Om Sai Om Brand Tirupati

Tirupati is the home of a number of temples, including Venkateswara, which is the most famous and is known as Tirupati Temple. This Om Brand incense is quite fat and fragrant, quite sharply pungent, lively and floral, in the style of flora/fluxo sticks. There is often an association with temples in such incense, and a use of luxury boxes. While not expressly designed to be used in temples, sticks such as these, and their more modest cousins sold in holy sites such as Vrindavan and Pushkar, are the closest we can come to the mythical "temple incense" that Westerners are often seeking out, but which doesn't actually exist outside of Western marketing. (And I'm pleased to see a Western seller with ethics, The Incense Atelier, calling out this misleading marketing term).

This is a very decent masala/flora incense. It is what experienced incense hunters would expect from such a stick - it is fragrant, resinous, earthy, rich, and floral. It burns fairly gently for such a fat, rich stick. Yes, there is some smoke which will build up over time, so best to open windows, and place the burning stick at a moderate distance from yourself, but it doesn't overwhelm. It is aromatic and attractive, yet gentle. But there little here that is unexpected or interesting. There are those who will be comforted and captivated by its combination of entrancing scent and familiarity, and I will put myself in that group; though there will also be those who would wish for a little more, and I am also in that group. I do like this for what it is, but at the same time I'd like it more if it did something different or something a bit special. However, damn fine incense. 

Available direct from Om Sai at 150 Rupees for 100g (in India only), or from Aavyaa for same price, who will ship internationally if you contact Vishesh on WhatsApp (+91-9710009184) with your order and address. 

Date: Apr 2026   Score: 37/50 

***

Om Sai (Om Brand) Agarbatti

Flora, Fluxo, and Supreme

India luxury box incense

Discussed on Reddit in 2023

Happy Hari Kings of Incense Absolut Patchoulli

Another of the Happy Hari incenses from my ten year old backlog. While the Absolut spelling is deliberate - a cheeky reference to Absolut Vodka, I'm not sure if the unusual spelling of patchouli with an extra l was intentional.  Anyway. I like patchouli. I find it natural and sexy. I generally like patchouli incense, even when it is mostly synthetic. 

The scent on the stick is sweet, powdery, like vanilla icing and coconut. This is as far from natural patchouli as it is possible to get. I love the whole thing about Happy Hari incense - I love the legend, and the way it has been marketed by various Western own brand traders since the death of Paul Eagle (the owner of Happy Hari). And I know I play my part in the Happy Hari legend, along with ORS, for the reviews I've done over the years. Anyway, though I love the whole mystery and legend surrounding Paul Eagle and Happy Hari, I'm quite aware that his choices of supplier were variable and often quite dubious. Some of his choices were great, some less so, and some were quite poor. Essentially there isn't a Happy Hari holy grail - the magic incense spring that produces heavenly scents. It's just Indian incense. I have come upon many unknown Indian incense houses while I have been doing this blog, and Julian of The Incense Atelier, along with Brief Chemistry of the Reddit incense forum, have uncovered loads more through hiring a local in Vrindavan to go out and buy incense and send it to them. And often the incense from these unknown houses is as good or better than the stuff that Paul sold. But, smoke, mirrors, and a good  legendary story will make any incense more attractive. However, the scent on the stick is often different to the scent on the burn (sometimes better, especially with perfumed incense, and sometimes not as deep and developed, especially with masala incense). So we'll see what happens. 

The scent on the burn is more resinous and earthy than the scent on the stick. But the coconut is still present, and fairly dominant. It unfolds in a fairly smoky manner with the coconut merging into vanilla or benzoin. I'm not sure how much, if any, actual patchouli oil is in this stick. It presents as moderately earthy, vanilla sweet with coconut notes, and a general feel of smoky mainstream Indian incense. The resinous quality is attractive - it grounds the whole, and acts as a good balance to the sweetness. But there's not a lot of genuine patchouli here. Indeed, there's not a lot of even synthetic patchouli fragrance here. But there's a warm, earthy, woody, sweet character that I quite enjoy. This is not awesome incense, it's not on target for patchouli, but it is genuinely warm and enjoyable. 

Put aside  the smoke and mirrors imagery of the legendary Happy Hari, and what you have is a decent enough Indian masala incense, but nothing special.  

Date: Apr 2026    Score: 32/50 

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Happy Hari Incense

Pick the Perfect Patchouli

Top-Op 4 In 1 Agarbatti - Jasmine

Most Indian jasmine incense is mainly built up using synthetics, though on some of the more expensive incense some jasmine essential oils may be used, though generally only in small amounts. This everyday Top-Op Jasmine will use synthetics for the fragrance, though will have some sandalwood powder and possibly some benzoin or similar resin. 

The scent on the stick is sweet, floral, and quite fruity, with some awareness of a sandalwood base. The scent on the burn has "jasmine incense" qualities. Quite mild, and modestly attractive. Warm and gently sweet. Little sign of the fruit scent that's on the stick. It's an OK room freshener. Acceptable for the price (£0.99 from a local Indian corner store, and sometimes seen on an Indian online shop). Imported and branded by Top-Op; made in India, quite likely by a white label incense house in Bangalore. 

Variety packs (3-in-1, etc), are popular in Indian communities. And as an incense hunter I like them because I get to experience quickly and relatively inexpensively a range of scents by the same brand. I consider them as samples. The scents in this 4 In 1 pack are a well known blend and three popular mono-scents:  Nag Champa, Lavender, Rose, and this Jasmine. 

Date: Apr 2026   Score: 26/50

***

Top-Op everyday incense

Best jasmine incense

Top-Op everyday incense

Top-Op are UK based importers and distributors of Asian food and supplies who were founded in 1975. Their own brand masala incense is made in India by any one of a number of white label businesses based in Bangalore or Mumbai. It's low cost everyday incense using synthetics and agarbatti oil/DEP. The scents are average room fresheners, or just a bit under. Mostly quite acceptable if not exactly noteworthy. Sold in Indian corner shops and sometimes also online in the UK and Europe. Aimed at British and European Indian customers looking for low cost incense with familiar scents, the range is mostly popular monoscents like Rose and Jasmine with well known blends like Nag Champa. 

Reviews

  

Top-Op Sai Flora Agarbatti (M)
Apr 2026 - Score: 30

Top-Op 4 In 1 Agarbatti - Jasmine (M)
Apr 2026 - Score: 26

Top-Op 4 In 1 Agarbatti - Lavender (M)
Apr 2026 - Score: 25 

  

Top-Op Nag Champa Agarbatti (M)
Apr 2026 - Score: 24

Top-Op 4 In 1 - Rose (M)
Apr 2026 - Score: 19

Reviews: 5
High: 30
Low: 19
Average: 25

Conclusion: Low cost everyday masala incense marketed at the British Indian community. Acceptable but uninteresting everyday room fresheners. I won't bother exploring further. 

***

Own brand retailers

Top-Op 4 In 1 Agarbatti - Rose

Bought from a local shop in our high street which has just opened. Though also available online in the UK. Cheap as chips - less than a pound for 15g of decent quality (albeit rather mainstream)  masala incense. Top-Op are UK based importers and distributors of Asian food and supplies who were founded in 1975. Their own brand incense is made in India by any one of a number of white label businesses based in Bangalore or Mumbai. 

Variety packs (3-in-1, etc), are popular in Indian communities. And as an incense hunter I like them because I get to quickly and relatively inexpensively experience a range of scents by the same brand. I consider them as samples. The scents in this 4 In 1 pack are popular mono-scents and a well known blend:  Nag Champa, Lavender, Jasmine, and this Rose. 

Rose is not one of my favourite incense (or perfume) scents (though there are a number of rose incenses I have really loved). I like it fleetingly as a fresh flower scent, and will usually stop and have a sniff at a rose when passing, but I don't generally want to be enveloped in it. However, I do find it can be an interesting balance in a resinous incense blend. Almost all rose incense will be synthetic using ingredients such as PEA,  citronellol, and geraniol, along with vanilla/benzoin for sweet heart notes, and a woody base. Some decent quality incenses (masala type) may also use geranium oil, though my assumption is that this everyday masala will mostly be using lower cost synthetics. 

The scent on the stick is sweet and pleasant with notes of cloves, cheap old fashioned rose perfume, onion, a hint of aldehyde, and a general impression of an aerosol table polish. It's OK. Not really my thing, but not offensive. Floral, though not precisely on target for rose. Some sweet red berry notes. 

The scent on the burn is smudgy, and a bit like burning wood. There is a lack of clarity and sweetness. Not impressed with this one. 

Date: Apr 2026   Score: 19

***

Top-Op everyday incense

Best rose incense

Top-Op 4 In 1 Agarbatti - Lavender

Bought from a local shop in our high street which has just opened. Though also available online in the UK. Cheap as chips - less than a pound for 15g of decent quality (albeit rather mainstream)  masala incense. Top-Op are UK based importers and distributors of Asian food and supplies who were founded in 1975. Their own brand incense is made in India by any one of a number of white label businesses based in Bangalore or Mumbai. 

Variety packs (3-in-1, etc), are popular in Indian communities. And as an incense hunter I like them because I get to quickly and relatively inexpensively experience a range of scents by the same brand. I consider them as samples. The other scents in this 4 In 1 pack are Nag Champa, Rose, and Jasmine. Popular mono-scents and a well known blend.  

I am not a huge fan of floral incenses; however, I do like lavender. I think of it more as a herb scent than a floral scent. Rather like sage.  Lavender fragrance oils may be made from true lavender or lavandin, which is a plant in the lavender family, and it looks and smells like lavender, but when distilled into oil it has a stronger and more lasting scent. However, lavandin does not have the same famous therapeutic benefits of true lavender. Everyday incenses, such as this one, even though masala, are unlikely to use either lavender or lavandin, and are more likely to use synthetic florals such  as linalool and linalyl acetate. The scent on the stick is bold and fresh, though smells more like a bar of soap than it does fresh lavender. However, it is pleasantly sweet, floral, and uplifting. 

The scent on the burn is warm, mild, floral. There is a sense of lavender. It is a usable fragrance. Quite acceptable to freshen up the house.  

Date: Apr 2026   Score: 25/50

***

Top-Op everyday incense

Best of Lavender

Variety Packs (3-in-1, etc)

Top-Op Nag Champa Agarbatti

Bought from a local shop in our high street which has just opened. Though also available online in the UK. Cheap as chips - less than a pound for 15g of reasonable quality (albeit rather mainstream)  masala incense. Top-Op are UK based importers and distributors of Asian food and supplies who were founded in 1975. Their own brand incense is made in India by any one of a number of white label businesses based in Bangalore or Mumbai. 

Nag Champa is a classic Indian incense blend - a mix of sandalwood and the flowers from  magnolia champaca (or the champak tree), which was created by Satya in 1964, and has been widely copied since. It is the world's most popular incense blend. Pretty much every Indian incense company has a Nag Champa in their range. There would unlikely be much or any natural plant fragrance in this incense - the costs of natural fragrances are high, and most synthetics are low cost and very effective. The champa floral accord will likely come from something like benzyl acetate and/or linalool, with perhaps natural ylang-ylang and/or synthetic rose. There is possibly some vanillin for attractive sweetness and light, and some natural benzoin with synthetic sandalwood for a woody, lightly resinous base, and perhaps some white musk. All wrapped up with agarbatti oil/DEP.  An easy, low cost, and popular recipe. 

The stick is machine extruded and has a white musk perfume on the cold throw, with a tickle of aldehydes at the finish. Sweet and pleasant, with a pale sandalwood base and soapy linen as the floral top notes.  While Nag Champa is an easy low cost recipe, this feels a little too cheap and crude. Not offensive. The result is pleasant. But this is far from the classic Satya Nag Champa. 

It's warmer and more attractive on the burn, though still rather on the economy end of the scale. I'm not getting much of the Nag Champa character I love. This is basic everyday incense. It's quite harmless and largely inoffensive, so it's fine as an everyday room freshener, though more suited to the smelly areas that are less travelled, such as the kitchen, toilet, and outhouse where the cats are fed. Well, actually, it's better than that to be fair; it's just that there comes a point in incense hunting when one can get tired of experiencing the same old scent formula time and again, and this is one of the less interesting Nag Champas I've come across. If I'd come upon this ten years ago, I would likely have loved it more.  

Date: Apr 2026   Score: 24/50

***

Top-Op everyday incense

Nag Champa

Top-Op Sai Flora Agarbatti

Bought from a local shop in our high street which has just opened. Though also available online in the UK. Cheap as chips - less than a pound for 15g of decent quality (albeit rather mainstream)  masala incense. Top-Op are UK based importers and distributors of Asian food and supplies who were founded in 1975. Their own brand incense is made in India by any one of a number of white label businesses based in Bangalore or Mumbai. 

The name and image indicates this is intended to be in the flora style based on Sri Sai Flora Fluxo, and there is some weight to the sticks, and an oil rich, somewhat heady floral scent, though the stick, albeit with some weight, is lighter, thinner, and dryer

The scent on the burn is as expected. It's a standard flora/fluxo style scent - a blend of sandalwood and florals. Nicely balanced - not too sweet, and not too woody. Likeable and great value. A little too mainstream and familiar to get me excited, but decent and cheap enough to get stocks in for everyday burning around the house. Nice one. 

Date: Apr 2026  Score:  30/50

***

  

Top-Op everyday incense

Flora, Fluxo, and Supreme

Happy Hari Cultures of Eden Hari Krishna Incense Krishna Balaram

Another of Paul Eagle's imported incenses that was sold under the Cultures of Eden brand ten years ago, and is now discountinued. I looked to see if this incense is still sold, and found incense called "Krishna Balaram" sold by Brijvrindavan.in - a devotional shop in Mathura next to Vrindavan; Srijistore.com, an Indian store in Australia; and VedicVanni, an online devotional store formed in Mumbai in 2013.  

There isn't a scent called Krishna Balaram, so this is a devotional blend aiming to invoke aspects of Krishna and Balarama who were brothers. My assumption is that it will be in line with much other Vrindavan devotional incense made for temple tourists - it will be soft and pleasant with a creamy sandalwood base, a floral nose, and a sweet heart, possibly based on vanilla or benzoin. It may aim for a balance of strength and playfulness to suggest the strength of Balarama and the playfulness of Krishna. 

The scent on the stick is delightful - very light, fruity, and jammy with a sense of fermentation. Healthy dollops of sherbet give it an aldehyde fizz and sparkle. Promising, if a little child like and commercial. There is some warm wood, but at the moment it is rather swamped by the jam. 

The incense gets more serious on the burn with a burst of resin, close to frankincense. As the burn settles there is a balance of light, playful fruit with solid, grounding resin. The heart is a little vague, though doesn't present as sweet vanilla - it's a more a vague smokiness. What most impresses is the red fruit - not quite raspberry (too sweet), and not quite strawberry. There's a sense of old school trifle combined with a Black Forest gateau. There's sweet cake and sherry in the mix. I like this. It's perhaps a bit too full on sweet to really impress me - I'd welcome a naughty or stronger grounding counter balance - but I do like the playfulness of the fruit, and can see this becoming a favourite. I wonder if any of the Krishna Balarams being sold today are anything like this. If so, I would be pleased. 

Date: Apr 2026  Score: 40/50 

***

Happy Hari Incense

Happy Hari Cultures of Eden Egyptian Mystery Electric Musk Incense

It's a bold and eye-catching colour: electric blue. The stick is machine extruded, and there is a heavy whiff of cheap old fashioned perfume, the sort that old ladies with pee-dribbled knickers wear. It's not a good image. Very soapy and floral. Not much in the way of musk, though it is in there somewhere. I mean the stick looks great - its shiny like silk, and the colour is like an iridescent butterfly; but the cold throw scent is quite plastic and off-putting. Still, it's not uncommon for the cold throw scent to be unimpressive, but the burn scent to be magnificent. 

The burn scent on this Egyptian Mystery Electric Musk is not magnificent. It's rather tired and ordinary, and smells of burning wood and stale perfume. This is less than average. Though some folks will like it. We have individual tastes. Anyway, as Temple of Incense appear to be continuing this incense, or at least the spirit of it, I hope their version is a little more considered and developed than this. I hope that it has some awareness of musk, at least. 

The Happy Hari Cultures of Eden brand has closed, so this is an historic review for the record; however, Temple of Incense, which has suggested that Paul Eagle of Happy Hari passed on his sources to them, sells an Electric Musk, which looks the same as this Happy Hari, and has been reviewed by ORS who call it a charcoal incense, which I'm not convinced this is. This is a machine extruded incense, though the combustible appears to be wood dust rather than charcoal. Either the ToI sticks are from a different source to Happy Hari, or the recipe has changed, or ORS has made a mistake, or I have made a mistake. But the paste is as hard as wood paste, and when I crumble it in my hand it doesn't smudge like charcoal, and it smells like wood when burned, so my assumption is that either ToI have got an incense house who use wood powder instead of charcoal to make a close copy of this stick, or ORS have made a mistake about the combustible being charcoal. 

Date: Apr 2026  Score: 22/50 

***

Happy Hari Incense

Musk

Happy Hari Kings of Incense King of Saffron

I've had this in my backlog for over ten years - possibly eleven. I'm reviewing it now because we had mice in the room where the incense was stored, and I had to go in to sort them out, and while there brought out my box of Happy Hari incense because I wanted to give some sticks to Brief Chemistry of the Reddit incense forum. While sorting through the sticks I found a few packs I'd never reviewed. This had been sent to me by Paul Eagle back in the day as he wanted a review. I do say to folks that it may be some time before I get around to reviewing incense sent to me, but I never envisage that it would take eleven years!  

Saffron (sometimes named kesar in Indian incense) is an expensive spice that doesn't do well when burned, so is not actually used in incense. It will be plants and/or synthetics. Synthetics will usually be the restricted safranal or, more likely, the use as much as you want safraleine. There will be some floral notes put in - rose or jasmine (usually synthetic), and the usual woody base. The aim will be to create something which is spicy, floral, woody, leathery, with notes of rich Virginia tobacco. 

The scent on the stick does contain those aspects which I expect to find in a saffron incense. it's warm, woody, quirky, kinda mouldy, musky, mild spice, some soft sweetness, both fresh and aged leather - there's a sort of tannery smell, which is the mould and fresh leather and, yes, raw meat, which I remember from a time when I worked in a tannery. Probably most unpleasant job I ever had. Anyway, I find this scent compelling, interesting, and attractive, but not hugely yummy. 

The scent on the burn is warmer and more charming than the cold throw scent on the stick. It is sweeter, more rounded, and has less of the meat and mould which made the cold throw scent interesting, but not actually delightful. A little note of faecal matter in a perfume can make it richer, deeper, more realistic and attractive, grounding the florals and sweetness so they are not too cloying, but too much and it draws too much negative attention. There's a little too much in the cold throw, but just the right amount in the burn. Indeed, there's even a gourmandy quality in the burn. At heart this is the standard woody base with sweet florals that is found in pretty much all Indian incense, but the safranal element in the middle of the accord marks the difference with the mild spice, fresh leather, and hint of Three Castles tobacco. This is a relaxed and attractive incense, with a pleasant balance of wood and floral and that intriguing pinch of saffron spice. 

While the original Happy Hari closed in 2016, the line continues somewhere, and this King of Saffron is possibly the same as the King of Saffron that Cory of Absolute Bliss had which is now sold by Everest Trader in the US at $8 Canadian dollars, and by Padma Store in Germany with authentic labels at 4.25 Euros.

Date: Apr 2026  Score: 36/50 

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Happy Hari Incense

Saffron

Reviewed in Germany
Padma Store Happy Hari 

Reviewed in USA: Historic
Everest Trader Happy Hari  

Happy Hari Cultures of Eden Heavenly Garden Jasmine Masala Incense

These sticks, imported and packaged by Paul Eagle of Happy Hari, and sold by Holly Paige on her (now closed) EdenicStates website, are over ten years old. While others from the Edenic States collection, also over ten years old, and stored with this Jasmine, are in excellent condition, the six sticks in the (unopened) pack have crumbled somewhat - a couple of the sticks have barely any paste left at all. As others of the same age and kept in the same storage conditions are OK, the fault must be in the making of the sticks rather than too much heat or sunlight during storage, or that the sticks are too old - especially as the entire batch is disintegrating. The cause is possibly either due to incomplete drying (surface was dry, but centre remained damp which over time has destabilised the paste) or there wasn't enough binder in the mix. Anyway, the scent remains unaffected. 

The fragrance on the stick is floral, herbal, citric, sweet, with a satisfactory woody masala-incense base.  It is warm, delicious, juicy, and decidedly has jasmine characteristics, including a little whiff of fresh female feline pee. 

The scent on the burn is warmer and more woody than that on the stick, and it takes a while, but not too long, before I notice the florals, which are honeyed and jasmine-like. At this point the scent is quite pleasant and enjoyable; however, after a while I get scent fatigue with the jasmine, and the cat pee element starts to become a little too prominent, and the overall accord becomes a little too dry and bitter for my taste. A little dusty and bitter, with a note of stale nuts. I'm not really a fan of jasmine fragrance. I like it when its fresh in the garden, and it wafts in and out. For me, jasmine is a fragrance to catch glimpses of rather than something to be covered in for nearly an hour. 

Count this as an historic review - a record of an incense over ten years old. It is possible that this is the same incense sold today by Everest Trader as Vintage Jasmine. But I don't actually know. 

Date: Apr 2026  Score: 29/50 

Happy Hari Incense

Best jasmine incense