Agarwood Grades — What the Words Actually Mean

A grade name alone does not establish smoke output, burn time or batch consistency. Formulation, dimensions, material, storage and use conditions can all matter. Compare the specific product and its approved sample rather than inferring a measured result from a grade.

For a continuing retail line, ask how a supplier compares later lots with the approved reference and handles variation. A retained sample supports that comparison; neither the sample nor a high grade name guarantees future availability or sales.

Grade is also silent on legality, which surprises people. A grade name is a commercial description; it carries no information about how the material was obtained. The documents that speak to that are the source lot record and whatever permits your route requires. A supplier who answers a provenance question with a grade name has changed the subject.

Compare species, source and documentation, the stated grading framework, and suitability for the intended application. If two suppliers use different scales, ask what each label means before comparing their quotations.

Compare length, diameter, construction, pack count, declared formulation and any available net weight alongside price. Cost per unit or gram may help, but neither alone captures scent, workmanship, evidence or suitability. Do not infer a measured resin percentage from a marketing grade.

Ask both suppliers whether they hold an approved reference and what happens when a proposed batch differs from it. Record the agreed criteria and approval process alongside the quotation.

Resin fraction: a description of the resinous portion of the material. Any numerical percentage needs a defined method and sample; it cannot be read from a trade grade or a photograph.

Induction: deliberately wounding or inoculating a tree to encourage resin formation. Method, time before harvest, source fraction and processing can affect the resulting profile; an origin name alone does not describe them.

Reference sample: a sealed portion of an approved batch, kept so a later batch can be assessed against it rather than against memory.

Koh grade: our highest tier. Plantation material selected for resin fraction and cut to Japanese format conventions. It is a selection within a grade, not a grade above it.

Plantation Aquilaria is the agarwood source used for our consumable lines. Later batches are compared with an approved reference, not guaranteed identical. This does not describe the glass, metal, ceramic or paper in accessories.

Wild-band is a trade description for a claimed wild source, not a universal resin grade. Review the actual lot and provenance separately. We do not supply or broker this material.

Kyara and kynam are trade and sensory terms, not a universal numerical grade. Cultivated material is also marketed under these names; the label alone proves neither origin nor equivalence to a historical wild specimen. We do not offer a separate kyara or kynam line.

The practical division is what we supply versus what we explain. Plantation products can be discussed for reorder against a reference; the wild-band and kyara pages are educational, not listings of stock available from us.

A letter scale or the word premium may have a supplier-specific meaning. Ask for that definition and the approved sample instead of assuming equivalence across sellers. Our quotation should identify the material and criteria agreed for the order.

The practical rule for a purchase order is to specify grade alongside two other things. Those are the origin and the intended application. Grade on its own is ambiguous. Plantation Aquilaria destined for a low-smoke wellness SKU and plantation Aquilaria for koh-grade blending are the same grade and different selections. Telling us the application lets us select within the grade rather than shipping the middle of it.

Ask what can be repeated on reorder and which criteria the next batch will be compared against. A retained reference supports comparison but cannot make natural material identical. We do not offer wild-collected or separate kyara lines; our accessory materials must be checked on their own specifications.

If your customers need several price points, compare actual samples and quotations before selecting them. A higher-tier label does not establish a fixed resin multiple or guarantee that buyers will trade up. Keep a range sized to the demand you can test.