Product Description
This listing is for the top 3 grades of Maydi-Boswellia Frereana from Somalia.
Maydi is traditionally used as natural high-end chewing gum, medicine and incense. Frankincense Frereana. Puntland Somalia
Frankincense, or Boswellia Frereana, AKA Maydi, is traditionally sorted into 5 grades. The lowest grade is akin to grains of sand.
Grade #1 is called Mushaad and consists of larger, clearer pieces of resin with very little bark. When this type of frankincense is harvested it often comes off in sheets that can reach a length of a foot on rare occasions. However since this is a brittle resin and travels a great distance from the remote mountainsides by donkey and then thousands of miles in containers, boxes and aeroplanes the #1 grade most often is found in pieces no larger than 1 inch.
Mujarwaal or # 2-grade is composed of slightly smaller pieces, 1/2 to 1/4 inch in general. it is a beautiful and very fragrant resin and I honestly don’t know if anyone but an expert can tell the difference between the two grades.
Fas Kabir or Grade #3 is well sorted and clean. It contains pieces of resin that are approximately 1/4 inch and slightly darker in colour than the 2 higher grades. if you plan to use your Maydi for making moustache waxes, beauty cremes, salves and serums this is the most economical grade and the one I use for many of my products. It is excellent as an incense and can also be chewed as natural chewing gum.
MAYDI-BOSWELLIA FREREANA-FRANKINCENSE FREREANA-SOMALIA
Perhaps the least known Frankincense type in the Western world, but one of the most prized in Arabia and Africa, Boswellia Frereana is Native to the Somali Puntland and the Somaliland highlands, it is their pride and joy. In Somalia and neighbouring countries, it is called Maydi and considered the King of Frankincenses. The fragrance of Boswellia frereana is a warm Amber highlighted by honey, spice and light musk notes.
Though Boswellia frereana has a very different chemical composition than other types of Frankincense and contains no Boswellic acids, it is used traditionally as medicine and has been shown in laboratory studies to be anti-inflammatory and able to kill the H. Pylori bacteria that causes Gastric ulcers. It is traditionally thought to help alleviate Arthritic pain and support healthy joints.
Boswellia Frereana is widely used as a high-end chewing gum for oral care, peptic ulcers, and is considered antiseptic and anti-inflammatory for both the gastrointestinal and the urinary tract. It is believed that the body benefits from these therapeutic actions through chewing the raw resin. Maydi has been used in anti-ageing and rejuvenative cosmetic preparations and is believed to reduce wrinkles and add elasticity to mature skin.
Collected by traditional harvester clans and families in the mountains of the Somali Puntland, from often precarious cliff growing trees. It is brought down to the coastal plain on the backs of donkeys to be sorted, packaged and sold. It is often bought up quickly by the Coptic church as their signature incense, and traders from across the Red Sea who sell most of their product to Saudia Arabia and other Arabian countries where it is in great demand as a high end chewing gum and incense material. Frankincense Frereana is so much in demand in these countries that the harvest is often pre-purchased a year in advance to guarantee supply.
Averaging around 95-99% oleoresin with barely any water-soluble gum content, (as compared to 20% -35% in Boswellia Carterii/Sacra and other types), means Boswellia frereana is perfect for mastication and makes a long-lasting chewing gum.
Frankincense Frereana is an easy to use and a wonderfully fragrant incense on its own or as an ingredient in Bakhoor, and compound incenses. Due to its near complete solubility in alcohol, waxes and vegetable oils, it is perfect for making, cremes, salves, tinctures and many other natural cosmetics, aromatic and therapeutic products. It is an integral ingredient in the traditional Somali Unsii incense.
For more information about Frankincense Frereana, instructions and recipes for using it in healing oils, salves and cremes, please visit my website at http://apothecarysgarden.com
This is a completely natural and unprocessed product and may contain occasional flakes of Boswellia bark which can easily be removed.
To use this natural oleoresin of Frankincense Frereana as a chewing gum, take a few lentil sized tears, or one pea-sized piece, let it warm a bit in your mouth to soften, then as it is chewed it will come together to form a wonderfully fragrant and healing gum that will last for a long time. It helps freshen the breath and massage the gums. It is believed to have a calming effect on the mind and stimulate memory and brain function.
Please note our ounces are 30 grams, not the 25 grams offered by many other sellers. To this generous ounce, we ALWAYS add a bit more and NEVER a bit less to our packages. Something our customers have come to count on.
Dan
