Grading and identification of Cochin Sandalwood (commonly known as Laos big red sour branch).
A few days ago, a colleague in Laos helped a friend identify a batch of Cochin sandalwood from northern Laos, it is said that in the sales process, individual buyers said that it was a flower branch, and most buyers admitted that they had not seen it, and they were not sure what it was.
According to market insiders, the vast majority of people in the mahogany industry identify the advantages and disadvantages of Cochin sandalwood, based on the thickness of the black tendon (the thicker the better) and whether the acetic acid taste is strong (the thicker the better).
It has to be pointed out here that there is a serious problem with this method of identification!
First, in Cochin sandalwood, there will be differences in material advantages and disadvantages due to the height of the dimension, high mountains or hilly plains.
Although this difference is not very large, it can still be distinguished, mainly in the air-dry density and oiliness.
Generally speaking, the material of Cochinic Sandalwood in alpine areas is generally better than that of hilly or plain areas, and the materials of some northern latitudes are often slightly better than those in the southerly dimension, and the air-dry density of Cochinic Sandalwood in alpine areas is slightly greater than that in hilly and plain areas, and the oiliness of Cochinic Sandalwood in alpine areas is slightly greater than that in hilly and plain areas.
In terms of the dry material of Cochin Sandalwood, the material in the northern mountainous area is almost all submerged material, and the material is good, the material in the central region is mostly submerged, and there are a few semi-sinking and semi-floating, followed by the material, and the southern (including Cambodia and Thailand) material is partially submerged, some are semi-sinking and half floating, and some are not submerged, and the material is average.
Second, the coarser material of the black rib is mainly in the central and southern regions, and the background color of the material in the northern region is generally darker, and the longer the storage time, the darker the background color, the older the tree, the darker the background color, but the black rib is not obvious (in fact, it is because the material is too fine, and the finer black rib is densely covered).
In the southern part of the country (including Cambodia and Thailand), the background color of the new material is often red and yellow, and the black tendon is very distinct, a bit similar to the slightly concave sandalwood in South America.
Of course, there are also individual materials with coarse black ribs in the northern material, but the structural density of this material is obviously looser, and it is half sinking and half floating in the water after drying.
Thirdly, all sour branches (including red sour branches and black sour branches) have a sour aroma.
Generally speaking, the sour aroma of red sour branches is generally stronger than that of black sour branches, because the material density of black sour branches is generally higher than that of red sour branches.
In other words, in terms of material, black acid branches are generally better than red acid branches.
In Cochin sandalwood, the better the material, the weaker the sour aroma (the tighter the material of all woods, the more difficult it is to exude the taste).
The reason for this is simple:
First, no matter what kind of wood, the finer the material, the weaker the taste.
Second, the best northern material of Cochin sandalwood grows in the alpine areas of northern Laos, with good ventilation and barren land, and the growth of trees is much slower than that in the southern regions (including Cambodia and Thailand).
In the southern part of the country (including Cambodia and Thailand), the soil is fertile, and the sour smell in the land and air is much heavier, and the ventilation is poor, so the various odors cannot be fully dispersed during the growth of trees.
Therefore, to say that the stronger the sour fragrance, the better, is really just the opposite!
This is the same as the two incense sticks of the same family: the smell of Hainan incense is much weaker, while the fragrance of the incense sticks in the middle of the Changshan Mountains is much stronger, but no one will say that the more yellow is better than the sea yellow, and objectively the sea yellow material is better.
Fourth, from the perspective of traditional Chinese wood culture, during the Qing Dynasty, due to the increasing scarcity of rosewood, people began to look for alternative materials for rosewood.
After many years of selection, people found rosewood (Cochin sandalwood).
However, the mahogany (Cochin sandalwood) recognized by the imperial court and the dignitaries of the Kyoto region was precisely the material with the best material and a darker background, and the northerners directly called this kind of mahogany "black material".
From the actual production point of view, this kind of black material is basically produced in the mountainous areas of northern Laos (the reserves are very limited), and some of the naturally grown old materials in the central region are also black materials, and it is difficult to see this kind of black material in the southern regions (including Cambodia and Thailand).
This "black material" is an authentic substitute for rosewood, and it cannot be said that all large red sour branches (Laos red sour branches, Cochin sandalwood) can be used as a substitute for red sandalwood.