Papier d’Arménie is a booklet of perfumed paper strips. You tear off a strip, accordion-fold it, set it on a heat-safe dish, light and blow out so it smolders. The scent is a dusty, nostalgic vanilla—nice after cooking fish.

I kept calling it “Papier…Daniel?”

The French name “Papier d’Arménie” (paper of Armenia) was meaningless to me at first; I mentally read it as a person’s name. Please, boutique shop clerks, add a phonetic hint—“pah-pee-yay dah-ruh-may-nee” would have saved me. Google Translate’s pronunciation was enlightening (and fun to abuse with other phrases).

Claimed effects vs. reality

Marketing blurbs say it dates to 1855 in France, used in hospitals as a “deodorizer/air purifier/germ killer” and “recommended for colds.” Sounds dubious, but the smell is pleasant.

What’s inside: benzoin resin

The paper is impregnated with benzoin resin from Styrax trees (“benzoin” is also called “gum benjamin”). Benzoin has antimicrobial/static effects (slows growth rather than true sterilization) and contains vanillin, hence the vanilla tone. Historically, Chinese texts lauded it for “calming evil vapors.”

Vanillin rabbit hole

• Vanillin occurs naturally in vanilla beans, benzoin, clove oil—and can be synthesized. Synthetic vanillin dates back to 1874 (Haarmann & Reimer; now Symrise).
• Global vanillin demand dwarfs natural supply: in 2001, 12,000 tons consumed vs. ~1,800 tons from natural sources; the rest is synthetic.
• Ig Nobel fun: researcher Mayu Yamamoto extracted vanillin from cow dung and won the 2007 Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize. Toscanini’s in Cambridge even served “Yum-a-Moto Vanilla Twist” to honor it (the ice cream itself used non-dung vanillin).

Using it

It burns quickly and can send embers flying if it’s breezy. Smoke carries most of the scent; it blooms a beat after the flame dies. It leaves soot on holders—magic eraser cleans it easily. I use a smooth ceramic incense holder; any heat-safe dish works.

Cost vs. stick incense

One booklet (~¥500) yields ~32 strips. That’s cheaper per use than many stick or cone incenses (e.g., Muji sticks: 15 for ~¥400; cones: 6 for ~¥350). Once I did the math, I stopped hoarding it and started using it freely.