Nilam

Nilam is patchouli, a soft-leaved plant of the mint family. Its leaves are dried in the shade and distilled, and Indonesia makes most of the world's patchouli oil: once mostly in Aceh, now mostly in Sulawesi.

Fresh, the leaves smell of very little. Dried and distilled, they smell of earth, cellars and cocoa, and the smell stays in cloth for days. This candle sets it among cacao, labdanum and a thread of oud, with red berries to open it.