Dhoop

Dhoop was developed by priests in India. It is an older form of incense than agarbatti or joss sticks, though younger than resin. Essentially, a dhoop is a blended combustible incense that does not have a bamboo stick as the core. Fragrant ingredients are ground down, and then mixed with binders and wood powders and rolled into tube/log or stick shapes. This method was passed on to other Asian countries such as Tibet, China and Japan, and that is the main incense method still used there. Dhoops vary in style; some can be quite subtle and profound - as with some of the finer Japanese and Indian dhoops, or be quite earthy and herbal, and, like wiccan dry blends, are intended mainly for the therapeutic qualities. Tibetan dhoops are mainly medicinal, though some people like their earthy rugged spice.

Cones may be a form of dhoop, though cones are commonly perfumed, and the dhoop term is usually confined to tube or log shapes. Dhoops may be dry or wet. The term is only used in India, so while there is little or no essential difference in production method and contents between Indian  and Japanese dhoop, Japanese dhoops are just called sticks, and will always be dry and very thin, while Indian dhoops may be dry and thin, but are usually fatter, and tend to be wetter.

Tibetan dhoop

Taiwan dhoop

Chinese dhoop in the form of a spiral

Indonesian dhoop in a coil

Japanese dhoop

Thin, dry Indian dhoop

Thick, wet Indian dhoop