Slightly sharp, notes of fruit, possibly orange or tangerine, some spicy wood, more cedar than sandal, and an awareness of myrrh, without directly dealing with myrrh. Inclines more toward the wood as it burns, and the base notes settle. More woody than sweet. Acceptable modest everyday incense.
I have just noted that it has a health warning that it contains methoxycyclododecane and methyl cedryl (chemicals that produce woody scents, like cedar). I don't know how much this product relies on natural ingredients for the fragrance compared to chemical ingredients. I had always assumed that Japanese incenses were all natural, similar to Himalayan/Tibet incense, and to Indian dhoops and masala incenses. But clearly this is not the case. Nippon Morning Star are among the cheapest of Japanese incense, and so are very popular. These can be picked up for around £3.50 for a small box of 50 with small porcelain stand, which is reasonable. We quite like the incense; though it is not true to myrrh, it does have a reasonable woody scent that is modest but appealing.
We then compared it to other myrrh incense that I have in the house, and could lay my hands on quickly. It came second out of the four we tried. Satya Myrrh was favourite, then Morning Star, then Happy Hari King of Myrrh (a little old and dry, sadly), and finally some myrrh resin I bought from The Scenter a while ago, and which then and now I suspect is not good quality.
Date: Sept 2021 Score: 28
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| Myrrh scent test |
We compared two myrrh scented masala incenses, the leading masala manufacturer Satya and the legendary cult importer Paul Eagle of the Happy Hari brand, one thin Japanese dhoop by the most popular brand Morning Star, with some resin, which I suspect is not the best quality.
Unfortunately Paul Eagle's King of Myrrh is not one of his best imports. It has been a while since I last burned any, and I thought that it had dried out because there was so little scent, but in my 2017 review, which I did the year after Paul had given it to me to review, I note that I had the same feeling back then. Perhaps it was a poor batch, or had been poorly stored, and Paul hadn't noticed when he gave it to me. It has an initial fruit aroma, I felt it to be quite orangey. Then some mild sandalwood, and eventually some myrrh-like scents do emerge. This was not placed first or last by the three of us.
The Scenter's Tree Resin Myrrh also had a mixed reaction as it burned, but was more consistently the one that was less appreciated yet was the truest to myrrh, having lemony balsamic notes and some of those "churchy" aromas - but it could also be a bit acrid and smoky.
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| Myrrh |
Hi Steve, My last purchase of a Nippon Kodo product was some years ago on ebay, Nippon Kodo Mainichi koh Sandalwood. 300stks/$10./free shipping. Evidently this is the most popular Japanese incense in Japan and at this price point, I can see why. An excellent, affordable daily burner and a traditional scent.
ReplyDeleteMy own experience with Myrrh tells me the fragrance from the resin is best. I buy mine from Oman along with Frankincense and both are deeply satisfying to me. I can also add in other resins to change the mood and the addition of bakhoor or agarwood chips is also sublime. I find these aromas to be the purest of all the forms of incense burning that I've done. I'm still using charcoal but will buy an electric heater some day for better control.
As with all things incense, I've had great and poor experiences with resin, and all areas in between. On the whole I like resin, and I can recall some pretty heady first experiences with amber resin which have never been repeated. Often it is that first encounter which is the strongest and most memorable, and which for the rest of your life you try in vain to recapture! After the first love there is no other.....
DeleteHowever, while liking resin, it is more of a fuss to use. I use incense rather casually on a frequent basis, and I love the ease in particular of a cone or fat dhoop, and after that of bamboo core sticks (easy to plant that stick in various improvised holders around the house, including of course plant pots and cracks in doors and walls!), and then thin dhoops such as made in Japan, and then indirect or non-combustible incense such as resins and woods and dry blends.
I have compared using charcoal with using burners, and burners never get as hot as charcoal, so the burning experience is different. With charcoal there is an intense and usually fairly short period of burning in which the entirety of the scent, top, middle, and base notes, come out fairly close together, so I get the same experience as when I smell the incense before burning. When using a burner I note that the incense burns more slowly, releasing the scents in order of weight/density, so the light, citric, high notes come first, then the more floral middle notes, and finally the woody and musky notes. This makes for a less intense, but more interesting journey.
Which is best - charcoal or burner? Well, that depends on the individual, on the incense, and on the desires of the moment. So I wouldn't say one is better than the other. I use a burner mostly, purely for the convenience of it. You can, of course, gain control with charcoal burning by using foil paper and or those little metal discs which come free with most incense cones. The more layers of foil and/or metal discs you use on top of the charcoal to slow down the transfer of heat, the slower the resin will burn, and the more of a journey you'll have, but less of an intensity and a completeness. But make sure you use thick quality tin foil, because charcoal gets so hot it can burn through the thinner, cheaper kinds!
What is fun with a burner or charcoal, is to experiment with assorted dried ingredients in the house and garden. A lot can be learned from burning herbs and spices, or even resin taken from local trees.