Sifcon 100 Incense Sticks With Holder Tuberose Gardenia

Another Sifcon bargain at £1.49 from my local hardware shop. These are so cheap I wonder just how much money the producers get.  Once the retailers and distributors take their profit, and the tax, the transport and material costs are taken, and the wooden ash catcher is excluded, just how much money is left for  making 100 sticks? How long does it take to make 100 sticks? These look machine made, and the semi-automatic machines are transforming incense making in India. Machines can churn out up to 150 sticks a minute - as shown here.  I have a slight unease about that as I am attached to the romantic notion of hand rolling - though I sometimes wonder about the pay and conditions of the women who do the hand-rolling - such as these.  Anyway....

The scent is a slightly sharp lemony citric on the stick, which turns more floral and woody when burned. Some of the bamboo sticks are quite thick, with not much paste to absorb the fragrant oils. As such there can be a tendency for the  aroma to be more of the burning bamboo stick than of the fragrant oil. When you do get mostly oil, it is quite pleasant with the summer warmth of rose, enlightened by oranges and jasmine. Quite acceptable. We tend to burn these Sifcon sticks in the garden when we are eating out - which we like to do for breakfast on summer weekends, as well as at other times. The floral aroma seems appropriate, and at the price, we can light several at a time around our table. One of our neighbours if she smells our incense, will come join us.

Not heavenly (indeed, sometimes a little crude), but mostly pleasant, useful, and excellent value for money.


Date: June 2018    Score: 30

***

Sifcon International

100 Incense Sticks With Holder

Best floral incense