Oooh, I love these! Sweet, woody and very creamy - it comes over as a poised blend of fresh sandalwood and tree resin, quite musky and profound. As with a number of masala incense, the main initial fragrance impact appears to come from essential oils; quite woody with suggestions of agarwood, though also a touch of citric and dark fruit. Quite yummy. The impression when burned can be variable, with some burns being less interesting than others. It's not a heavy fragrance when burned, and can tend to a mid range general masala smoke lacking profundity. At other times there is a richness and freshness which mirrors the delight of the stick, though even then just holds back from reaching headiness. Now again a creamy sandalwood, some coconut, some vanilla, orange, a delightful range of aromas, which hover between modest and a fragmentary oh wow! Overall a very pleasing incense I'd be happy to burn again, and which almost reaches heavenly. Very nice indeed. It cost £1.40 for 50g from Popat Stores, which is incredible value for money!
Rathnams is the brand name of Sri Rathnam Agarbarthi Co., founded in Bangalore around 1989 by S. M. Mohan Kumar. The company appear not to be widely available in the UK - some stocks of this Tanjore are available on eBay and Popat Stores, and there are also a few places selling Rathams 916 Premium, though most have sold out. I've written directly to the company to see if they will sell or send me some samples of the rest of their range, and I hope they will, as I suspect I will enjoy other products by this company. The box is as beautiful as the incense.
An ingredient listed prominently on the pack is Ailanthus malabarica, which is the tree that produces halmaddi - a fragrant tree resin, similar to other fragrant tree resins, such as frankincense and amber, but which traditionally has been used more as a binding material, like gum Arabic, in the paste applied to the bamboo stick, than for its fragrance. When harvesting of the resin was banned in the early 1990s (the earliest mention of that I can find is in 1991) because it could damage the tree (which is grown not for the resin but for its wood which is used for plywood and match sticks) incense stick manufacturers used other binding resins, mainly gum Arabic because it has a neutral aroma which will not impact the fragrance recipe, allowing for greater flexibility. About a decade later (2004), the brothers who owned Satya, Balkrishna Setty (manufacturer) and Nagaraj Setty (distributor), split up and divided the business. Nagaraj had the contacts, but not the supply, so from that point was exporting poor quality Satya incense, not made in the Satya factory, to America. Consumers in America noticed that the quality was lower than they were used to, but were unaware that Nagaraj was sending them non-Satya incense under the Satya brand name. They blamed the change in quality on the ban on the extraction of halmaddi, even though this had happened over a decade earlier. At this point halmaddi became an ingredient of legendary, almost magical proportions. Importers were asking suppliers for incense made with halmaddi, and its use as an ingredient in incense made for the Western market grew. At this time the outright ban on extraction had been lifted (about 2002), though controls were put in place to ensure the trees were not damaged; this enabled farmers and incense manufacturers to resume using halmaddi to meet the new interest.
I'm curious to get some halmaddi resin by itself and burn it. From what I have learned, the resin by itself is nothing special, but those who favour it, say that it works its magic in combination with other ingredients - and this is possible. What I personally note when halmaddi is used in a blend is that it has a warm wool scent, and that of all the resins this is the only one has a negative impact on me - prickling my eyes and throat. We're all different, and I can well understand that while it produces a negative physical reaction in me, it might well have a profound positive physical impression on others.
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| Flora, Fluxo, and Supreme |
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| India luxury box incense |
Too bad about your halmaddi reaction. I'm convinced the best sticks contain it more often than not.
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of Tanjore Flexo. I've only access to Rathnams Flora sticks which are very good and ridiculously low priced, and all with halmaddi, I believe. This is one of the best producers at a price point that is almost unheard of nowadays. I'm just about to restock my floras, Red, Silver, Sandal, and Gold.
Based on this one stick, I am rather impressed with this company based on quality and price. A company which can make incense this good and sell it at an honest price deserves to be better known. They could even sell at twice the price and still be good value.
DeleteYes, there is halmaddi in it, but not excessively so as with Mother's. I suppose we all have our favourite resins - mine tends to be frankincense, and we all have our favourite woods - even though I like sandalwood, my weakness is agarwood, and I doubt if there are many incenses which contain a decent amount of agarwood which I don't enjoy. While agarwood is prized in some parts of the world (the Middle East for example), it is less appreciated in others (the Western world for example). I don't know why that is. Perhaps it is cultural - people in the Middle East grow up with an appreciation of agarwood - it is the most prized of all fragrances, while it is little known as a fragrance in the West, rather less so than other natural fragrances such as sandalwood and frankincense. We don't actually enjoy things in a vacuum - we need the air of our culture to allow us to respond positively to something, to prepare us for the delights of the appreciation. Go to a show in which there have been no reviews, no information at all, and we are unsure as we sit down if we are going to like it. Go to a show which has had rave reviews and for which there are queues for tickets, and even before we sit down we are enjoying ourselves.
It can be difficult to isolate the cultural associations from any product - be they positive or negative. The cultural associations are part and parcel of the enjoyment. If I get a beer or wine or incense which I have read positive things about, I am already geared up to enjoy it. Sometimes this can mean a much greater negative reaction if the product doesn't live up to what I expected because there is going to be some disappointment. And conversely, when trying an unknown product which I find delightful, I know I can sometimes get over-excited because the product is better than I expected.
I would prefer not to have a negative reaction to halmaddi - but it generally only bothers me when there is excessive amounts used. And there are only a few companies which commission incense with large amounts of halmaddi, so it's not often I encounter it.
Agarwood is legendary in the cultures of Asia especially with the Chinese and the Chinese are all over southeast Asia. Most of SE Asia plus China practice various forms of Buddhism and Agarwood is closely associated with worship. The rich have driven the price up to astronomical levels and most of the agarwood we see in sticks are nowhere near top quality because of the costs associated with it. Nevertheless, I am also a lover of this scent and prefer the aroma of it in a heater with temp control as it can burn easily, like resins, if not heated at a proper temp. Nothing is worse than burnt woods and resins. Luckily, there is domestic and Indian Agarwoods sold here in Bangkok. However, the range of Indian incense is more confined to the run of the mill with exceptions here and there. You being in the UK will probably have a larger selection of qualities to choose from as the UK and U.S. are the largest markets outside of India. That makes it easier to search for treasures.
ReplyDeleteThe largest markets for agarwood are the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, and Northeast Asia, especially Japan; emerging markets are France and Italy (as a base in the perfume industry).
DeleteIt is the leading (almost exclusively so) perfume in Saudi Arabia (where it is known as oud) and is the base for bukhoor. It is used as incense and men's and women's perfume. Agarwood is the aroma of the Middle East. And, yes, highly prized also in Japan.
It is produced in India and Southeast Asia, though mainly as an export crop because it is so desired by the Middle East, and now perfume houses in Europe as well.
I'll get you some links:
Frontiers of Plant Science 2019
Trade Use of Agarwood - 2010 report
Persistance Market Research - 2019 report
One of my daughters lives in Bangkok, and has done so for several years now. She lives in Sathon, not far from Lumphini Park. I visited her three years ago. Love Bangkok. We did a little pub crawl around Southeast Asia - Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia (struggled to get beer there!). Loved it.
DeleteOne of my favourite days was taking the river bus up to Ko Kret, and cycling around that island, eating deep fried flower petals, and drinking by the river at Chit Beer. One of those astonishingly long freight boats went past. Wow, it just seemed to go on for ever!
I'm hoping to go back next year, but that depends on other factors, as family visits have been put on hold with Covid, and there are delayed weddings to attend as well....
Your daughter lives very close to me. I am directly on the river which Sathorn Road leads to. Thailand has fairly terrible beers. I never drink them! lol. Recently, they have begun to produce some craft beers but they are so expensive, I never bother with them. Beer Lao is not bad, the dark version.
ReplyDeleteI think you are referring to the river barges that ply the Chaophraya River all day and all night. The River taxis are great.
Let me know if you come. Hopefully, the restrictions and red tape will be easier for travelers here next year. There is also a very low percentage of vaccination. Thais are notoriously bad at organizing.
We drank one night near you then. My daughter took me to Jack's Bar - which you must know. They sell Full Moon beers there, which were among my favourite of the locally made beers, though I liked Samata, Mahanakhon, and Chit as well. I think my least favourite beers, though I liked the vibe there, was the Londoner beers.
DeleteYes, I'll let you know if we come - and perhaps we could meet up, and you could point me to some incense. I only recall seeing one incense store in Bangkok - a place near Yodpiman Flower market.
The stores I know are not worth seeking out. The weekend market, Chatuchak, should have something but I've never looked there for incense.
ReplyDeleteNever liked much of the English brews. When I buy beer here, which is rarely, it is almost always German. I haven't had a drop of alcohol in more than a year. You know, it all turns to sugar. Not so good for you. I'm a bit of a health nut these days.
What do you think 'Flexo' means? I found another listing for Tanjore that says masala and not flexo.
ReplyDeleteI've not had that many Flexo incenses, though the ones I've had have tended to be heady, and damp with oil. The first ones I had were also termed Flora, so I assumed that Flora and Flexo were similar or related. I think you were the one who suggested they were not related, which got me interested in looking further. I note that Supreme seems to be another related term. The word Flexo seems to be related to the word flow. But more than that, at this stage, would be conjecture. I asked a question about Flexo and flora on my incense Facebook account, but as I hadn't used that account for about three years, people are no longer paying it any attention.
DeleteI asked my supplier here in Thailand about the Tanjore. He told me it wasn't a flora and he couldn't get it. I've never heard of a flexo or seen one sold anywhere. Do you know of others? Now, Fluxo is a different matter, but the latest box of Tanjore says masala agarbathi which means it is neither a flora nor a fluxo. It's strange that their would be a confusion about this but I don't think a manufacturer would be making up a name for a stick, so I remain curious. Again, for me, Rathnams Floras are amongst the best of the widely distributed Floras.
ReplyDeleteAh! I see what you mean. I have been reading "Flexo" as "Fluxo", and I think that is what is intended. I often find interesting misspellings on packets of Indian incense. I have seen Frankincense spelled many different ways. In my response above I hadn't noticed the misspelling, and simply continued with it. Where I am writing flexo I am meaning fluxo, which, as far as I'm aware, means flow.
DeleteAs far as I'm aware the term Fluxo was first used on the Sri Sai Flora Fluxo Incense currently being made by Damadhar. There may have been others before Sri Sai, but that's the oldest one I am aware of. The stick is rich and heavy with oil. It's not exactly a refined or balanced bit of incense, but it is certainly lush and strong. I have noted that Indians sometimes relish a strong incense - not necessarily an aesthetically pleasing incense, but certainly one that has an impact. Wet dhoops, such as Vaishnodevi Gugal Dhoop and Laxmi Dhoop, and the currently very popular sambrani cups, such as Raj Guru Vandana, appear to me to not be burned for the pleasure of the scent, but for ritual or practical purposes - to clear the house of flies and/or to cleanse and purify the house. Sambrani (benzoin) is complex, because it is used for ritual purposes, but it is also used as a perfume - some women in South India will dry their hair in sambrani smoke in order to capture the smell. Incense has many uses, which is for me a large part of the interest. I don't just burn incense for the nice smell, I like to know about the people and cultures that use it, and why. I'm as fascinated by the German love of incense smokers, the Persian/Arabian love of bukhoor, the Japanese incense ritual, incense in witchcraft, the everyday use of incense, the religious use of incense, and the curious cult of halmaddi among those who consider themselves connoisseurs of incense. It's all fascinating to me.
In my personal journey into the varied world of incense I observe and note the varied uses of incense, and I try them out. Some I like more than others. I'm not a huge fan of the heavy incenses, such as the wet dhoops, the sambrani cups, and the fluxo incenses, etc. But I am still curious about them, and it is that curiosity which drives me. Along with a love of incense in general.
Sadly, not much factual information and hard history has been written about incense. There are plenty of people with opinions, views, and suppositions, but little in the way of solid hard facts. I have various books on incense, but they are more opinion and conjecture than useful history. So it is hard to find information on something apparently simple such as when were fluxo incenses first made, and what are they, and how do they differ from other forms of Indian incense.
We're not even sure when what we term masala incense (which I note is often termed natural incense in India) was first made. The documents I have relating to the first bamboo stick incenses seem to indicate perfume dipped sticks, which in a way makes sense. The masala style of incense I can imagine developed because the perfumed bamboo sticks were popular, but the perfume solvent was too difficult or expensive to make for the small incense maker, so they used the dry ingredients, as they always had, but combined it with the new bamboo core. It was a practical blend of the old and the new.