HEM Frankincense Masala Incense

   

A HEM masala incense. Cool. HEM has one of the biggest incense markets in the West, though they are known for their perfumed incense, and this is the first masala incense I have encountered by HEM. A number of Indian incense companies are starting to export masala incense to the West as masala becomes more popular. In India itself, almost all incense sold domestically is perfumed. This masala incense is a product aimed at the West. 

Though popular and successful, HEM is disregarded by incense enthusiasts because HEM make perfumed incense. I'm OK with perfumed incense. My absolute favourite incenses tend to be masala, and my least favourite incenses are all perfumed, but I often like perfumed incense. Not the unbranded bargain basement stuff that simply smells of burning cardboard, but the perfumed incense that is well made with unique and quality perfumes which are modern, fun, and far more varied than one gets with masala. Perfumed incense can be lighter, more everyday, more fun than a masala. But a masala will delight in a way that a perfumed incense can't. So, it's horses for courses, and it makes sense to have both a shire horse for pulling the cart, and a racehorse for going fast, and not to expect one to do the job of the other, nor to look down on the shire horse for being slow, or the race horse for not being strong. 

I have been burning this HEM Frankincense for a few days now, trying to make my mind up. Sometimes I catch a whiff, and think - oh, that's nice, but rather less often than I had expected. And certainly less often than I would with the HEM Frankincense & Myrrh perfumed incense, which I always enjoy. All too often this simply smells like a generic "masala incense" - nothing special at all, but recognisable as masala incense. It is long burning (around an hour) and informs the room pleasantly,. but not engagingly. The masala scent is there, and it's not offensive, but nor it is something that catches the attention. What has surprised (and disappointed) me the most is the after smell. Most masala has a longer and more pleasant after life than perfumed incense. The next day (and sometimes next few days) the room (or house) retains a pleasant aroma. Indeed, for me, that is one of the best aspects of masala incense - I sometimes (often?) find the after smell to be more pleasant and more engaging than the smell on the burn. But with this HEM Frankincense the after smell tends to be cold ash rather than a pleasant fragrance. 

The stick is a fragrant soft charcoal paste on a plain bamboo splint. I can't tell if the paste was expertly hand-rolled or machine extruded onto the bamboo - it looks machine extruded, but an experienced roller could do this, and there are signs of inconsistency which occurs with hand rolling. It has been finished in a wood powder (melnoorva) which is used to stop the sticks from clinging together. There is pleasant scent on the stick which may be more from perfume than either the dried masala ingredients or from an essential oil. I have been encountering a number of masala type incenses recently which are part masala and part perfumed, and I think this is one such. It seems to have become a popular method of making incense for the West. I shall class this as a perfumed masala, as that is how it appears to me. Mmm, the scent on the stick IS very pleasant. It is sweet, resinous, floral, musky - the sorts of scents I like. Quite yummy. The scent on the burn is more variable, and less attractive overall. Some sharp notes (which I tend to find with masala), a sort of acidity, and less of the sweet, floral notes. Though, now and again there is a whiff of something which does remind me of frankincense. 

It's an OK incense. It doesn't rock my world, but I can  burn it and find it mildly attractive. Or, perhaps, "generally acceptable" is the phrase that best fits. I got this and three other fragrances from Amazon for £6 with free delivery. I think they are being imported by Wonder Incense, so they are likely to be available in Australia as well. 

Date: March 2022   Score: 24

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HEM Corporation

Frankincense