The Scent of Memory: A Reflection Inspired by Jasmine Chai

Some scents stay with us long after the moment is gone.

For me, it’s jasmine and chai. 

Chai simmering on the stove. The floral notes in my mom’s hair oil. The gentle spice that filled our kitchen every morning. These are the fragrances that shaped my childhood, scents tied to my mother, to rituals passed down in quiet moments, and to the rhythm of being raised between two cultures.

As a South Asian American woman, I’ve often lived in the in-between. Growing up in Chicago, my life was a blend of ancient tradition and modern independence. But scent, scent has always anchored me. It brought me back to something familiar. Something rooted.

That’s where Jasmine Chai was born.

This candle is a tribute to the comfort of daily rituals. The boiling of milk, the cracking of cardamom pods, the way jasmine wafts through summer evenings. It’s a reflection of warmth, of care, of being seen without needing to say a word.

While it’s not a masala chai candle, the scent was inspired by the quiet comfort of chai itself, a blend of teas softened by jasmine’s floral grace.

In my home, chai was always my dad’s ritual. Jasmine belonged to my mom, woven into her hair oil, or carried in the floral garlands she loved.

Jasmine Chai is where their worlds meet. A gentle, fragrant memory of both of them.

This AAPI Heritage Month, I’m reflecting on the women who shaped us. The ones who led through quiet presence. The ones who passed down their strength in the most ordinary, beautiful ways. And for some of us, the ones we now carry in memory more than in conversation.

Jasmine Chai is for them. For the ones whose scent still lingers, long after the moment is gone.

If there’s a scent that brings you back to someone you love, I’d love to hear it. That’s what this space is for. Not just candles, but connection.

Light with love,

Palak