"Beyond, way beyond the best there is something much rarer that we call kynam," Mahaffey explains. "It's the rarest wood on earth. It's rarer than titanium, uranium, platinum, rarer than diamond, and we call it kynam." Kynam is the best of all the agarwood species, with the most prized aroma of all oud.

The scent of agarwood is very subtly sweet and woody at room temperature. When you heat Agarwood chip under burning charcoal, you will find its heavenly scent. The smoke from Agarwood chips smells complex, it has a classic vanillic deep, woody smell. It also has sandalwood and cedar notes.

Agarwood essential oil has numerous advantages for mental and physical health. It is well-known for its soothing and grounding properties. This makes it an effective aid for meditation and stress relief. Agarwood oil can also be employed in perfumery to make luxurious lasting scents that last for a long time.

One of the main reasons for the relative rarity and high cost of agarwood is the depletion of the wild resource. Since 1995, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora has listed Aquilaria malaccensis (the primary source) in its Appendix II (potentially threatened species).