Boswellia serrata / B. sacra (frankincense resin — dry-distilled)
Appearance
Dark amber to brown viscous liquid
Odor Strength
High
Producing Countries
India
Pyramid
Base
Charred frankincense, intensely smoky and resinous. Choya loban is frankincense roasted in an iron pot until it blackens -- all the sweetness burned away, leaving smoke, tar, and bitter resin.
Intensely smoky, tarry, and burnt-resinous. Darker and heavier than standard frankincense oil -- the church-incense sweetness has been carbonised into something more elemental. Guaiacol provides the smoke; p-cresol adds an animalic edge; the furfural derivatives contribute a burnt-sugar quality. The overall impression is of sacred resin pushed through fire.
Deep, tenacious smoky-resinous warmth, very persistent
Grades & Aging
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Choya loban is a traditional Indian distillation product made by destructive (dry) distillation of frankincense resin (loban/olibanum). Unlike steam distillation, which preserves the resin's terpenic freshness, dry distillation chars the material, breaking complex molecules into smaller, smokier fragments: phenols, cresols, guaiacol, and tar compounds.
The result is a dark, viscous oil with an intensely smoky, burnt-resinous character. It smells less like church incense (which is unburned frankincense) and more like the aftermath of burning it -- the black residue, the tarry smoke, the charred sweetness. Key odorants include guaiacol (smoky), p-cresol (animalic-phenolic), and various furfural derivatives (burnt-sweet).
In perfumery, choya loban provides a darker, more intense incense effect than standard olibanum oil. It functions as a base note -- deep, tenacious, smoky. The note works in heavy amber, incense, and dark-woody compositions where standard frankincense would be too bright.
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The word 'choya' in Indian attar-making refers to the destructive distillation process itself, not to any specific material. Choya ral (dry-distilled sandalwood), choya nakh (dry-distilled seashells), and choya loban (dry-distilled frankincense) are all products of the same pyrolytic technique.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Destructive (dry) distillation of frankincense resin (Boswellia spp.) in a sealed iron or copper vessel. The resin is heated to high temperatures without steam, causing pyrolysis -- thermal decomposition that produces a dark, tarry oil fundamentally different from steam-distilled olibanum.
Boswellia serrata / B. sacra (frankincense resin — dry-distilled)
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
Loban resin, Frankincense of India
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
High
Appearance
Dark amber to brown viscous liquid
In Perfumery
Choya loban is a dark-incense base note providing intensely smoky, charred-resinous depth. Produced by destructive distillation of frankincense, it contains guaiacol, p-cresol, and furfural derivatives -- molecules absent from standard steam-distilled olibanum. The note is darker and more tenacious than conventional frankincense. It works in heavy amber, incense, oud, and dark-woody compositions where standard olibanum would be too transparent.
