Vanilla

One of the most popular and recognisable scents in the world, vanilla is a fairly recent scent. It was known locally in the Gulf of Mexico where the Totonac people have harvested it since the 12th century; but other peoples did not experience it until the Aztecs started raiding the Totanac lands in the 15th century, and found that vanilla made cocoa palatable, and so developed "xocolatl", the forerunner of hot chocolate. Cortes took chocolate and vanilla back to Europe in the 16thg century, where people began to explore its potential, and Europeans fell in love with it.  

The scent comes from a liquid inside the seed pods of vanilla orchids, the main one being vanilla planifolia, and the main producers of vanilla being Indonesia and Madagascar. There are several hundred flavour compounds in vanilla, though the main one is vanillin, which is successfully synthesised; and it is synthetic vanillin that is mainly used in perfumes and incense because true vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world due to rarity of the vanilla orchid, which has to be pollinated by hand. In 2001, the global sales of vanillin was 12,000 tons, but only 1,800 tons of that came from natural vanillin. 

The scent of vanilla is distinctive - it is smooth, sweet, rich, creamy, subtle and delicate yet intense and lingering.  

Reviews

* = Review is over 5 years ago and may not be reliable 

One Aromatics Vanilla
May 2018  - Score: 35↑*

Balarama Wicked Dragon Vanilla (P)
Dec 2024 - Score: 34 

Bhagwan Incense Vanilla Joy (PM) 
May 2024 - Score: 33

Sifcon Vanilla Frost
Nov 2023 - Score: 32↓

Darshan Kanishka
May 2015 - Score 31↑*

Emporium Impressions Premiere Vanilla
May 2015 - Score: 29*

Hari Darshan Vanilla Incense Cones (P)
Sept 2023 - Score: 29 

Sifcon Buddha Incense Vanilla
June 2017 - Score: 29*

HEM Vanilla Incense Cones
January 2019 - Score: 28*

Aargee Stamford Moods Vanilla
June 2015 - Score: 28*

Aasha Aromatics Vanilla Orange
Oct 2018 - Score 27*

Poundland Coley & Gill French Vanilla
April 2017 - Score: 27*

Match Incense Vanilla cones
Feb 2020 - Score: 23

 

Padmini Vanilla Incense Sticks
Aug 2023 - Score 22

Divine Spirit Vanilla
May 2013 - Score 18*

Tulasi Meditation
June 2018 - Score: 18=*

Scents: 12 

Top score: 36

Bottom score: 18

Average: 

***

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