Incense in The Wind: Happy Hari Meena Supreme

Around 2015/2016 Paul Eagle sent me some Happy Hari incense to review. Among the bundle was some Meena Supreme. As is rather too common for me, I hadn't got around to reviewing it. I thought I had, but it seems not. At some point after Paul's death on Christmas Day 2016, Corey Topel of Absolute Bliss incense in the USA got in touch to say that Paul had handed him details of his producers in India. Corey sent me some samples to review to check if they were the same as the original Happy Hari, and that bundle may have included some Meena, but - as is all too common for me - I haven't got around to reviewing those samples. Last year, I can't remember why, but almost certainly prompted by someone contacting me about Paul and his Happy Hari incense (people do so several times a year, and we often have interesting conversations), I was trawling the internet for remains of original Happy Hari incense. It may have been something to do with someone in the UK selling a Nag Champa Gold which was supposed to be made by Paul's original supplier. Anyway, as I was trawling the internet and finding that Paul's original Happy Hari incense was disappearing, I bought up stocks here and there, including a large box of Meena Supreme. Of course, as it common with me, I haven't got round to reviewing them. I have burnt them, of course. I love Meena Supreme. But then sitting down and writing a review hasn't happened.

Anyway, just this week someone got in touch about Happy Hari. I think that's the first Happy Hari contact I've had this year. They wanted to know where they could get in the UK incense like Happy Hari. I linked them to Corey's website, but that's expensive for someone living in the UK. And I pointed them to Gokula, who use some of the same suppliers as Paul, and who are very cheap. Probably the best quality and best value traditional masala incense available anywhere in the UK. But I also had another trawl to see what Happy Hari incense is left. Well, there's nothing. Apart from NagChampaWholesale who have bags of Meena Supreme left which they are selling off cheap (not any more - all stocks are now gone!). You can get 25 X 10g bundles of original Happy Hari Meena Supreme delivered to your door next day for less than £20 (that's less than £1 a pack - I don't know of a cheaper deal for delivered incense anywhere). Of course, I bought some. These are a little different in that the batch produced sticks slightly smaller than normal, so Paul put five sticks in each bag rather than the regular four.

The new five stick packs of Meena on the right,
and the packs of four sticks of Meena on the left

Meena Supreme are Fluxo style incense - inspired by Sri Sai Flora Fluxo. A thick, rich, heady incense, pregnant with essential oils and loaded with fragrant ingredients. They are generally too heady for Western tastes, so are not sold much in the UK or America. I also suspect that people don't like it that you only get a few sticks. Perfume-dipped sticks are really thin and lightweight as the fragrance is carried entirely by the liquid perfume rather than heavy oils and weighty fragments of flower and resin, and they are cheaper to make, so you tend to get a lot for your money.

To be accurate, Paul's Meena, while being thick, has never been as heavy or oil rich as the original Sri Sai. But it has always been supremely wonderful. But people would only know they are wonderful after they have parted with their cash, taken them home and burned them. And some people are hesitant to pay £3 or more for four sticks, when they would normally get ten or more. I think, even though the Meena Supreme is among the best products that Paul sold, they were the hardest to sell, and so that's why there are still some stocks left. OK, these stocks are not fresh, but masala incense holds up well. Perfumed incense will fade with time, and old stocks are frankly often useless. But masala retains wonderful fragrances. It does alter slightly, and will lose some of the initial intensity. But that is replaced with depth and sweetness, and a radiance that lingers for days. Some folks actually prefer masala incense that has matured slightly. Up to you folks what you do, but I would strongly suggest you invest £20 and get yourself a bunch.

Close view of the packs. It can be seen
that these are different batches both
in terms of the thickness, and in the
composition of the masala. Also, the
labels are slightly different sizes.

When the Meena Supreme arrived I compared it with some old stock, and it is the genuine article - the familiar scents are there. It's not as strong as it was when fresh, and some subtle tones are missing, but in its place is a calming balance. It's more honeyed, and has less of a bite from the halmaddi. It doesn't wow as it did when fresh, but it now slowly unfolds and creates a beautiful aura in the home. This is great stuff. It is real old school hippy incense, and smells of old head shops and vegetarian cafes on Portobello Road, it holds the memory of proper hippy festivals like the Windsor festivals where the air was full of the scent of masala incense and dope and wood fires and patchouli oil.

So. There. About four or five years late (sorry Paul), but I have finally got round to reviewing Meena Supreme. It is a wonderful incense.

Date: Oct 2020 Score: 44

There is a Meena Supreme made by Meena Perfumery Industries in Bangalore. Here is a YouTube review of that incense.

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