Patchouli: earth, cellar and damp leaf
Patchouli is a leafy mint relative, Pogostemon cablin, native to island Southeast Asia. Its leaves are harvested and left to ferment slightly before the oil is drawn — which is where the characteristic depth comes from. Fresh patchouli leaf barely smells; cured patchouli is unmistakable.
The aroma is dark, earthy and faintly sweet, with something of wet soil and old wood about it. It was the scent that perfumed the shawls shipped from India to Europe in the nineteenth century, and the one that became shorthand for an entire counterculture a century later.
In incense it behaves as a heavy base note: slow to build, very slow to leave, and it grounds whatever else is burning alongside it.
Notes
- Aroma: earthy and woody with a sweet, damp undertone
- Character: heavy base note; lingers for hours
- Best for: grounding a space, evening use
- Note: the scent develops through curing of the leaf
Divisive by nature — people who like patchouli tend to like it a great deal.
Part of the Fênix line, handcrafted in Brazil since 1990 from 100% natural botanicals and resins — no synthetic fragrance, no chemical binders.
