This is a chunky extruded stick with a faint resemblance to resin-on-a-stick style incense, though with a much finer grind and a smooth appearance. The ToI girls have hinted at a relationship with Paul Eagle, the legendary owner of
Happy Hari, such as with this comment on their website: "Years ago, there was a wonderful friend, who sold incense on Portobello road. One of his favourite sticks was ‘Meena Supreme’. He famously called it the ‘jiggy-jiggy’ stick (you can think of the reasons why). It was deep, sensuous and in the first instance, perfect in its simplicity. Soon after we started our company, our friend entrusted us with his, and taught us a lot of what we know now. The come-back of his ‘jiggy-jiggy’ stick is long overdue. It’s here, and reborn as ‘Portobello’ – named after his favourite market, his home, and a place forever in our hearts as the origins of our journey."
Just before he died, Paul sold details of his sources to Cory Topul of
Absolute Bliss in return for 10% of future profits. Because Paul was not the most trustworthy of characters, Cory would send me various incenses he wanted me to check against original Happy Hari incense I still had, or had a memory of. Just before he died, Cory sold a big bunch of Happy Hari incense to Ashok of
Padma Store. In Ashok's Happy Hari line is
King of Amber. Which is pretty much the same as this ToI Amber. And which is close to, though somewhat different to, the original
Happy Hari King of Amber.
I've heard the rumour that as well as selling his sources to Cory, Paul also sold them (or gave them) to the ToI girls. It wouldn't surprise me. Paul was something of a bounder. But from the messages that Cory shared with me in which the set up was that Cory would be paying money to Paul (and/or Paul's family - there's some confusion in the messages) based on future business, it seems unlikely that Paul would be deliberately cheating Cory as the percentage on future business would then not be paid. It is possible that the agreements were territorial, but there was nothing about that in the messages that Cory shared with me. I know that Cory was uncertain about some of the sources that Paul had given him, and that he had found some sources himself that he felt were better quality.
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| ToI Amber with the two Kings |
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Top: ToI Amber; middle: Padma King of Amber;
bottom: Happy Hari King of Amber |
Comparing the three sticks side by side, the ToI and the Padma Store/Absolute Bliss are the same length and thickness and colour and have the same scent. The Happy Hari original is slightly longer, thinner, and has a different scent. I find it highly likely that ToI and Absolute Bliss are from the same maker (nothing can be certain, for incense makers can very accurately copy a popular incense, but these two sticks are remarkably similar); while the Happy Hari original is possibly from the same source with understandable variations by the maker over time (a new extruding machine, an updated fragrance formula), though equally may be from a different maker, so this is much less certain.
I did say to myself last year that I wouldn't get involved in trying to identify sources for white label traders such as ToI; but it is mildly interesting, and I can't help be curious, especially as so many popular Western incense brands appear to be using the same sources, especially
HMS in Pune, so we can end up buying the same incense but under several different brand names. There are several reasons why we buy from a particular trader, so it's not always down to which is the cheapest, but it can be useful to know if the incenses are essentially the same (or exactly the same) so we can avoid buying the same incense if we don't want to (or, conversely, buy them in order to compare, if we want to).
Anyway, there is an attractive warm, sweet, musky-floral scent on the stick. Fairly familiar - a number of Indian incense sticks have this amber style scent or something very similar - it is a fairly mainline accord, even when amber is not the intended profile. I like it, and it is decent quality, but the scent profile is fairly ordinary, so is not something that interests, excites, or delights me. But I do like it quite a bit. The florals are nicely wrapped in the musk which has hints of chocolate and vanilla.
For such a thick stick the smoke and scent is reasonably modest and gentle, though it can disperse over a large area and inform the whole house by the time the stick is finished. The scent on the burn is initially lighter and more floral than on the stick, also drier, suggesting that the heavier and sweeter musk/patchouli notes are not making themselves felt, which is odd because I tend to find that base notes are more noticeable on thick sticks. However, gradually the base comes in - at first gently blending and dancing with the floral, then eventually taking over so the sweet patchouli-musk is the prominent fragrance. I kinda like it best when the musk and the florals dance together, and there is a brief moment when I think I can pick up the violets and lemon that I noted on the Happy Hari original back in 2017.
Amber is a conjured scent, often composed of individual house blends of benzoin/vanilla, patchouli oil, sandalwood oil, and perhaps some floral oils. This blend has "absolute and essential oils of amber, vetiver, labdanum, amyris and a drop of patchouli", which sounds quite base heavy, though aspects of it will create lighter top notes. The amyris, which is often used as a cheaper form of sandalwood, could be blending with the labdanum to give hints of the violets and lemon; while the patchouli and "amber" (probably a benzoin mix), might be giving the soft cocoa notes. On the whole the accord walks a fairly pleasant but unremarkable line. Likeable, but somewhat overly familiar and predictable.
Date: Feb 2026 Score: 34
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Note: It is not revealed where Temple of Incense source the incense for their brand; however, a number of the incenses are similar to those made by
HMS of Pune.
