A. S. Agarbathi Works Ayurvedic Relaxation

 

A proper job masala incense made by A. S. Agarbathi Works of Bangalore, who were founded in 1978. This came from Sacred Essence, who wrap everything in attractive orange tissue paper, and is excellent value at £1.30 for 15 quality, long burning and beautiful sticks. Other places, such as Powells, and JustAromatherapy, have it for slightly less. 

The aroma is proper old fashioned masala with an attractive aromatic blend of sweet sandalwood, musk, and patchouli. The scent when burning is gentle, and so doesn't have a great impact, but will sweetly inform the room and leave a pleasant lingering sweet warmth for at least 24 hours. That is one of the real strengths of masala incense, that it leaves the home smelling delicious for several days afterwards. If we've been away for a week, when we return we can still appreciate the lingering quality of proper masala incense.  That never happens with perfumed incense, which disappears fairly quickly, and can sometimes leave an unpleasant tarry or smoky note.  

Date: April 2021   Score: 38 

***

AS Agarbathi Works of Bangalore

R. Expo The Great Indian Caravan Namaste Neroli & Basil Incense Cones

 

These are from Sacred Essence, where they are available for £2.99 a packet. Other places also sell them - The Great Indian Caravan products seems to be everywhere at the moment. The packaging is colourful and appealing, and aimed at the Western market. The cones are perfume-dipped, and are mostly wood powder, though there is also some frankincense resin as well. The frankincense helps lift the aroma a bit, but not much - the scent is partly the essential oils and perfume, and partly the wood powder. As the cone burns down, it mostly becomes the tar from the wood powder. So these are not great quality cones. The scent is initially OK, but it's not long before the scorched wood powder and tar starts to appear. Sadly, these are just toilet cleaners or fly repellent. They are not cones to burn in the house. 


Date: April 2021 Score: 19

***

R. Expo / Song Of India

 Incense Ratings - Top of the Dhoops!

R. Expo The Great Indian Caravan Om Shanti Nag Champa Incense Cones

 

The Great Indian Caravan are all over the place at the moment. They are a brand name set up around 2017 by R. Expos / Song Of India, with the apparent intention of selling to the Western market. The colourful  "Indian hippy trail" packaging is designed to appeal to Westerners rather than the domestic Indian market. 

Branding and ingredients on
the back of the pack

The brand is more about the imagery than the product, as this is a poor quality perfumed incense. I'm not anti-perfumed incense, but I am anti-poor quality. To be fair, the perfume they use, though rather standard toilet cleaner stuff, is not unpleasant, though it's more like "a walk in a pine forest" than it is "Nag Champa", though there is a suggestion of floral notes in there. But, as with a number of poor quality incenses (and at the moment that includes Satya's Earth range), the perfume burns off too quickly, and the main scent becomes the core material of wood dust and binding gum, which is never that great. 

Date: April 2021   Score: 19

 ***

R. Expo / Song Of India

Nag Champa

 Incense Ratings - Top of the Dhoops!

Green Tree Palo Santo Incense Cones

I've just reviewed a Satya Palo Santo incense when my eye is caught by this little box of Palo Santo cones by Green Tree. Well, of course I have to review it. I did have a look to see if I could find any more Palo Santo around (I know I have a supply of the actual wood somewhere) but nothing came to hand immediately (my incense stash is a mess!).

I bought these in Glastonbury in 2017. They are distributed by Green Tree Candle, a Dutch company based in Rotterdam who deal in typical hippy items - scented candles, gemstones, tarot cards, beads, and incense. No indication of who makes the incense they are branding as their own, but it does seem typically Indian. 

It's a pleasant scent. The cones appear to be a mix of charcoal and wood dust, impregnated with scent which seems to me to be more oil based than perfume. The initial scent is lovely as we get mostly the fragrant oil, but as it burns down to the fat part, the heavy tars have collected, the amount of core material (charcoal and wood dust and binder) has increased, and the fragrant oil is losing the battle to stay on top. The initial scent is more floral than woody - quite light, almost lemony, with sweet spots and hints of honey. It is oddly both calming and invigorating, in the way I suppose lemon or pine is. It has a cleansing aura about it, and that's traditionally what palo santo has been used for. There is something a little green about it, nudging into nettles, herbs, and a bit of patchouli.  I like it. I now need to dig out my palo santo wood chips! 

Date: April 2021    Score: 36

***

Palo Santo

Green Tree (distribution company)

Satya (BNG - Earth) Palo Santo Dhoop Cones

Second review - scroll down for earlier 

Hmm. Not impressed with these. More like wood smoke than incense.  In discussions I often defend Satya as I feel they are sometimes somewhat unfairly maligned. But this is not good stuff. I agree with my review from four years ago,  these "smell of cheap wood filler rather than proper incense", which is curiously similar to my first reaction noted above. This is a freshly bought packet, but it appears to have the same issues as the packet I reviewed in 2021. 

Date: April 2025   Score: 18

First review

Palo santo is a fragrant wood from the bursera graveloens tree, which is in the same family as the trees which produce frankincense and myrrh. With other tree incense, it is the resin which is burned, with palo santo, it is the wood itself. 

I've not explored much palo santo - I have some wood samples I've not yet reviewed, and I have recently reviewed some Aromatika palo santo cones, and I wasn't impressed, but I wasn't impressed with that range of Aromatika cones. 

I've also not been impressed with this Satya Palo Santo, but, as with the Aromatika, I think that is more to do with the range than the scent itself. These Satya "Earth" incenses from Balkrishna, the Setty brother who owns the Satya factory in Bangalore, are environmentally friendly, but don't burn well, and present more like perfumed incense than masala. 

These cones smell of cheap wood filler rather than proper incense. There is nothing masala like about these cones at all. They come across like cheap perfume-dipped cones in which the perfume has already evaporated. Occasionally there is a waft of perfume where, apparently some of the perfume or oil has not yet evaporated, or has at least been absorbed. I suspect that these cones were made as blanks, or "punks" as some Americans call them (unfragranced cones ready to absorb perfume), and then dipped in an essential oil made from palo santo, but the environmentally friendly material doesn't absorb as well as the traditional material. 

O well. These are no good for the house. And, because they are quite smoky and verging on unpleasant, not that much use in the bathroom either. These are going to be used in the outhouse where we feed the cats, to be burned to keep the flies away in the summer. 

The cones came from SacredEssence, which claims to be "Europe's Largest Shaman Alternative Shop", which is an attractive and compelling claim! They are available at  99p a packet, which is currently the standard price for Satya products in most UK shops. 

Date: April 2021    Score: 18

***

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

Palo Santo

Satya (BNG - Earth) Dragon's Blood Dhoop Cones

   

Second review - scroll down for earlier

I found this rather similar to HEM Dragons Blood cones. Rather closer than I would have expected. Not the same, but from the same blood line. I liked this more than the HEM. Greener, sweeter, clearer, greener, brighter, more lemony. But while I respect both incense houses, I had built up an impression over the years that Satya were the more serious and proper incense house. But the impression I have now is that they are not that different. Interesting. 

Date: April 2025    Score: 28

First review

Dragon's blood  is an attractive tree resin which has a variety of uses, including as a dye to colour  Stradivarius violins. The scent is pleasant, with a mildly sweet mineral note. I reviewed the Satya Dragon's Blood incense sticks a couple of years ago, and wasn't hugely impressed. Indeed, the only dragon's blood I have really enjoyed have been the Aromatika Dragon Blood. 

These cones are pleasant with the expected scents of dragon's blood, but don't really lift the senses. There's just this awareness of an OK incense. The cones, as with the previous Satya cones I reviewed, don't burn cleanly - sometimes they stubbornly go out, and sometimes they produce an inordinate amount of smoke, and sometimes they leave an ashy scent usually associated with perfume-dipped incense where the perfume has evaporated.  The cones are made by Balkrishna Setty, the brother who was in charge of  production, and retained the Bangalore factory when the brothers split up after their father, the founder Shri Satyam Setty, died in 1999. They are in new eco-friendly packaging marked Earth. It is possible that Balkrishna is using an environmentally friendly core burning material, such as coconut instead of charcoal, and is not yet used to it - that may be the reason the cones are not burning efficiently. 

The cones came from SacredEssence, which claims to be "Europe's Largest Shaman Alternative Shop", which is an attractive and compelling claim! They are available at  99p a packet, which is currently the standard price for Satya products in most UK shops. 

Date: April 2021    Score: 27

***

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

Dragon's blood

Satya (BNG - Earth) White Sage Dhoop Cones

 

White Sage, or Salvia apiana, is a plant that is burnt by a number of native American tribes as part of purification rites, and is more common as an incense fragrance in America than it is in India or Europe as the plant grows in America and Mexico. It produces an attractive mild sage aroma, quite warming, spicy, gentle, and softly seductive. I've bought some sage smudges, though not used them. But I have burned a few sage incenses, including a Satya White Sage masala stick incense, which I really liked, and, recently, some Aromatika White Sage Incense Cones, which these Satya cones remind me of, though the Satya are better quality with a quiet and consistent musky sage scent.  I'm not knocked out by these, but they are OK - cleansing with a neutral sweet mineral quality.  

I got them from  SacredEssence, which claims to be "Europe's Largest Shaman Alternative Shop", which is an attractive and compelling claim! They are 99p a packet, which appears to be the standard price in the UK for Satya incense, even in corner shops, these days, which is encouraging.  I had a little trouble getting the cones to stay alight. This sometimes happens, but unusually this happened with a significant number of cones, and then happened also with the next Satya cones I burned, the Dragon's Blood.  

The cones are made by Balkrishna Setty, the brother who was in charge of  production, and retained the Bangalore factory when the brothers split up after their father, the founder Shri Satyam Setty, died in 1999. They are in new eco-friendly packaging marked Earth. It is possible that Balkrishna is using an environmentally friendly core burning material, such as coconut fibre, and is not yet used to it - that may be the reason the cones are not burning efficiently. 

Date: April 2021    Score: 30

***

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

White Sage

SAC Arcangel Gabriel Sandalo (Sandalwood - 7 Arcangels)

 

Part of the 7 Archangels series. Arcangel Gabriel (Archangel Gabriel) is one of the three certain archangels in the Seven Archangels. He is mostly associated with communication and being the Angel of Revelation. On the pack he is the Celestial Signaller.  The words on the pack are: 

I am who protect you and guide you on Wednesday. I sharpen your discernment and intuition. I show you the correct path for fulfilment of your mission. I purify your soul and help you promote yourself in a frame of purity and fidelity with individual truth. 

The scent is sandalwood. I like sandalwood. It's a scent that works well in both masala and perfumed incense. It works well in perfumed incense because sandalwood oil is cheap and easy to make - it is a basic essential oil. Many masala incenses will also use sandalwood oil. While my absolute favourite sandalwoods are masala, and my absolute least favourite are perfumed-dipped, there is a jumble in the middle - I find that some perfumed sandalwood is better than some masala sandalwood.  

This is a lovely sandalwood - it is sweet and yummy.  There are no off notes. The scent is firm and clear and lingers pleasantly for a while afterwards.  It's good stuff. Nice woody quality moving into a dreamy sweet musky quality. It creates a relaxed and sensual atmosphere. Best used in the late evening, particularly when with someone you wish to seduce...

Date: April 2021   Score: 35

***

SAC (Sandesh)

Sandalwood

SAC Arcangel Rafael Jasmin (Jasmine - 7 Arcangels)

 

Part of the 7 Archangels series. Arcangel Rafael (Archangel Raphael) is one of the three certain archangels in the Seven Archangels. He is mostly associated with healing and being the Angel of the Trumpet. On the pack he is the Divine Healer.  The words on the pack are:

I am who protect you and guide you on Thursday. With the flame of consecration I cure your body, mind and soul. I lighten your sufferings and guide you towards maximum health and well being, the key of which is to meet your inner divinity. 

The scent is jasmine, though is mainly just generic perfumed incense. There is jasmine in the scent - a warm, mildly floral, slightly mineral scent. But it is very run of the mill. Not a great scent. Not offensive, but one to use just for covering up smells.  

Date: April 2021   Score: 18 

***

SAC (Sandesh)

Best jasmine incense

SAC Archangel Uriel Canelo (Cinnamon - 7 Arcangels)

 

Part of the 7 Archangels series. Arcangel Uriel (Archangel Uriel) is one of the seven archangel in some sects, but not all. He is mostly associated with the arts and judgement. On the pack he is the Light of Knowledge.  The words on the pack are:

I am who protect you and guide you on Friday. I lovingly reveal the light of creation dissolving the dark and shadows. Always granting shelter, provision, required spiritual and mental strength

The scent is cinnamon, though is mainly just generic perfumed incense. Inoffensive, warm, mildly spicy, but with little individual character. It's not a bad incense, but adds little to the house. An incense mainly to burn to cover up smells. 

Date: April 2021   Score: 19 

***

SAC (Sandesh)

Best cinnamon incense

SAC Arcangel Samuel/Chamuel (Rose & Honey - 7 Arcangels)

 

Part of the 7 Archangels series. Arcangel Samuel (Archangel Samael) is one of the seven archangel in some sects, but not all - some see him as a fallen angel. He is mostly seen as the Angel of Death. On the pack he is the Prince of Adoration.  The words on the pack are:

I am who protect you and guide you on Tuesday. Without the force of love nothing exists in the universe. I help you to contemplate the light of love in daily conscience that releases and perfects physics and spirituality.

The scent is Rose & Honey and resembles a rose tea with a blend of sweet floral and mildly tannic notes. The slightly dry and astringent quality balancing the heady floral notes of the rose. It's a likeable but modest perfumed incense. 

Date: April 2021   Score: 21 

***

SAC (Sandesh)

Best rose incense

SAC Arcangel Zadquiel (Violet - 7 Arcangels)

 

Part of the 7 Archangels series. Arcangel Zadquiel (Archangel Zadkiel) is the patron saint of forgiveness. The angel of mercy.

I don't have the pack. My Zadquiel sticks were placed in a Miguel pack. But the inner sleeve is mauve, and the scent is violets, so this must be Zadquiel, and I assume they either ran out of the Zadquiel sleeves, or the packer picked up the wrong one by mistake. 

It is distinctly Parma Violets on the stick, a little less so when being burned, where the perfume burns off too quickly, allowing the base material to come through, so it sometimes smells a little more of smoke than of violets, but on the whole is reasonably pleasant. 

Date: April 2021   Score: 20 

SAC (Sandesh)

SAC Arcangel Jofiel (Mil Flores - 7 Arcangels)

 

In the 7 Archangels series. Arcangel Jofiel (Archangel Jophiel) is one of the lessor known archangels. Jophiel is the angel of wisdom and understanding. The words on the pack are:

"Prince of Illumination. I am who protect you and guide you on Monday. With the flame of wisdom and understanding I make you understand the substantial reality and unlimitness of Divinity and I help your yearnings, ideas, and projects come true. "

A gently musky sweet incense with floral overtones. Like a flowery garden on a deep sunny summers day. It is, to be fair, a mostly generic perfumed incense, but is attractively pleasant. Can be used at any time. 

Mil Flores means "a thousand flowers". 

Date: April 2021   Score: 25 

SAC (Sandesh)

SAC Arcangel San Miguel (Arruda - 7 Arcangels)

 

San Miguel Arcangel (or Arcangel Miguel, as it appears in my set) is one of a set of  7 Arcangels - seven archangel themed incenses sold by SAC, either individually or as part of a set of seven. 

SAC are a successful incense manufacturer, producing a range of cheap and popular perfumed and masala incenses. This Arcangels range is crudely made charcoal based perfume-dipped incense. The intention here is not heavenly, spiritual, or aroma-therapy incense, but simple everyday room and mood enhancers. Some people burn incense as a special treat, some burn it as an every day, all day pleasure, and others (like me!) do both. This incense is for those who burn incense as a simple everyday pleasure.  

The scent is "Arruda", which is the herb common rue, which has a variety of uses, including as a food flavouring, a folk medicine used as an antidote for snake poison, or to improve eyesight, as a symbol of virginity and purity, and as an insect repellent. When reduced to an essential oil, the active ingredient is 2-Undecanone, which is used in perfumery to support floral notes. 

Miguel is Saint Michael, one of the prominent archangels, along with Gabriel, and Raphael. He fought successfully against Satan, so is seen as a protector.  The wording onb my packet reads: "Prince of Presence. I am who protect you and guide you on Sunday. I help you with the Energy of Divine Love. I release you of pain and suffering, problems and difficulties, as well as oppressive thoughts." 

It's a pleasant everyday scent. The aroma is familiar, but I can't quite pin it down. It's not highly floral or woody - it's quite a mineral scent, fairly neutral. Some suggestion of lavender. Quite cleansing and invigorating. A good scent for the start of the day. 

Date: April 2021   Score: 25 

***

SAC (Sandesh)

SAC 7 Arcangels Incense

Attractive box of seven different scents with a theme of seven archangels, each for a day of the week. As SAC have a strong market in Italy, the angel theme would go down well there.

SAC is a decent everyday incense company who make cheap perfume-dipped and masala incense. They also trade under the GR brand. 

Blurb:

This specially packed incense has the power of these 7 Archangels to help to you in any condition you may be facing in life. There are 5 incense sticks in each of the 7 Archangel packs. Each pack represents each Archangel. Burn these sticks to help you achieve the results you want for your conditions. Have the power of the 7 Archangels guide you to better things in life. Each pack has the special day listed to burn, with the invocation of the Archangel on each pack.

The Seven Archangels

Monday: Jofiel. Prince of Illumination. Wisdom.  Scent: Mil Flores (Thousand flowers) 
Tuesday: Samuel. Prince of Adoration. Scent: Rose & Honey 
Wednesday: Gabriel. Celestial Signaller of Word Divine, and Fast Luck. Scent: Sandalo (Sandalwood) 
Thursday: Rafael. Divine Healer. Good Health. Scent: Jasmin (Jasmine) 
Friday: Uriel. Light of Knowledge. God's Love & Light. Scent: Canela (Cinnamon) 
Saturday: Zadquiel. Prince of Transmutation. Scent: Violet 
Sunday: Miguel. Prince of Presence. Protection. Scent: Arruda (Common Rue) 

The saints are also sold separately, so I will review each saint's incense individually, and then summarise each one here. 

Jofiel

A gently musky sweet incense with floral overtones. Like a flowery garden on a deep sunny summers day. It is, to be fair, a mostly generic perfumed incense, but is attractively pleasant. Can be used at any time.

Score: 25    

Samuel

The scent is Rose & Honey and resembles a rose tea with a blend of sweet floral and mildly tannic notes. The slightly dry and astringent quality balancing the heady floral notes of the rose. It's a likeable but modest perfumed incense.

Score: 21

 

Gabriel 

This is a lovely sandalwood - it is sweet and yummy. There are no off notes. The scent is firm and clear and lingers pleasantly for a while afterwards. It's good stuff. Nice woody quality moving into a dreamy sweet musky quality. It creates a relaxed and sensual atmosphere. Best used in the late evening, particularly when with someone you wish to seduce...

Score: 35

 

Rafiel 

The scent is jasmine, though is mainly just generic perfumed incense. There is jasmine in the scent - a warm, mildly floral, slightly mineral scent. But it is very run of the mill. Not a great scent. Not offensive, but one to use just for covering up smells.

Score: 18 

 

Uriel 

The scent is cinnamon, though is mainly just generic perfumed incense. Inoffensive, warm, mildly spicy, but with little individual character. It's not a bad incense, but adds little to the house. An incense mainly to burn to cover up smells.

Score: 19

 

Zadquiel

It is distinctly Parma Violets on the stick, a little less so when being burned, where the perfume burns off too quickly, allowing the base material to come through, so it sometimes smells a little more of smoke than of violets, but on the whole is reasonably pleasant.

Score: 20 

 

Miguel 

It's a pleasant everyday scent. The aroma is familiar, but I can't quite pin it down. It's not highly floral or woody - it's quite a mineral scent, fairly neutral. Some suggestion of lavender. Quite cleansing and invigorating. A good scent for the start of the day.

Score: 25

Date: April 2021    Overall score: 25 

SAC (Sandesh)

 Incense Ratings - Top of the Dhoops!