Ingredients

What goes in.Where it comes from.

Assam · 1973
Six materials
Own plantation, own still

Six materials, one at a time. What each is, where it grows, and what the house does with it.

Assam, India · since 1973

Oud and dehnal oud

Dark agarwood chips heaped on a slab of slate beside a split piece of the wood and a small corked vial of oud oil, deep green velvet behind — Agarwood as chips and as a split section, the resin dark in the grain, beside the oil distilled from it, dehnal oud.

Agarwood is the dark, resin-heavy wood of a tree that grows in the forests of Assam. Attar de Astana grows it there on its own plantation and distils it in its own unit, and has since 1973. Own trees. Own still.

Two things come out of it. The wood itself, cut into chips. And the oil distilled from that wood, dehnal oud: deep, rich and complex. This is the material the house was built on.

Grown: Assam, on the house's own plantation
Distilled: In the house's own unit, since 1973
Reads as: Deep, rich, complex

Heartwood · steam distilled

Sandalwood

Sandalwood oil comes from the heartwood. The wood is prepared fine, steam is passed through it, and the oil carried over with the vapour is collected and separated. That is steam distillation, the traditional method for this wood.

The oil is creamy, woody and warm, and it lasts. In a composition it brings depth rather than noise: the part of a fragrance that stays after the opening has gone.

Part: Heartwood
Method: Steam distillation
Reads as: Creamy, woody, warm

The Himalayas

Kapur kachri

Hedychium spicatum

Kapur kachri is a ginger from the Himalayas, and the part that matters is under the ground. The rhizome is lifted, cut into slices and steam distilled, and the oil that comes off is warm, spicy, woody and earthy at once. Indian perfumery has used it for a long time.

It is not a note most people could name. It works underneath, adding warmth and depth, and a character the composition would be flatter without.

Part: Rhizome
Method: Steam distillation
Reads as: Warm, spicy, woody, earthy

Indian subcontinent

Nagarmotha

Cyperus scariosus

Nagarmotha, also called cypriol, is a plant of the Indian subcontinent. Above ground it looks like grass. The scent is in the roots and rhizomes, which are cleaned and steam distilled. The oil is deep, earthy, woody and smoky, and it does not fade quickly.

It is one of the materials that give an oud composition its floor. Perfumers use it when a base needs to read as earth and smoke, and it holds that ground for a long time.

Part: Roots and rhizomes
Method: Steam distillation
Reads as: Earthy, woody, smoky

Assam

Kopou phool

Rhynchostylis retusa

A cut cluster of foxtail orchid, white flowers spotted violet, laid on a slab of slate with deep green velvet behind — Rhynchostylis retusa, the foxtail orchid of Assam. Not distilled; it is here for where the house comes from.

Kopou phool is the foxtail orchid of Assam. It flowers in hanging clusters, white with violet spots, and Assamese women wear it for Rongali Bihu. It stands for beauty, love and the arrival of spring.

The house does not distil it. It is on this page because it grew around the first distillery in 1973, and because Assam is still home. Kopou phool is where the house comes from, not what goes in the bottle.

Also called: Foxtail orchid
Worn for: Rongali Bihu
Role: Inspiration, not distilled

Assam

Assam tea

Camellia sinensis

A fresh tea sprig with two leaves and a bud beside a mound of dry black tea on a slab of slate, deep green velvet behind — Camellia sinensis, fresh and as dry black leaf. In perfume, a tea note is built from extract or as an accord.

Tea has been grown in Assam since the nineteenth century, on the gardens the region is known for. In a fragrance it reads fresh and green, with earth underneath and a little smoke.

In perfumery a tea note is built, not distilled: from tea extract, from CO2 extract, or as an accord the perfumer puts together. For the house, Assam tea is first a material from home. Like kopou phool, it says Assam.

Grown: Assam, since the 19th century
Made as: Tea extract, CO2 extract or accord
Reads as: Fresh, green, a little smoky

Why it matters

What the house makes, and what it chooses

One of the six the house grows and distils itself: agarwood, on its own land in Assam, since 1973. Three it chooses as steam-distilled oils, the traditional method for each. Two never see a still. They are what the house remembers Assam by.