Jurassic Vanilla

When vanilla is at home, climbing up the forest canopy, there is nothing anonymous or simple about its scent. A gentle steaminess, lightly green and softly humid, evokes the Yucatán jungle where it grows. Split a pod open and the whole world comes rushing in: green, creamy, with a hint of wood and smoked saffron. Then the orchid itself, blooming just once a day per year, pale and translucent, carries hints of almond milk and green banana peel.

Inspired by a wild new varietal of vanilla found at Mestiza de Indias, Gonzalo Samaranch's jungle sanctuary for rare and endangered species, this candle is vanilla stripped of its costume. No sugar, no cream, just a vegetal whisper of an entire ecosystem. Fresh cypress and sacred guaiac recall the green hum of the forest, while green vanilla conjures the cool, milky sweetness of the orchid. Smoked saffron carries the warmth of the flowering pod, and Haitian vetiver grounds it all in the damp, mineral soil of the jungle floor. Green, creamy, untamed, this is vanilla in full expression: the living plant, not the confection.