The complete guide
How to Choose and Burn a Large Soy Candle
The problem with most big candles
Buying a large candle feels like good value right up until you look at it three weeks later. There is a narrow hole burned down the centre, a thick wall of wax welded to the glass, and the wick has drowned somewhere at the bottom. You paid for 550 g of wax and used maybe half of it.
That is not bad luck. It is usually a mismatch between the width of the jar and the number of wicks in it, combined with a first burn that was cut short. Both problems are fixable, and it helps to understand both before you buy anything large.
This candle holds 550 g of soy wax, which is 19.4 oz, and uses two cotton wicks instead of one. The maker states a burn time of 90 to 110 hours. That is a long time with one object, so it pays to know how to get the most out of it.
Why two wicks matter in a wide jar
A flame can only melt so far sideways. Heat spreads out from the wick across the surface of the wax, and past a certain distance it simply does not have the energy to keep the wax liquid. In a narrow jar, one wick handles the whole surface easily. In a wide one, it cannot.
What you get instead is tunnelling. The wax melts in a neat circle around the single flame, the circle hardens into a wall, and from then on the candle burns down inside its own chimney. Eventually the flame sits so deep that it struggles for air and starves itself out.
Two wicks, set apart, cover far more surface area. Their melt pools meet in the middle and spread out to the glass on both sides. The surface stays roughly flat as the candle burns down, which means you keep using the full width of wax. For anyone shopping for a large scented candle, wick count relative to jar width is one of the most useful things to check.
What to expect from soy wax
Soy is a soft wax. The maker's title names soy, and the jar label reads 100% natural wax.
A soft wax will happily melt in a small circle if you let it, and that circle sets hard as a ring. Give the first burn enough time and the jar is set up to burn flat from then on.
One other thing to know: soy surfaces can look slightly uneven or frosted after cooling. That is normal for the wax and has nothing to do with how it burns or how it smells.
Who this candle suits
If you live in a flat or condominium with air conditioning running most of the time, scent in the home works a bit differently. The air is constantly being cycled, which thins out fragrance faster than in a still room. The maker describes this candle as room filling.
The maker recommends rooms under about 33 square metres. That suits a living room, a bedroom, a study, or a home office. A coffee scent is a natural fit for a desk in the evening.
It also suits anyone who simply likes the smell of a café at home. The jar label describes a latte with caramel and cinnamon, so expect sweetness alongside the coffee.
Coffee is an easy gift scent too. It is not floral, and most people know at once whether they like it. The maker suggests the candle as a gift for birthdays and similar occasions, and the theme does most of the explaining for you.
How to choose a jar size
Start with the room, not the price. A 550 g jar in a small bedroom is a lot of candle, and you may find yourself burning it for forty minutes rather than an evening. In a living room of 20 to 30 square metres it is about right.
Then think about how often you light candles. Someone who burns one most evenings will work through the maker's stated 90 to 110 hours in a few months. Someone who lights one on weekends only will have this jar for much longer, and fragrance does soften over very long periods, especially if the candle sits in warm storage.
Finally, look at the container. Glass gets hot during a long burn, so a coaster or a hard surface is not optional. This jar is frosted, and the photos show a black screw-top lid, which keeps dust off the wax between burns.
Getting the burn right
The first burn sets everything. Light both wicks and leave the candle alone until the melted layer touches the glass right around the edge. On a jar this wide, give it several hours. Do not rush it, and do not light it if you know you have to leave the house in an hour.
After that, trim both wicks to about 5 mm every single time before lighting. This is the step most people skip, and it is the reason candles soot up the glass. A short wick gives a small, steady flame. A long one gives a tall, wavering flame that throws carbon.
Keep the jar away from air conditioning vents, fans and open windows. Moving air makes flames dance, which creates soot and burns the wax unevenly. If one side of the jar is melting faster than the other, draught is almost always the cause.
Cap each burn at roughly four hours. Past that, the whole jar is holding heat, the flames tend to grow, and the wicks can start leaning. Put it out, let it cool completely, then relight later if you want.
Stop burning once about 10 mm of wax remains at the bottom. Past that point you are heating glass directly, and there is no good reason to push it. Save the jar instead, clean it out, and use it for something else.
Care, storage and the jar afterwards
Between burns, wipe any soot off the cooled inside of the glass with a dry cloth. Keep the candle out of direct sun, since heat and light slowly fade fragrance. A cupboard or a shaded shelf is better than a sunny windowsill.
When the candle is finished, the glass is worth keeping. Freeze the jar for an hour and the last of the wax usually lifts straight out. Wash it in warm soapy water and you have a tidy container for pens, brushes or small odds and ends.
The short version
This is a 550 g soy wax candle in a glass jar, with two cotton wicks and a roasted coffee fragrance. The maker states 90 to 110 hours of burn time and suggests rooms under about 33 square metres.
The two wicks are there to do a job: melt the wax out to the glass so a wide jar burns flat instead of tunnelling. Give it a long first burn, trim to 5 mm every time, keep it out of draughts, and stop at four hours a session. Do that and you give the jar a fair chance of reaching the hours the maker states.
If you are after a warm, sweet coffee scent for an air-conditioned room, or a gift that does not need any explaining, this one is a straightforward pick.