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| Second review - scroll down for earlier |
It was nearly five years ago I reviewed this warm, perfumed, gently spicy and mildly sweet and yummy Shyam masala incense. I liked it so much I placed it in my World Class category. Then, because it has been there so long, I moved it into purgatory while awaiting a fresh review. Unfortunately, in the meantime, Gokula have run out of stock, though offer Cinnamon as an alternative.
I still like this - there's a pleasant cinnamon biscuit appeal about it. There's curious herbal notes pointing toward fresh mown grass, mint, and hinting at marihuana leaves, as well as some floral notes. I do like this a lot, though I'm not getting the ecstatic romantic fantasy I experienced in 2019. Perhaps it needs the heat of a late summer rather than the cool of late winter.....
Nudged down slightly.....
Date: Feb 2024 Score: 43
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| First review |
Very sweet and dreamy. There's a distinct sense of sweet woody cinnamon about this. It's a very enticing and somewhat exciting, invigorating, youthful incense. Joyful. Enthusiastic. A provider of energy. Gosh I love this. There's something green here as well - a warm summery growth. Life by the river. Oooh, you could chase this incense into tomorrow and wake up refreshed. This is a memory of a love affair in the sun when young and brimming with naïve enthusiastic and ecstatic joy at the world. Life, love and young lust....
Dream it.
Date: Aug 2019 Score: 45
***
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| Gokula-incense |
Gokula has renamed Syam. It is now called Cinnamon in its Classic Line. It is a handmade, thin stick, not dusted, that burns about 45minutes. A very pleasant, complex aroma emanates out of this stick, decidedly on the sweet side, but also woody and spicy. Some sandal, vanilla, and who knows what else. This is a real winner and I would buy it again.
ReplyDeleteYes, this is a seductive little stick isn't it? I like Gokula as Mark imports decent intense and sells it at an honest price. My quibbles are that the makers are not credited, and the packaging is lacking in quality or interest. But, for me, Gokula is the new Happy Hari. I can't see any other importer to compare in quality and price.
DeleteNo western seller ever reveals their producers. Why would they? HH doesn't do it. Gokula's packaging is light years better than HH. Packaging is much sturdier than what most incense come in. Maybe you haven't gotten any of their sticks since their names changed.
ReplyDeleteMy last delivery was Dec 2019. Two years ago.
DeleteI agree that Gokula's packaging is better than Paul's. Also, I understand the convenience and cost reduction of using small plastic packets, and I did that myself when selling on eBay. But they are not as attractive as cardboard box, and in this day and age we should all be asking businesses to stay away from plastic as much as possible. I don't know at what point plastic sleeves became popular for incense, but for the bulk of my life incense has been sold in biodegradable paper/cardboard. I find that plastic puts a sort of barrier between me and the incense. I can't warm to it in the same way I can to more natural materials. It seems odd that we are looking for natural ingredients in our incense, then shrugging our shoulders and accepting plastic sleeves.
As regards product information. Consumers have been pushing for years to have information about the location and actual producer of the things they buy, and most companies are doing that now. It provides useful information, gives credit to the people who make or grow the product, and brings us closer to them. Why should we shrug and say we don't care when it comes to incense? I feel it is particularly important when buying products from Third World/Developing nations like India where worker conditions are a concern. Do you know, for example, what happens to the woman who rolled the Gokula Shyam when she is sick? Does she get sick pay, or is she simply laid off without pay? And if she doesn't return after a week is her place taken by someone else, and she has lost her job completely? This happens regularly in incense factories. It is generally only the bigger, better known companies like Satya and Goloka (not the same as Gokula) who look after their women. Goloka give back 100% of their profits to help not just their own female workers, but female workers throughout the incense industry in India. The more we are told, the more we know, and the more we are reassured. I understand the business model which keeps the producer a secret, but that doesn't mean I should like it and certainly not that I should support or encourage it. I don't wish to become political in my incense buying, but I have been considering for some time how comfortable I am buying incense from Western distributors who keep me in the dark about the conditions of the women who make the incense. To be fair, I have never thought that Makunda/mark who runs Gokula is out to exploit anyone, and I do trust him. When asked he does say who the producers are. It is the principle of the thing that concerns me. But I think I am perhaps a little ethically sensitive. I don't eat meat for example, and I'm trying to cut down as much as possible on eating dairy. And we all have a thing against plastic in our house. Particularly as my wife is working on a major European project to remove and reduce plastic waste in rivers and seas.