It has a powerful richness, a wine-like sweet and fruity top note, a rooty-spicy herbaceous heart note (if not properly distilled, it smells moldy or musty) and a woody- balsamic finish. It's a mint but more wet-earthy than sweet. *(Organically farmed)

I think it has one of the most mysterious scents. Some people say it is apple like, yet others noses describe it as herbaceous and bitter. Its odor is both diffusive and tenacious. We buy it fresh so it seems to be extra sweet. It's herbaceous but tempered with a fruity warmness and has a slight tea-leaf like odor.

Patchouli is perhaps one of the most controversial fragrances. Folks either love it or hate it. It reminds a lot of baby boomers of the 60's, love-ins and drugs. Locally* it is considered an aphrodisiac. They drink a home brewed palm wine with a twist of patchouli oil from a gourd--and yes, if you drink enough of it, you will be intoxicated!

We steam distill the plants that are grown without pesticides at our plant in Indonesia. Its curious that one of the magical applications of this oil is to attract money. First they rupture the walls by slow fermentation of the plant by stacking the dried leaves in bundles until the master distiller, by smell alone, determines that they are ready. I've seen it done scalding the leaves with steam or fermentation but this results in an inferior end product.

I did not fully appreciate the life force of the plant until I stood in a field of these bushy sage-like three feet high beings at dusk and felt like I walked back in time. Some perfumers consider its odor to be the most powerful of any plant derived essential oils. The oil, like wine, significantly sweetens with age. Since we just started ours is a year old but we are setting aside and dating barrels to be compared in the future.

Patchouli can easily overpower a blend, but in moderation can strengthen, ground and balance blends using labdanum, vetiver, angelica, sandalwood, cedar wood, clove, rose, neroli, clary sage, myrrh, and cinnamon. It's used in oriental-type and woody bases, but also in fougeres, chypres, opoponax, and powder type perfumes.