Happy Hari / King of Incense King of Myrrh

As some folks may know, Paul Eagle, the lager than life character behind Harry Hari and King of Incense, took his own life Christmas day 2016. He was an assertive man who seemed to irritate more folks than he charmed. He sent me some incense to review a little while back, and for various reasons I didn't get around to it. I was in Glastonbury this weekend and noted that some of his brands are still available there (though it seems his strong, pushy sales style was not always appreciated in that rather laid back town), and that this King of Myrrh is still available in several shops online, so thought it was time I put down my thoughts.

The packaging is a little crude, though Paul himself felt that the incense would speak for itself. It is quite a fat, neatly rolled stick. indeed, it appears to be machine made so smooth and neat is the paste applied. The label claims 3-4 hours burning time, and Paul himself made such claims quite often, though the reality is that the burning time of all his sticks are generally between 30 and 60 minutes - which is fairly standard. I've just looked back at some correspondence with Paul, and what he meant was that a packet of 10 grams would last 3-4 hours, not each individual stick (though his Emperor Amber is a single 10 gram stick that is intended to last 3 hours).

The sticks smells slightly fruity - a hint of blackcurrant, and there's a suggestion of spice, perhaps cinnamon. On burning there is little of the myrrh, though there is something of the base material - some simple sandalwood, and a hint of hot charcoal. It is a faint scent, and there's not a lot going on. Mild sweetness, some sandalwood, some obscure spices. It's not an unpleasant scent, though it is too modest and lacking in interest to have a strong appeal. It works best as a background informer of a room. Ah. Some myrrh is coming through the base material. A sweet, honeyed, resiny quality. Some musky notes. A suggestion of frankincense. Hmmm. OK, but perhaps too little too late?


Date: Aug 2017   Score: 28

Myrrh scent test

Three of us compared some myrrh incenses: 1) the leading masala manufacturer Satya, 2) the legendary cult importer Paul Eagle of the Happy Hari brand, 3) one thin Japanese dhoop by the most popular brand Morning Star, and 4) some resin which I suspect is not the best quality. 

Unfortunately Paul Eagle's King of Myrrh is not one of his best imports. It has been a while since I last burned any, and I thought that it had dried out because there was so little scent, but in my 2017 review, which I did the year after Paul had given it to me to review, I note that I had the same feeling back then. Perhaps it was a poor batch, or had been poorly stored, and Paul hadn't noticed when he gave it to me. It has an initial fruit aroma which I felt it to be quite orangey; then some mild sandalwood; and, eventually, some myrrh-like scents do emerge. This was not placed first or last by any of the three of us.

The Morning Star Myrrh was liked and disliked - and over the test was sometimes placed first and sometimes placed last. As with Paul's King of Myrrh it was regarded to have few actual myrrh scents, being mostly fruit and woods. Well, myrrh does has fruity and woody components to its scent; however, generally the fruits are lemony, and the woods a little, well, more musky and sensual. And the combination of the components of resin myrrh will produce a "churchy" aroma, which we found somewhat lacking in the Morning Star Myrrh.  However, at times it came back in favour as the scents were compared. It can be difficult to be consistent with appreciation of something as elusive and emotionally engaging as scent. 

The Scenter's Tree Resin Myrrh also had a mixed reaction as it burned, but was more consistently the one that was less appreciated yet was the truest to myrrh, having lemony balsamic notes and some of those "churchy" aromas - but it could also be a bit acrid and smoky. 

The one most consistently liked by all three of us, and acknowledged to be the one most appreciated was Satya's Myrrh. Sweet, dreamy, lemony, balsamic, woody, and very evocative of church incense. An assured winner. 

Date: Sept 2021  Score: 26  

Picking through my stocks for some Happy Hari to send to someone, and this pack has only two sticks left, so I thought I would burn one, and send the other, the very last one. Probably the very last one in existence. Who knows? 

This is a machine extruded charcoal paste (which after at least 6 years, has by now dried very hard) generously coating an undyed machine cut bamboo splint. The charcoal paste when still moist was coated (possibly rolled) in a finishing wood powder, which has by now been totally absorbed by the charcoal, so it looks as though it is a part of it., Well, maybe it is. The scent on the stick is very fruity and very attractive. A suggestion of solvent, but possibly not, could just be the intensity of the fruit. Cherry, blackcurrant, some minor woods, some floral notes, possibly jasmine. I like it. 

The burn is not so good. The smell is mainly  the core material, with most of the aromatics on the stick not overcoming it. Now and again some of the fruit and other scents waft over, but mostly I'm getting burning sawdust and old leather. There is the ghost of what this stick might has been when fresh, but now it has gone. If scoring this now, I would score it quite low. I'll mark a score here, but I won't adjust my Top of The Dhoops! board. 

Date: Feb 2022   Score: 22

Happy Hari Incense

Myrrh