A Review of Aroma USB by Protocol

Judging from many of the comments that people leave in the message sections of controversial news stories, there are many computer users who should take a deep breath and calm themselves before hitting the enter key. A new product called Aroma USB™ from Protocol, aims to help them do just that.

Aroma USB Diffuser Operation

The device itself is relatively simple electronically. Shaped like an ordinary USB flash drive, the Aroma USB device slips into any available USB port on your computer and uses the standard 5 volts of available power to heat a small resistance heater that delivers just enough heat to help evaporate essential oils from the small "x" where the oils are placed. The amount of heat involved is not even noticeable to the touch and there is no need to fear melting plastic or fire.

Biggest Drawbacks

The kit comes with the Aroma USB device, a tiny plastic eye dropper, and a very tiny bottle of essential oil to be used in the device. The bottle contains enough oil for perhaps two or three uses at a single drop per use. The eyedropper seems to have the same diameter as the opening in the bottle so it is difficult to fit it inside to collect the oil for use. The small size of the bottle and the tight fit of the eyedropper are the two biggest drawbacks to the kit that I found.

Essential Oil Varieties

The Aroma USB kits from Protocol are available in several varieties. I tried the green kit labeled Calming which offers a green tea and wildflower oil and Clarity which says it contains oil of lemongrass and citrus. There are other varieties available as well. Both had strong, but not unpleasant odors when smelled directly from the bottle, but were much more subtle when used in the Aroma USB diffuser.

Use Aroma USB with your own Essential Oils

It's a clever idea and makes a cute gift for those who spend a lot of time of the computer. As to the therapeutic value of aromatherapy, it should be no different than any other type of essential oil diffuser. While only a tiny sample of oil comes with each kit, there is no reason that one can't use essential oils from other sources for the Aroma USB electronic diffuser. The eyedropper that comes with the kit will certainly work better with a larger bottle and should be kept since it allows one to control the amount of oil used to avoid a mess on the desk.

Aroma USB Efficacy and Price

Aroma USB from Protocol combines the age old arts of aromatherapy with the modern computer. Can I say it made me feel any calmer or increased the clarity of my thinking? No, but I can say that receiving these little gifts from family members did make me smile, and any gift that can do that is well worth the $7.99 retail price.