SACRED CITRINE HOJARI - Highest Omani grade B. Sacra / Frankincense / Oliban (Cured)

This is the cured version of the Sacred Green Hojari, and my personal favourite for daily use be it as a burn or as a health treat (chewing).

The quality of this resin is the rarer of all, and the most operative for spiritual uses: prayer, sacred rituals,  contemplation, purification of space. It is also locally considered as a the best of medicinal grades.

Frankincense is one of the most presitigious and wildely used aromatic of Antiquity. Since at least 1000BC it has been transported in caravans from the Arabic peninsula, and was a favourite of many empries Assyrian, Mesopotaminan, Sumerian, Egyptian, Roman etc,

The long and arduous caravan roads and the "treasure vaults" of those empires which were storing huge quantities, means that the resin that was comsumed, and burned ritually,  was never the "fresh green" so en vogue nowadays, but rather this beautiful aged citrine one.

As a aromatic history buff, I love to offer that as an option to our clients..

What are the differences  ? 

When the resin is fresh, it contains the highest concentration of volatile organic compounds, specifically monoterpenes.

The fragrance is quite linear and articulates around vibrant citrus, piney & minty note and an ethereal quality. It is bright and energizing.

When the resin is aged and cured,  the fragrance profile is completely transformed:
 the piercing lime and pine notes recede and the fragrance is immediately smoother and rounder on the nose.

With the volatile top notes out of the way, the true "resinous soul" of frankincense comes forward.  The fragrance becomes distinctly more balsamic—a rich, deep, slightly sweet resinous heart and character.

The aging process develops a warm, honey-like sweetness that wasn't present in the fresh green resin. The base notes become much more prominent. You'll detect a warm, ambery depth and a richer, more settled woody character, moving away from "fresh pine" to something more like aged wood.

The overall scent is far more complex. Instead of a brilliant, linear citrus-pine scent, you get a multi-layered fragrance that unfolds slowly, revealing notes of honey, amber, fruit (like dried apricot), and the classic, profound scent used in spiritual ceremonies.

Which is "Better"?

Neither is inherently "better"—it is purely a matter of personal preference and intended use.

Choose Fresh Green Hojari for its uplifting, clarifying, and energizing properties. It's wonderful for daytime use, for clearing the mind, and for those who love bright, citrusy fragrances.

Choose Aged Citrine Hojari for its grounding, meditative, and spiritual qualities. It is perfect for evening use, meditation, prayer, and for those who seek the deep, classic, and complex soul of frankincense.

Many connoisseurs intentionally purchase Green Hojari to age it themselves.

A little more on history and on this resin quality

Frankincense has been turning heads since the Antiquity, it was burnt on a grand scale for sacred rituals from Arabia to Mesopotamia to Ancient Rome and much beyond.

It extravagant price turned the ancient world crazy, and many empires tried to reach the source of the holy plant (Pharaonic Egypt, Romans, ...) without success, so arduous was the road, and so misleading were the information, designed to protect the best kept secret of Arabia by creating fear with mythological dangers,  blurring the actual geography with invented unreachable destinations and so on. We  know now that the precious resin they were after (B. sacra & B. carterii) grows in Oman, Yemen and the horn of Africa (and some other varieties elsewhere) 

The most refined and sought after of the frankincense family, Boswellia sacra, grows in Oman, where this resin was sourced. 

This resin is what is nowadays referred to as "sultan grade", the best of qualities. Pure, deep green pieces are considered the crème de la crème and have to be hand selected out of the larger harvests in which the various grades and colors are sorted. Local sources estimate that roughly 10kg of green nuggets is found and collected for every 1 ton of resin harvested. For every 10kg of green nuggets, the higher 1kg are selected as the highest quality (little extraneous material, color etc) . That means 1kg of the present requires 1 ton of resin to sift through, hence the rarity, and the price.

With time, the green color of the fresh resin tears turns into a deep golden citrine.

The resin comes form the higher parts of the Qara mountains, the highest part of the Nejd, that is the only region to give the real Hojari quality (locally known as Hajar, form the name of the rocky terrain). Such trees are not affected by the high humidity, fog, and monsoon season that affect the lower areas, the Qara foothills or the coastal region, thus their resin is of vastly superior quality. 

 Omani B. sacra frankincense if considered the most desirable on the global market (compared to frankincense from other origins, or other subspecies)

Wild sustainable harvest by hand.