White sandalwood: a buyer's guide白檀：买家指南Materials guide

What sandalwood actually is白檀究竟是什么

True sandalwood is the fragrant heartwood of trees in the genus Santalum. Santalum album — Indian or "old mountain" sandalwood, lao shan tan 老山檀 in Chinese trade language — is the reference material. Santalum spicatum from Australia and a few related species are also traded, with a drier, less creamy profile.

真正的檀香是 Santalum 属树木的芳香心材。檀香檀香树 Santalum album（印度檀香，中文商界称"老山檀"）是参照标准；澳洲 Santalum spicatum 及少数近缘种也有流通，香气更干、奶感较弱。

Santalum is a hemi-parasitic tree: its roots draw some nutrients from host plants, which makes cultivation slow and genuinely difficult to industrialise. Only the heartwood is aromatic, and it develops over decades — commonly fifteen to twenty years or more before a tree is worth harvesting. The pale outer sapwood has almost no scent and should not be sold as sandalwood powder.

檀香是半寄生树种，根系需从寄主植物获取部分养分，因此种植缓慢、难以工业化。只有心材含香，且需数十年形成——通常十五到二十年甚至更久才具采收价值。浅色边材几乎无香，不应作为檀香粉出售。

That timeline explains the price. It also explains the market: if a "sandalwood" stick is remarkably cheap, the scent is more likely to come from a synthetic sandalwood odorant or a fragrance-oil dip than from heartwood.

这个时间尺度解释了价格，也解释了市场：若一支"檀香"线香异常便宜，气味多半来自合成檀香香料或浸香精，而非心材。

"White sandalwood" in Chinese incense中国香里的"白檀"

Chinese incense texts use bai tan 白檀 for the pale, creamy heartwood used in blending. The scent is soft, milky, slightly sweet and woody, with a rounded warmth that stays even as the stick burns down. Unlike resinous woods that change dramatically from first puff to last, good sandalwood is notably even — which is exactly why blenders value it.

中国香学以"白檀"指用于合香的浅色、奶润心材。香气柔和、奶感、微甜带木质，圆润的暖意从点燃到燃尽都稳定。与沉香那种从头香到尾韵剧烈变化的树脂木不同，好檀香以"匀"见长，这正是合香看重它的原因。

In a formula, sandalwood is a base and a fixative: it holds lighter notes together and stops a blend from turning sharp. It pairs naturally with agarwood, clove, borneol-type aromatics and botanical resins. Our White Sandalwood stick is built around that idea — a single-material stick that shows the wood rather than a perfume.

在香方里，檀香是基底也是定香：它托住轻扬的头香，避免合香变尖。与沉香、丁香、龙脑类香料及植物树脂都相得益彰。我们的白檀线香正是据此做成单方香——呈现木头本身，而不是香水。

We describe the note in plain sensory terms — soft, milky, quiet — and make no claim about mood, health or outcome. Incense is a combustible aromatic product for scent and atmosphere only.

我们用朴素的感官词描述——柔和、奶润、安静——不承诺情绪、健康或结果。香品仅作为用于气味与氛围的可燃香品出售。

Why real sandalwood is expensive and often imitated真檀香为何昂贵、常被仿制

Global supply of high-grade Santalum album heartwood is constrained by long growth cycles, export controls in source countries and certification requirements. Prices for genuine heartwood and distilled oil have risen over decades, while demand from perfumery, incense and personal care has not fallen.

高等级檀香心材的全球供应受制于生长周期、来源国出口管制与认证要求。真心材与精油价格数十年持续上行，而调香、制香与日化的需求并未下降。

The usual substitutes are honest enough when labelled: synthetic sandalwood odorants, cheaper Santalum species, or a blend of both. The problem is labelling. A stick dipped in fragrance oil smells strong and sweet when cold, burns with a flat, soapy note, and leaves a scent that lingers on the hands. Ground heartwood smells restrained before lighting and opens with warmth under heat.

替代品本身并没问题，只要如实标注：合成檀香香料、价格较低的 Santalum 种，或两者并用。问题在标注。浸香精的线香冷闻浓甜，燃烧时气味扁平发皂，手上留香明显；真正的心材粉冷闻克制，受热后才展开暖意。

Ask what part of the tree was used, which species, which country, and whether any added fragrance is present. Ask for the batch reference behind any test report. Then smell a sample from that batch before you discuss volume.

问清用的是树的哪个部位、哪个树种、哪个国家、是否添加香精；检测报告要对应批次号。谈数量之前，先闻该批次的样品。

How sandalwood is used檀香的使用方式

In Chinese incense it appears as powder for hand-rolled sticks and cones, as a blending base in compound formulas, as chips for gentle heating, and as oil for perfumery. Each form has a different specification, minimum order and document set, so we quote them separately rather than publishing one retail price.

在中国香里，檀香以香粉（手搓线香、香锥）、合香基底、温和熏燃的木片和调香用精油出现。每种形态的规格、起订量与文件不同，因此逐项报价，而非公布统一零售价。

For finished incense, the practical specification is stick count, length, net weight, burn time and packaging. Our White Sandalwood launch stick is specified at 60 sticks of 21 cm; the binding figures for net weight, burn time and carton plan are issued in the written specification sheet that accompanies each quotation.

成品香的关键规格是支数、长度、净重、燃烧时长与包装。我们的白檀首发线香为 60 支 × 21 cm；净重、燃烧时长与箱规以每份报价随附的书面规格单为准。

Sandalwood versus agarwood檀香与沉香的区别

They are often sold side by side but behave differently. Sandalwood is the aromatic heartwood itself — the tree produces the oil as part of its normal growth. Agarwood is a wound response: resin forms only after injury or infection. One is a slow, even base note; the other is a dense, changing resin note.

两者常并列销售，机理却不同。檀香是树木正常生长形成含油心材；沉香是创伤反应，只有受损或感染后才结脂。前者是缓慢均匀的基底香，后者是致密多变的树脂香。

For a buyer this means different questions. With sandalwood, ask about species, heartwood content and added fragrance. With agarwood, ask about resin formation, origin and trade documentation. Specifying both the same way is a common and costly mistake.

对买家意味着不同的提问：檀香问树种、心材比例与是否加香精；沉香问结香方式、来源与贸易文件。用同一套规格去采购两者，是常见且代价不低的错误。

Storage and safe use存放与安全使用

Keep powder and chips sealed, dry and away from direct sunlight and strong odours. Finished sticks keep best flat in their sleeve in a stable environment; avoid humid rooms and airtight boxes shared with scented candles.

香粉与木片密封、干燥、避光、远离强气味；成品线香平放原套、环境稳定，避免潮湿房间以及与香薰蜡烛同置的密闭盒。

Burn on a heat-proof holder, in a ventilated room, away from children, pets and anything flammable, and never leave it unattended. Incense is sold as a combustible aromatic product for scent and atmosphere only. Nothing on this site describes a medical, therapeutic, spiritual or fortune-related effect.

请在耐热香器上、通风房间内使用，远离儿童、宠物与易燃物，且不可无人看管。香品仅作为用于气味与氛围的可燃香品出售，本站不描述任何医疗、疗愈、灵性或运势作用。

Frequently asked questions常见问题

Is "white sandalwood" a different species?"白檀"是另一个树种吗？

No. Bai tan 白檀 is the Chinese trade name for pale, creamy Santalum heartwood, most often Santalum album. It describes the material, not a separate botanical species.

不是。白檀是中文商贸里对浅色奶润檀香心材的称呼，多指 Santalum album，描述的是材料而非独立树种。

How can I tell a dipped stick from a real sandalwood stick?怎么区分浸香精和真檀香线香？

A dipped stick smells loud and sweet when cold and burns flat and soapy. Ground heartwood is restrained before lighting and opens warmly under heat. Ask for a sample from the batch you would receive.

浸香精的线香冷闻浓甜、燃烧扁平发皂；心材粉冷闻克制，受热后暖意展开。索取你将收到的那一批的样品最直接。

Do you sell sandalwood powder and oil?卖檀香粉和精油吗？

Yes, as professional material enquiries on a request-sample / request-quotation basis. No fixed retail price is published for raw materials.

提供，按专业香材询盘处理，采用索取样品 / 索取报价模式；原料不公布固定零售价。