Kyphi

Note Profile

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About

Kyphi is a compound temple incense, not a single material. It smells honeyed and resinous, with wine-soaked dried fruit over warm spice and a smoky, woody finish.

Scent Profile

Kyphi smells honeyed and resinous, warm and spiced, with wine-soaked dried fruit running through it. Cinnamon and cardamom sit in the middle, over a bitter myrrh depth. Burnt on coals, it is smoky. A sweet, balsamic warmth carries through to a creamy sandalwood and dry woody finish. It sits between frankincense and benzoin: less austere than the first, less sweet than the second.

ScentWheel

Breadthbroad

EnvelopeBase · ~14h lasting

Family Amber · Musk · Leather, Sweet & Gourmand, Spicy, Woody & Earthy

Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.

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Origin

Kyphi is an ancient Egyptian compound incense, burnt on coals in the temples at sunset. Recipes survive in temple inscriptions and in Plutarch, Dioscorides and Galen. The Egyptian recipes have sixteen ingredients and Dioscorides has ten. The shared core is raisins soaked in wine, and honey, bound with myrrh and frankincense. Spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, juniper and calamus vary by recipe. Every kyphi made today is a modern reconstruction, so it is a formula rather than an extract.

Usage in Perfumery

Kyphi is a base accord. It is used where a fragrance wants incense that reads sweet and edible rather than austere. It is less austere than pure frankincense and less sweet than benzoin. It sits with myrrh, frankincense, labdanum, sandalwood, dried fruit and honey accords. Modern makers sell it as incense and as oil perfume.