Choya nakh

Smoke, leather, sea, faintly animalic and burnt resin. Dry and salty, evoking a beach fire; softened by the sandalwood base.

Choya nakh has no dedicated standard in the IFRA 51 index.

Products of pyrolysis can contain polycyclic aromatic compounds; published analytical data are very limited. The sandalwood base oil must be legally sourced. Store dark, sealed and cool.

Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh, India, is a long-established centre of attar making. Attars are made by the deg-bhapka method: material is distilled in a copper pot (deg), vapour passes through a bamboo pipe into a receiver (bhapka) holding a base oil, usually sandalwood. The base oil absorbs the aromatics.

Choya is a group of attars made from roasted or burnt materials. Choya nakh uses the opercula (nakh) of certain sea snails. The material is roasted in a closed pot and the smoke and vapour are captured in the base oil.

Aromatic snail opercula were used in ancient incense in the Middle East and India. Some texts call the ingredient onycha, although the identity of onycha in ancient texts is still debated.

Choya nakh combines pyrolytic smoke, a burnt-horn note, a marine note and the sandalwood base. It resembles leather and smoke materials such as birch tar but is saltier and more mineral.

In perfumery choya nakh appears mainly in Indian attars and natural perfumery. It is used in tiny amounts for smoky, leathery and marine notes. Its chemistry is little published.

Choya nakh is usually sold as a brown oil with a very strong odour. It should be evaluated well diluted. Quality depends on the raw material, roasting level and base oil; genuine sandalwood base is now scarce and costly, so some makers use other base oils.