receive nothing in return for reviews, discussion, etc, of his or anyone's oils.
In fact I just came here to learn and to share. The funny thing was I was literally set to compose a PM to you to see if we could find a way to get you a bit of Al Shareef's lovely CEEN. I felt bad you could not get your split filled.
Talk about judgemental, geez, nobody thought that I might just have been so excited about this new world I had found that I came to share what I had found, and mostly that had been Ensar's oils.
Oud_learner
Junior Member
Now now, everyone takes a deep breath, calms down and takes a step back. 
As adeptly described by 5MeO, Kyara has a very unique scent profile with many layers of notes. I once was chasing after ‘Kyara-green’ oils and had tried a fair number of them. But after listening to the kyara wood itself, personally I am of the opinion that no oil would be able to capture all these notes in totality, unless of course you are distilling directly from the Kyara wood itself. Nonetheless, these oils definitely do capture some of the essences of the Kyara scents as illustrated by 5MeO’s experiences with so many of the oils that he had tried.
Oud distillation is more than just mere science; there is also an artistic side to it. I viewed all oils as creative projection and expression of the artisan’s imagination, akin to a painter’s work on his canvas. The description of the oil by the vendor is simply an expression and interpretation of his masterpiece (aside for marketing purpose from a skeptical perspective); how he perceives the scents in comparison to certain past olfactory experiences.
Now it would be harsh to say Ensar is ‘purposely misleading us’, if his perception of what he smells is indeed almost exactly the same of what he perceives as the heated green Kyara wood chips. He must have smelled Kyara many more times than what most of us will ever do in our life times and he could be zoning in to very specific Kyara green notes that most of us are hardly aware of. Furthermore, it is indeed true that green kyara is the rarest of agarwood (not necessary the highest quality by everyone’s standard) and the most expensive as well (mainly due to its rarity).
While I totally agree that all of us should exercise discretion when reading into vendor’s marketing description, I disagree the branding of anyone who is just sharing his views and passion as ‘someone else lab dog’. This will only hinder the process of sharing for fears of ostracism and eventually the forum will trot down the same self-destructive path as BN.
Can I propose we agree to disagree and move on with the constructive discussion?
As adeptly described by 5MeO, Kyara has a very unique scent profile with many layers of notes. I once was chasing after ‘Kyara-green’ oils and had tried a fair number of them. But after listening to the kyara wood itself, personally I am of the opinion that no oil would be able to capture all these notes in totality, unless of course you are distilling directly from the Kyara wood itself. Nonetheless, these oils definitely do capture some of the essences of the Kyara scents as illustrated by 5MeO’s experiences with so many of the oils that he had tried.
Oud distillation is more than just mere science; there is also an artistic side to it. I viewed all oils as creative projection and expression of the artisan’s imagination, akin to a painter’s work on his canvas. The description of the oil by the vendor is simply an expression and interpretation of his masterpiece (aside for marketing purpose from a skeptical perspective); how he perceives the scents in comparison to certain past olfactory experiences.
Now it would be harsh to say Ensar is ‘purposely misleading us’, if his perception of what he smells is indeed almost exactly the same of what he perceives as the heated green Kyara wood chips. He must have smelled Kyara many more times than what most of us will ever do in our life times and he could be zoning in to very specific Kyara green notes that most of us are hardly aware of. Furthermore, it is indeed true that green kyara is the rarest of agarwood (not necessary the highest quality by everyone’s standard) and the most expensive as well (mainly due to its rarity).
While I totally agree that all of us should exercise discretion when reading into vendor’s marketing description, I disagree the branding of anyone who is just sharing his views and passion as ‘someone else lab dog’. This will only hinder the process of sharing for fears of ostracism and eventually the forum will trot down the same self-destructive path as BN.
Can I propose we agree to disagree and move on with the constructive discussion?
littlecrowgirl
Member
I hope to experience Kyara and Kinam someday soon. I wonder if I will try them and think, "yeah, that's great, but not that much better than other high quality agarwood", OR will their scents blow my mind? Already, there have been a few of my burn sessions where I can literally do nothing but just inhale the scent through my nose, barely even able to think. Is Kyara better than that? Time will tell
Oudamberlove
Member
LCG, It's not likely that smelling Kyara will be an epiphany. It's just another lovely piece of Agarwood with a few more special notes. Definitely worth a try for any Ouddict. And the best way to experience it is by actually heating some first hand. As a matter of fact, while on my scent journey, I had to try everything that I could get my hands on. That's why I have a lot of Edps, EOs(essential oils), Agarwood, Oudh, Incense, Kyara, Sandalwood, perfume oils/attars, Musk, Ambergris, resins, etc. Just like a kid in a candy store. So if at all possible, try some Kyara.
Oh, I also tinctured some real amber resin (hard pieces of Pinus Succinifera) just to get straight with what all the different amber/amber accords smell like.
Geez, I even bought some DOP(Dioctyl Pthalate) just to be familiar with it's scent, so I won't be dooped with some Dop.
Oh, I also tinctured some real amber resin (hard pieces of Pinus Succinifera) just to get straight with what all the different amber/amber accords smell like.
Geez, I even bought some DOP(Dioctyl Pthalate) just to be familiar with it's scent, so I won't be dooped with some Dop.
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