Yadalam / Gomaathaa (out of business)

Sree Yadalam Dhoops Industries of Bangalore (or Bengaluru) were founded in 1999, and use the  Gomaathaa trademark. Gomaatha is the Indian name for the cow as the holy mother, and a cow is used in their trademark. The company went bankrupt in 2012, with the Central Bank of India selling off  some of the companies assets. However, as of 2018, they appear to still be trading.  Their products have been sold in a variety of online shops in the UK in the past, so may have been imported before 2013 by Aagee or another wholesaler. As of Nov 2018, the only available stocks appear to be on the Just Aromatherapy site who have a few left for £1.05 a pack. At one time a Sree Sai Dha Sangam Dhoop Stick by Yadalam was available in America, but not currently, and I don't think they have ever been available in other countries outside India.  While everything I have sampled of theirs has been dhoops, there are trade listings which indicate they also sell joss sticks or agarbatti.  

I was told in 2018 that the company had closed.  

The word "Shree", which I have seen on other Indian incense, sometimes written as Shri or Sri, is a polite form of address for people, divine or secular, and in this case refers to the owner, Mr. (or Sree) Yadalam Chakrapani.

The Vaastu range of dhoops sticks are pleasant everyday dhoops. There's nothing especially profound or remarkable about the collection, but they are pretty decent dhoops using all natural ingredients, and are well worth trying at the price. The wording on the box is: "Use vaastu dhoop to cure all inherent vaastu faults to remove all ill effects". Curious I looked up vaastu, and found that it is normally written vastu or vaastu shastra, and is an ancient Vedic science of place or direction, similar to feng shui, and was used to guide the architecture of buildings. If there are disturbances in one's life, this may be caused by disharmony within a building - a vastu dosh. Using Vedic principles, harmony can be restored through use of the appropriate elements, which includes the ritual burning of certain incenses such as gugal. While the range is marketed as being functional rather than aesthetic, the quality and naturalness of the ingredients means that they are actually very pleasant. They don't quite reach heavenly, but they are very decent everyday incenses, and it's a shame they had such limited availability, and the company is now closed. 

Reviews

[*Reviews are over 5 years old, so scores may not be reliable]

Yadalam Vaastu Champa Thick Dhoop
Nov 2018 - Score: 37*

Yadalam Vaastu Rose Thick Dhoop
Oct 2018 - Score: 37*

Yadalam Vaastu Loban Thick Dhoop
Oct 2018 - Score: 32*

Yadalam Gomaathaa Dhoop Bathi
Oct 2018 -Score: 32*

Yadalam Vaastu Sandal Thick Dhoop
Nov 2018 - Score: 31*

Yadalam Vaastu Camphor Thick Dhoop
Nov 2018 - Score: 26*

Yadalam Vaastu Lavender Thick Dhoop
Feb 2023 - Score: 25

Yadalam Vaastu Gugal Thick Dhoop
Nov 2018 - Score: 20*

Scents tried: 8
Highest Score: 37

Lowest Score: 20 

Overall Score: 30 (Borderline decent everyday dhoop)

***

Vintage Incense
(Incense not available from
this brand for over a year)

The Best Incense Makers

HTC (Haria Trading Co.) Chandan Dhoop Sticks

Continuing both my current interest in dhoop sticks, and my eBay shop, I bought a selection of dhoop sticks wholesale from Popat Stores. The dhoop sticks have sold well, and I would like to continue to sell dhoop on eBay using the same page, though I am closing the shop itself, as it costs £25 a month to keep it open, and I don't list enough to justify that. The shop is a hobby rather than a business, and at the moment is running at a loss (though that is partly due to the mistakes I keep making!). The dhoops are marketed by Haria Trading Co. (HTC) of Mumbai, who also sell agarbatti. I'm not entirely sure that HTC make the incense themselves as some boxes contain dhoop sticks wrapped in bags marked Nandita, an incense company also based in Mumbai.

Added in 2023: Haria also trade as Haria Perfumery Works, which led me to their proper website, which does explain that they make the incense themselves, and have been doing so since 1968.  It also provides more proof for what I have been saying for years, that Indian incense makers don't use halmaddi for it's scent, but for its binding qualities, and how it carries the scent of the fragrant ingredients. 

These dhoop sticks look oily and wet, but are in fact quite dry. I'm not keen on wet dhoops as they are quite smoky and sharp, usually because of the oil or fat content, generally from the traditional ghee ingredient, and are clearly intended to be used mainly for ritual purposes. Dry dhoops, however, are more pleasant to burn. One of my favourites incenses, that I always keep in stock, is Panchavati - thin reddish coloured dhoop sticks. Dry dhoops are similar in style to Japanese incense,  and also to Tibetan, though the Tibetan incense tends to be made mainly for spiritual and health reasons, and as such is not as aesthetically pleasing as Japanese and Indian dhoop.

There is a pleasant, though not profound, sweet sandalwood aroma on the stick. It's interestingly jammy and floral with suggestions of leather and patchouli. Very likeable. When burning there are some sharp smoky notes that intrude. It's still a pleasant incense, though the ingredients are not necessarily of high or consistent quality as they do allow for some of those off tones. When compared to the Vaastu Sandal I reviewed recently, we all preferred the Vaastu, though there wasn't much in it.


Date: Nov 2018   Score: 30

***

 Incense Ratings - Top of the Dhoops!

Sandalwood

Bic Shivam Dhoop Sticks

This is a box of thin dhoop sticks, much like Panchavati and Padmini. As with other similar thin dhoop sticks, the box has a metal edged hole to hold the stick when burning. These are useful boxes as they can be carried in the pocket and used anywhere. The scents among these little dhoops are quite similar - a mix of floral and woody - all natural. There's a strong sense of patchouli and of sandalwood. These Shivam are woodier than the others, and are a sandy brown colour rather than the red tinge of the others. Very likeable, and almost heavenly. Indeed, I could see myself liking these more and more.


Date: Nov 2018   Score: 39

BIC / Panchavati

Yadalam Vaastu Champa Thick Dhoop

This is the last of this series of Vaastu dhoops that I have. I have enjoyed the collection - they are modest scents, and in general inclined more to functional or ritual aspects of incense burning rather than aesthetic or fun, but I have enjoyed the natural aspect to them - like most dhoops, be it Indian, Tibetan, or Japanese, the ingredients are all natural - there are no liquid scents added, be it essential oils, or chemical perfumes. When burned all that is smelled is pure natural ingredients. This doesn't mean that because the ingredients are all natural, that all the scents will be enjoyable - some natural ingredients don't smell good when burned; however, there is a degree of quiet satisfaction and enjoyment in knowing that it is all natural.

I previously reviewed this in July 2013.  My impressions now are similar to then. This is a pleasant scent with gentle floral high notes which are similar to frangipani, though could be jasmine as the two scents are very close - hints of citrus and creamy butter.  The scent is modest but very likeable.

Date: Nov 2018   Score: 37*

[*Score is over five years old so may not be reliable]

***

Vintage Incense
(Incense not available from
this brand for over a year)

Yadalam / Gomaathaa

Best of Champa

Yadalam Vaastu Sandal Thick Dhoop

I like sandalwood, so I'm a sucker for any incense which contains it. And I'm always particularly happy when it is a decent sandalwood. This is proper sandalwood - it is sweet and musky with honey tones. The scent is rather better on the stick than when it is burned as - though the sandalwood is decent quality, there isn't quite enough of it, so some of the other herbal ingredients are allowed to come through. Even with three pieces of dhoop burning simultaneously, there isn't much impact at all even from all the combined burning ingredients. So, we have the potential for a great scent (and - possibly through an inconsistency in the way the ingredients are mixed together - we do, teasingly, sometimes get that great sandalwood scent), but we are let down by there not being enough sandalwood in the mix.


Date: Nov 2018   Score: 31*

[*Score is over five years old so may not be reliable] 

***

Vintage Incense
(Incense not available from
this brand for over a year)

Yadalam / Gomaathaa

Sandalwood

Yadalam Gomaathaa Vaastu Lavender Thick Dhoop

Second review - scroll down for earlier review

Modestly pleasant dhoop. The Yadalam company is closed, though old stocks can still be picked up here and there - as here at TheAsianCookshop.  The dhoop has a warm, pleasant scent which does point vaguely in the direction of lavender.

Date: Feb 2023  Score: 25

First review

This is one of the sweetest and most floral of the Vaastu dhoops I've been burning lately. While the set appears to be mainly aimed at the functional end of incense burning with an eye on the Vedic market, especially the spiritual qualities associated with Vastu shastra, which is similar to Feng shui, some of them, particularly this Lavender, also have a pleasing scent.


Date: Nov 2018  Score: 30*

[*This score is over five years old so may not be reliable]

***

Vintage Incense
(Incense not available from
this brand for over a year)

Yadalam / Gomaathaa

Best of Lavender

Yadalam Vaastu Gugal Thick Dhoop

Gugal is the resin from commiphora wightii, a plant in the torchwood family which includes frankincense and myrrh; it is burned directly on charcoal in India, and used to chase away evil spirits.

I've been burning these Vaastu dhoops for a little while now, and only just noticed the wording on the box: "Use vaastu dhoop to cure all inherent vaastu faults to remove all ill effects". Curious I looked up vaastu, and found that it is normally written vastu or vaastu shastra, and is an ancient Vedic science of place or direction, similar to feng shui, and was used to guide the architecture of buildings. If there are disturbances in one's life, this may be caused by disharmony within a building - a vastu dosh. Using Vedic principles, harmony can be restored through use of the appropriate elements, which includes the ritual burning of certain incenses such as gugal.

It has woody and herbal notes and leans more toward ritual incense than fun incense. This is not really an incense to burn for the joys of the scent (unless you like herbal type incenses, such as Tibetan). That's not to say that the scent is unattractive, but it is a little arid and sombre, and is clearly intended for function rather than aesthetics.

Date: Nov 2018   Score: 20*

[*Score is over five years old so may not be reliable] 

***

Vintage Incense
(Incense not available from
this brand for over a year)

Yadalam / Gomaathaa

Yadalam Vaastu Camphor Thick Dhoop

While I sometimes pick up camphor in some incense I burn, I rarely came across it as the main scent. Camphor is a scent that comes naturally from the wood of certain laurel trees, or from rosemary leaves. It is used in moth balls, and in vedic medicine. As here, camphor tends to be a neutral, mineral scent, with suggestions of laurel, menthol, and lavender.  It is cleansing and calming and cleansing rather than invigorating. It is not a profound or heavenly scent. People are more inclined to burn it for ritual purposes than aesthetic, though it is not unpleasant - indeed, I tend to enjoy it. This is a decent everyday scent - modest, neutral, cleansing, and gently attractive.


Date: Nov 2018   Score:  26*

[*Score is over five years old so may not be reliable]

***

Vintage Incense
(Incense not available from
this brand for over a year)

Yadalam / Gomaathaa

Goloka Blessings Incense Love (Rose)

Blessings Incense is a budget masala series by Goloka, sold in traditional hexagonal boxes. There appear to be twelve scents in the series, with wishful names such as Courage, Prosperity, Courage, Good Health, etc. It is quite common for incenses to be sold with such wishful names in the belief that burning them will bring the desired blessings. There is often a sense with such incense that the scent itself doesn't really matter, so they can be said to fall within the scope of spiritual or ritual incense,

I got this from the IanSnow online shop in a clearance sale. At the moment (Nov 2018) none of the Blessings series appears to be available in the UK, but they are on sale in Australia and the US.

This incense is OK, but it does feel somewhat generic and limited. A fair degree of the scent appears to be carried by essential oils rather than than finely ground fragrant ingredients, so - as such - it's not hugely different from perfumed or scented incense (something that Goloka are getting into as perfumed incense is more popular than masala incense). There's very little sense of rose here  - every now and again there's some floral awareness, but it's brief and vague. What I mainly get is a soft woody tone. It's OK, but nothing special, and it just chugs away in the background like an OK everyday incense.


Date: Nov 2018   Score: 28

***

Goloka

Best rose incense