I see it used as a note quite frequently and I've always been curious as to what it smells like on its own. What would you say it smells like or compares to?

Thanks,
Dawn

It smells and kind of tastes like: almonds, cloves, and cinnamon - reminiscent of vanilla. I use it for baking once in a while.

I smells like a bitter almond smell mixed with a touch of helitrope (heliotrope smells like vanilla with a touch of anise/licorice). That's what I think.

Thanks Ruf and Motavate. That helps alot.

I find it softly vanillic and resinous, with a heiotropin note.

No problem, Dawn!

It smells like a cross between tobacco and a strong vanilla. Almost like that "cherry tobacco" that some men smoke. But don't eat a tonka bean: they're highly poisonous.

vanilla...

I always thought it was a snobby name for vanilla. Maybe I was not far off.

Tonka bean absolute is mainly pure coumarin. It even has that crystalline consistency. It has the bittersweetness of coumarin, similar to dry hay or grass, but much, much sweeter. You could say it smells like a combination of caramel and bitter almonds with some powderiness to it as well as rum/whisky/vanillic fermented undertones.

I've seen tonka bean listed for a lot of scents I like. And from the scent description, I can see why... these are all qualities I love!

Check out this web site. They have a scent called Tonka Bean. I ordered a sample size along with some other "vanilla" scents and love them all. The turnaround for orders with this company is much quicker than the Make Me Smooth web site I have used before. So, if you like vanilla scents, I'd highly recommend checking out this site.



http://dreamesscents.com/display_page.php?i=4

Tonka smells like bitter almonds and vanilla with a plasticky glue-like quality to me. It has loads of coumarin in it.

Edit: Of course Ayala mentioned the coumarin contents allready. Sorry.

The combination of vetiver and tonka in the Hermes Hermessence is extraordinary, simple and beautiful. The vetiver balances the scent wonderfully. Tonka for me is a non sweet caramel / almond, definitely powdery, but clean - not dusty. Rasputin is right in detecting that underlying layer of tobacco as well.
I know that anything with tonka works for me.
When I was in Latin America recently I thought I might be able to locate it as a single essence, but no such luck, no one in Brazil seemed to have heard of it. Maybe it has a number of names?
Anyway....LOVE it.
MB

I brought back a couple of tonka beans from a Caribbean vacation just to be able to smell them from time to time.