 |
| Second review - scroll down for earlier |
I was communicating with Irene of Rauchfahne recently, and we were talking about the negative association that charcoal has among some folks in the Western incense community. Charcoal, of course, has been used for thousands of years to burn incense, and is generally a highly regarded combustible because of its purity and very low to non-existent smell. If there are impurities in some of the cheaper charcoals, this will have a smell, but a decent quality incense stick will use decent quality charcoal. We agreed that the low opinion by some is likely due to them associating charcoal with poor quality perfume-dipped incense. It wouldn't be the charcoal that was responsible for any off-smells people might experience with low quality perfume-dipped incense - it would be the poorly made perfume solvent. During our discussion Irene said that despite charcoal's reputation as having a low to non-existent smell, she could smell charcoal. And I also have a charcoal smell image in my olfactory memory. For me it is a sharp, clean, coal dust type smell. Not unpleasant. Indeed, neutral to pleasant. I don't smell it when burning incense sticks, but I do pick it up when using charcoal discs. Though I'm wondering if it's the charcoal I'm smelling or an accelerant added to the charcoal to make it light. Certainly I get that charcoal scent when lighting this sambrani cup. Though I also get a whiff of petrol fumes. So I'm wondering if I'm smelling both the charcoal and the accelerant. Whatever - it is a curious scent that hovers between mildly pleasant and mildly unpleasant before the sambrani starts burning and takes hold.
This is a hugely smoky incense. I'm burning it today as it's a nice day so I can burn it outside. However, I start it off indoors, with windows open. However, even with windows open the smoke builds up really quickly, and its not long before not just the room, but the whole house is filled with smoke, and the fire alarm goes off!
The benzoin is clean and cleansing with some citric notes, but the experience is somewhat overwhelmed by the amount of smoke. This is useful as a quick smudge. Walk around the house, and it soon filled with smoke and a cleansing benzoin aroma. Very useful for removing flies as well as evil spirits. But, on the whole, not for me as a general incense. Too smoky and heady. I just don't want that amount of benzoin in my home! However, it does leave an attractive lemony vanilla scent in the house. Used as a smudge, or left to cleanse the house (on a safe, fireproof surface), it serves its purpose well.
Date: April 2025 Score: 27
 |
| First review |
Purchased (as Luxflair, but arrived branded Raj) from Amazon for £7.90 including postage. Luxflair are the German based importer, the incense is made in India by Raj Fragrance of Bangalore.
Sambrani cups are a growing trend in India, and are spreading to Europe and America. They are generally self-igniting charcoal cups which are filled with sambrani (Indian name for benzoin) and a fixative added to keep the resin in place. They are very convenient and easy to use. Resins other than sambrani are also used, but they are still called a sambrani (or loban) cup.
These Raj Guru charcoal cups are not self-igniting, so they took a REALLY LONG TIME to ignite. You couldn't use a lighter or matches or your fingers would burn. I used a gas burner which I use to light my BBQ. It then burned very quickly and generated a lot of heat. I used two clay stands inside my metal burning cup, but the heat quickly got through onto the cup, so I had to use tongs to move it on top of my burner so it wouldn't start to scorch the cloth on my table.
It produced a lot of ghostly silver grey smoke. The aroma is neutral benzoin. A chalky mineral aroma. It's clearly intended for ritual purposes and would work very well. Lots and lots of smoke, which is not offensive, even to me, and I am sensitive to too much smoke. The room filled with smoke, so I had to close the door to the room with the smoke alarm. The room does now feel charged with a cleansing mineral energy. Hmmm. I don't use incense for ritual purposes - I use it for the scent, as a mood lifter, room freshener, to cover up odours, to make the house welcoming, etc. But I know a lot of people use incense mainly or exclusively for ceremonial or ritual purposes. This is the first time I have got close to understanding that.
This Guru Vandana Sambrani Cup is not my thing - too fiddly to light, too much smoke and not enough aesthetic scent, but it has brought me closer to understanding the ritual aspect of incense burning, and that has a value in itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment: