Krishan Chandan

Krishan Chandan (sandalwood) by Krishan Products of Mumbai. Hex box of approx 20 machine-dipped undyed sticks, bought as part of a six for £5 deal in Gilllingham market. The box is richly decorated with lovers embracing and an elephant being ridden through the countryside. The prominent colour is red. The sticks are very neatly machine dipped with an even, smooth mat black covering which stops cleanly before the end of the bamboo stick which is undyed. The sticks smell attractive - faintly medicinal: clove, Parma Violets, menthol, camphor wood.

The smoke rises cleanly, in a light grey blue, producing pleasant patterns as it swirls. The aroma is mild, but very attractive. Some mildly medicinal qualities, some clove, some bergamont, some burning wood, and sandalwood underscored with menthol and camphor wood. The scent, though weak, is quite warm and pleasant, and is becoming one of my favourite sandalwood incenses. Useful to impart a gentle, background warmth to a room, though not to make a big impact, nor to cover up strong odours.

Date: April 2013   Score: 30

***

Sandalwood

Krishan Products of Mumbai

Ranga Rao Flute Incense Lavender

Part of a 6 for £5 deal in Gillingham market, these are cheap, basic, thinly machine dipped incense sticks using chemical fragrances. The appearance is black, mat charcoal, which smears down the handle of the undyed bamboo stick. The incense is laid on fairly thinly and burns quickly. There is little sense of lavender in the aroma, which is gently woody with some warm bergamont middle notes, and dark berry fruit high notes. It's not an unpleasant aroma, but is mild and forgettable. It is warm and calming, and would be fine as a background aroma, especially in the bedroom areas. They are made by N. Ranga Rao & Sons of Mysore under their Flute brand.

Date: April 2013  Score:  24

***

Ranga Rao (Flute)

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Best of Lavender

Ranga Rao Flute Incense Seven Herbs

Charcoal black machine dipped sticks of herb perfumed incense by N. Ranga Rao & Sons of Mysore under their Flute brand. The incense is thinly dipped, and the machine smears the incense down the handle of the undyed bamboo. The incense burns quickly, producing a moderate amount of grey smoke that is gently and pleasantly perfumed with herby, soapy, citron accented aromas. The scent is slightly medicinal, with sharp notes of lemon, and hints of insect repellent. There is an artificial feel about it, and I suspect the company uses chemical fragrances. The whole thing looks, feels, and smells cheap and basic, but despite this, the aroma is clean, sharp, strong, without being overpowering, and is useful in the kitchen to cover up lingering cooking smells, such as pan fried fish.

This was bought from a market stall in Gillingham as part of a buy six for £5 deal - each pack contains 20 sticks. Flute brand incense is also available on Amazon and eBay for around £1 a packet. The Ranga Rao company have been selling incense since 1948, and export to 60 countries. They use Flute, Cycle, Lia and Angel brand names, and also make Woods and Rhythm brand incense.

Overall this is an acceptable basic cheap incense, useful for covering up odours, freshening a room, and wakening up the senses. The aroma is sharp, clean and fresh. It's not subtle or delightful, but it serves a purpose.

Date: April 2013   Score:  25

***

Ranga Rao (Flute) 

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GR International Rose

Pack of ten rose incense cones from GR International of Bangalore, bought from a hippy shop in Faversham for £1.25. The cones are dark brown, almost black, with a sticky sheen, like cannabis resin. They are fairly tall, and produce plenty of smoke. The aroma is pleasantly floral and lemony citric at first, then some coconut notes comes through, and near the end the core combustible material starts to make itself felt, so the aroma is of burning twigs. The floral aromas don't have a natural feel to them, and the citric notes are like washing up liquid. It's not an unpleasant experience, but this is clearly not top quality. 

This incense is nothing special, but is not offensive, and if simply wishing to quickly refresh a room, these are fine to brighten things up.

Date: April 2013  Score: 23

***

Best rose incense

GR International

Top Ten 
Perfume-Dipped Incense

 Incense Ratings - Top of the Dhoops!

Stamford Midnight Calm (by Satya)

Second review - scroll down for earlier

Beautiful fragrance on the stick. Base notes are deliciously sweet, but that is balanced with layers of mineral and seaside scents, some benzoin resin,  bergamot, and other warm, woody-citric aromas. Very promising. It burns a little dry and dusty, with more awareness of the base materials than of the more refined perfume notes. This is not fresh, so is not at its best.

Date: July 2015   Score: 30   

First review

Highly perfumed hand rolled incense sticks from the UK company Aargee under their Stamford brand, which they introduced in 1994. Satya Sai Baba is stamped on the box, a brand name used by the Indian incense company Shrinivas Sugandhalaya of Bangalore (Satya), and these sticks are of the quality and character of that company, so they are likely to be the manufacturers, especially as in 2011, Aargee developed 12 new fragrances with Shrinivas Sugandhalaya to be sold exclusively through the Stamford brand. The two companies have listed 24 fragrances they make together.

The sticks are powdery, pale brown, with the twist lines indicating hand rolling. The bamboo sticks are dyed pink. They burn easily, producing a decent amount of soft smoke. The aroma is initially sweet, with high floral notes, underscored by sweet, warm sandalwood, with vanilla and honey in the main body. Though heady, it is a delicate and elegant perfume, carefully designed, and clearly made with pure, natural ingredients. There are no off notes. The result is gently sensual, with a sense of sophistication and elegance.  The aroma pleasantly fragrances the room, lingering satisfactorily for a long period. A very fine incense. 

I purchased these from my local shop for £1.50, and that appears to be the standard online price. I think any incense made by Shrinivas Sugandhalaya is going to be high quality, and with a sweet, heady, refined perfume. While some very good incenses can be picked up cheaper, these do represent good value for money for the quality of the ingredients and the perfume.

Date: March 2013   Score: 34   

***

Other ratings of incense by Aargee

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya of Bangalore)

Sumati Padma Tibetan Incense

Large pack of incense from the local shop in Rochester for £2.99. About 36 long sticks (just over a foot long - approx 31cm).  Though called "Tibetan", the incense is made in Nepal, and distributed by Sumati Padma. It is made by monks in various monasteries according to the traditions of Tibet, which means that it is a dhoop incense, sticks of incense without bamboo. Herbs and spices and other natural ingredients (35 different ingredients in all) are made into a paste, and then extruded into long lines, which are cut into roughly foot long sticks and left to dry.The appearance and colour is of dried camel dung - it is dry to touch, with no powder. As there is no bamboo core, and the stick is thicker than the average Indian stick, it won't fit into regular incense holders. I use a little brass bowl filled with sand.

The aroma is very earthy and herby. It is fairly basic, but that is part of the natural charm. It smells like burning grass, leaves and herbs - and I suppose, essentially, that is what is happening. The monks collect and dry herbs and leaves, crush them, mould them with sandalwood paste into sticks, which I am now burning. So I am burning dried leaves. It's not an aroma to get excited about. It's moderately pleasant with nothing offensive about it, and does cover up unpleasant aromas. The sticks produce a decent amount of smoke, and the aroma is noticeable without being over-powering, so this is very good value for money. The sticks are long and burn for a long time. I break them in two - though they can be broken into several pieces to allow for the exact amount of incense required. A downside, is that they are so long, the box takes up a lot of room, and doesn't quite fit into my incense drawer.

Overall, an attractive basic everyday low cost incense that is particularly useful for covering up bad smells. Nothing exciting, and there are some minor drawbacks, so it's not one I would rush to buy again - but I'll keep an eye out for other Tibetan incense.

Score: 27    Saturday, 27 April 2013

After rating, I kept the sticks in the kitchen, as that feels the most appropriate place for them. Over time I came to appreciate their earthy aroma more and more while cooking, or to clean up the room in the morning, and would reach for them in preference over other sticks I had rated slightly higher. Now they are finished I want to buy them again, and was disappointed went I went into my local shop to get some more, that they didn't have any. But I have bought some other "Tibetan" incense to try out.

Score: 30   Friday, 10 January 2014

***

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Himalayan incense
Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan

Aargee Ganesh Flora Masala Incense Sticks (discontinued)

Second review - scroll down for earlier

I like this incense. It is warm and sensual and pleasantly relaxing. It has a natural aroma, quite old fashioned, with a suggestion of halmaddi, a traditional ingredient used in some of the more expensive and "artisanal" incense aimed at the Western market. I like the aroma, but I have a poor physical reaction to it in large doses. This is either a moderate dose, or it doesn't contain any, as I have no negative reaction. So I get the damp lambs wool aroma, and the earthy tones, without my eyes burning or getting a splitting headache. It's a subtle aroma, and sometimes that's what is wanted. I'll buy some more of this.

Date: August 2015   Score: 32

[2023 comment: StamfordLondon are the continuation of the Aargee company's incense import business, and they sell a Ganesh Flora masala incense made for them by Satya]

First review

A jolly red box of 20 hand rolled sticks made in India for the British company, Aargee. At 85p from theasiancookshop, a decent buy. The sticks are hand rolled around a bamboo stick that has been dyed pink. They bulge slightly in the centre, and have the tracks and grooves that rolling leaves. The colour is pale sand, with a fine dry dust. The ingredients are listed as sandalwood, aromatic roots, natural oils, benzoin, patchouli and camphor.

Camphor is used for insect repellent and moth balls, and may have unpleasant associations - but it is a natural ingredient, coming from trees in the laurel family, including rosemary, and has been used as a flavouring in cooking and as a fragrance for hundreds of years. The name is derived from the phrase "kapur barus", meaning Barus chalk - Barus being the port in Sumatra island where it was mainly sold, and chalk for its white appearance. It has medicinal properties - acting both as an anesthetic and a stimulant, and in clearing the airways.The aroma is clean, medicinal, suggestive of menthol and cold marble. Other incense that contains camphor are Ashleys Workshop Dragon's Blood and HEM The Moon.

Benzoin is similar in character to camphor, though lighter, and leaning more toward cream and vanilla ice-cream, and with hints of frankincense. The resin comes from the dried bark of Styrax trees, and the name derives from luban jawī, an Arabic term meaning frankincense from Java.

Patchouli is a common and popular perfume and incense ingredient. It comes from a bushy herb in the mint family, and its musky aroma became very popular during the Sixties and Seventies - it was my favourite scent, and I used it extensively, developing my own blend of perfume using three parts musk, two parts patchouli and one part civit, based on a blend used by Aleister Crowley. Patchouli is sweet, heady, musk-like, and also a little earthy. I find it quite sensual. It blends well here with the cooler, cleaner tones of the camphor, and the musty qualities of the benzoin.

The Indian deity, Ganesha 

Ganesh (or Ganesha) is an Indian god depicted with an elephant head, and his image appears on the box. He is associated with removing obstacles, so is appropriate for a cleansing, awakening incense such as this.

This is a very attractive incense with natural ingredients, and no off-aromas. The scent is pleasant and invigorating, leaving a clean and inviting aroma in the room. Excellent value for money.


Date: April 2013   Score: 32

***

Vintage Incense
(Incense brand
not currently available)

Aargee 

Goloka Chandan

An elegantly designed 15gm box of Goloka Chandan incense from my local shop for £2.50. Rather expensive for 12 rather thin, mildly perfumed, not especially long-lasting sticks. The box is elegantly designed, with high quality printing, giving the impression that the contents are high value - and this is reinforced with the Goloka hologram seal on the side. The sand coloured incense is hand rolled around natural, undyed bamboo sticks - the twists of the hand rolling can be clearly seen; and there is a pleasant dry powdery appearance.

Goloka are one of the leading Nag Champa brands, and there is more than a hint of that incense here, though well grounded in a very clean and pleasant sandalwood. This reminds me of incense I sometimes encountered burning at festivals during the Seventies - the aroma is top quality, clearly 100% natural, quite evocative, and is something that would make an impression and be remembered. Though expensive, it is damn good, and worth the money - though can be bought for around £1.50 online. Cheapest is justaromatherapy.co.uk/, at £1.05, and they also have some very good deals on multi-buy selections.

From an initial disappointment that the sticks were over-priced and inadequate, I have grown to love the quality of the scent, and the approach of the company, and have already ordered more. The ingredients include "rare herbs, flowers, honey, resins & oils". The quality of the burning material is faultless, and the aroma left behind is warm, clean and and highly attractive. Though initially the scent appears as though - like NagChampa - it could be a little sweet and cloying, it is quickly balanced by the pure sandalwood to produce a balanced and harmonious aroma. This is a very refined and well designed scent - reflective of the quality of the design and printing of the box (which is made from 100% recycled material).

Score: 46   Date: April 2013

***

Goloka

Sandalwood

Aargee Jasmine tube series (discontinued)

Second review - scroll down for earlier

Smoky, intrusive, and clearly chemical based. Bordering on unpleasant and offensive, but just stops short. Cheap and almost nasty. How my experience of incense has changed in two and half years!

Date: Dec 2015   Score: 20

First review

A 20g tube of jasmine incense, made in India for Aargee Novelties, a British company founded in 1978 to import incense and ethnic gifts. Bought for 45p from the excellent value online shop Asian Cookshop. The sticks are smooth and glossy, and give the appearance of being machine dipped. They are black, with some black powder coming off on the fingers, but not much. The sticks are undyed. They produce a decent amount of smoke which is soft and warm and very pleasant. The sticks are pleasantly flowery, slightly sweet, with something of the heady perfume of jasmine. The aroma when burning is very attractive - it is a clean smell, with crisp, bright citric notes playing around the base sandalwood and the middle bergamont and jasmine. It is both relaxing and cleansing.

Arabian jasmine is the main jasmine flower of India - it is native to India, and has been used for hundreds of years as personal ornamentation, for flavouring tea or food, and as a fragrance. It is one of the oldest fragrance flowers cultivated by mankind. It has associations as an aphrodisiac, and is also regarded as an anti-depressant and sedative, and as an antiseptic or cleansing property.

Date: April 2013 Score: 30

Note: The British importer Aargee commissions a number of Indian incense makers to make incense for them under a variety of brand names and styles.  The Argee tube series, which are of basic scents - machine dipped, very heady and flowery, packaged in retro tubes with colourful, old fashioned wrappings, are by Mysore Sugandhi.

***

Best jasmine incense

Vintage Incense
(Incense brand
not currently available)

Other ratings of incense by Aargee

Mysore Sugandhi

MDH R-pure Mogra

MDH are Mahashian Di Hatti Limited, a food and spice company founded in New Delhi in 1919. According to their website, initially the spices were hand ground, but the company quickly moved into automation. This is also true for their incense sticks, as these Mogra sticks are machine-dipped, rather than hand-rolled, though I note that a number of web-sites are selling the incense as hand-rolled. A look at the sticks will show the even and glossy appearance of machine-dipping, as well as the streaking on the bamboo stick. There are no signs of the paste being twisted or rolled. The sticks are undyed, and the colour of the incense is black. The finish is powdery, and it will stain the fingers black, so take care when holding. The aroma is mainly of the base sandalwood paste, so it is difficult to tell how natural the perfumes are. I suspect the use of chemicals, but I don't know. While there is nothing fresh and natural about the perfume, there is also nothing false or chemical or harsh. The brand name "R-pure" is used by MDH for a variety of products, not just incense sticks. It is possible that MDH bought up a company called R-pure, and took over their spice and incense range.

Mogra is Arabian jasmine, which is the main jasmine flower of India. Jasmine is native to India, and has been used for hundreds of years as personal ornamentation, for flavouring tea or food, and as a fragrance. It is one of the oldest fragrance flowers cultivated by mankind. It has associations as an aphrodisiac, and is also regarded as an anti-depressant and sedative, and as an antiseptic or cleansing property.

This hex box of 20 sticks cost 45p from the online shop Asian Cookshop - a good value website. The sticks are thin, though burn at a moderate and even pace, producing a thin and modest smoke which can be a little bit sharp and hot. The aroma is warm, faint sandalwood, with wood smoke, some damp leaves, and the occasional flowery, sweet note that could point toward jasmine. It's a mild, inoffensive aroma. While there are no high points, there are equally no low points. This is a basic, cheap, workable incense. It has little to commend it other than cheapness and inoffensiveness. For the same price and from the same shop, you can buy Aargee Jasmine, a much more pleasant incense.

Date: April 2013   Score: 20

***

Best jasmine incense 

Krishan Peach

Krishan Peach by Krishan Products of Mumbai. Hex box of approx 20 hand-rolled undyed sticks, bought for £1 in Brick Lane. These are thin and black, and unevenly rolled. There is a chemical odour - a bit like peach scented toilet cleaner. The box design is of peaches. It is dull and uninspired. Claims of "Superior Quality" on the box do not appear to match the evidence on the surface. I am associating in my mind the manufacturer, Krishan, with HEM, and expecting the worse. I am pleased, however, that the sticks are hand-rolled - even if poorly done, as it suggests that the volatile aromas will be on the surface, and so the softer, more subtle notes will be cleaner and more available, rather than swamped by the base notes of the sandalwood paste into which the perfumes would be enveloped when machine dipped. Because they are thinly rolled, the sticks do burn quickly, but the aroma is not as hot, harsh and artificial as HEM incense can be. There is none of that stale rose scent that catches at the back of the throat. However, there is not a lot of aroma to be found. There is a base note of burning wood and damp leaves, spiced - in a slightly mangled, clashing manner - with the peach scent, which wavers into grass and burning herbs and sometimes cannabis. It's not great, but it's not unpleasant.

It's a subtle incense, reasonably clean, with some sharp tones. so could be used in the morning to start the day.

Krishan Products were founded in 1951, and claim to be India's leading manufacturer and exporter of premium quality incense sticks. They do a range of fruit and other standard scents.

Score 22

Fruit Fragrances
That'll Make You Drool

Krishan Products of Mumbai 

Satya (Original - pre 2014) Natural

Satya are among my favourite incense makers, so  it is always nice to return them now and again - especially to an old favourite like the Natural. This is a soft, relaxing, woody sandalwood, slightly sweet, with some coconut and some vanilla tones, and a whiff of honey. It is a gentle, background incense, that slowly informs and warms a room without being rude or intrusive. It comes in and leaves behind a warm, beguiling and, well, yes, "natural" aroma of ancient promise and delight. Fragrant wood is the heart of this, and so there is a sombre feel to it. Useful for giving a subtle refined woody depth to a room. This is an evening scent. I like it.

Date: March 2017   Score:  40

15g pack of Satya Natural bought on Brick Lane for £1 while out with my daughter. Hand rolled around a yellow dyed bamboo stick by the Shrinivas Sugandhalaya company, makers of Nag Champa and Superhit. The aroma out of the box is divine. Very fruity with a sandalwood perfume. Light and heady and very yummy, quite edible. Vanilla, egg custard tart, cinnamon bread, raspberries - all natural aromas which are compelling and seductive. There are citric notes, a bit of pine, and some eucalyptus. When lit, the initial aroma is of the base sandalwood. A warm, earthy aroma - quite light. And then a gradual aroma of late summer - hedgerow fruits, burning leaves, warm hay in the barn. And then comes the sharper, more elegant, more perfumey notes. The overall impression is of a warm, summer evening, with a heady sweetness in the air. The aroma is calming, cleansing, elegant and seductive all at once.

This is a very, very attractive perfume of the highest quality. All the ingredients are clearly natural, and the sticks have been hand-rolled. The stick burns evenly and slowly, offering excellent value for money.

The Shrinivas Sugandhalaya company was founded in 1964 by Shri Satyam Setty from small premises in Mumbai. It has expanded to employing approximately 2,500 workers in manufacturing facilities in Bangalore and Mumbai, and since the death of Setty in 2000, the company has been run by his two sons.

Date: April 2013 Score: 42

***

Satya 
(Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

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