Auromere Imports, USA

 

Auromere are an American non-profit organisation who follow the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, the spiritual leader who, with Mirra Alfassa (The Mother) founded the  Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. They have created an ashram in California, and since 1979 import into America various Ayurvedic goods, including incense made in Pondicherry.  Other companies who sell incense made in Pondicherry or the Auroville community nearby include Auroshika, One Aromatics, Meadows,  Cottage, and The Mother's. I believe that the Australian HealingForHarmony also source their incense from the same area.

I am interested in the Auroville community and the Pondicherry ashram and their aspirations, and curious about the incense made by them which is sold around the world under various names and iterations. I tend to find the incense a little dry and severe for my taste, and - as yet, while finding it mostly of acceptable to decent quality, have not found one that I would regard as heavenly.  

 

We have received a couple of Auromere samplers and two full size packs.  Auromere incense is sold in USA, though can be bought in the UK from various sources, such as Amazon, and VitaminGrocer; and in Australia from Babyanything. I'm not seeing other outlets, though Amazon and eBay tend to be useful places to search. 

Burns

 

Sandalwood Purity
Score: 37

 

Kasturi Aspiration
Score: 31

 

Flowers & Spice incense Sampler

Score: TBA

 

Aromatherapy Incense Sampler
Score: TBA

 

***

 

Own brand distributors

The Best Incense Makers

Aravinda's Mogra

 

This is a decent everyday perfumed-charcoal incense. It has the sort of traditional perfumed jasmine scent that joss sticks have had for years. There's nothing new or profound here, but it does what it says on the tin,  it's as cheap as chips - 49p for 15 sticks (approx 15gm), and it's very likeable with a pleasing warm, floral jasmine scent. 

Date: Oct 2023   Score: 30  

Aravinda Parimala Works, of Mysore, who make Sugandha Shringar, do a range of decent quality everyday perfumed-charcoal incense. This is one - Mogra (jasmine).  It is part of Aravinda's Evergreen Series - hexagonal packs of  joss stick which they describe as containing "special pharmacopic ingredients from Indian forests with a combination of selected natural essential oils". "Pharmacopic" would relate to herbal medicines. There are healthy qualities attributed to jasmine, such as digestive benefits, and helping with depression and insomnia.  These health benefits are unlikely to be reproduced in a synthetic perfume which is burned along with charcoal and binders. But we can but dream....

Anyway, this Aravinda's Mogra is a pleasant incense. It has the standard perfumed-charcoal jasmine scent, adding a general warmth which is quite engaging. The lesser-quality perfumed jasmine incenses can have sharp notes. This one gently informs the room, and while it doesn't leave a delicious scent, it also doesn't leave a dirty ashtray scent. It's an OK, fairly middling sort of scent - not particularly engaging, and quite soft and soon vanishing. Because it's generally pleasant, inoffensive, and polite, I'm OK with this as a casual burner to gently clean up a room, taking off the rough edges, and creating an unobtrusive welcoming atmosphere which smells faintly of warm jasmine on a summer's day. 

Date: Feb 2023   Score: 30

***

Aravinda Parimala Works

Best jasmine incense

Jasmine v Jasmine (a burn off)

Auromere Flowers & Spice incense Sampler

 

An eight pack sampler from Auromere on the theme of flowers and spice. The sticks are the same size as the samplers from The Mother's, and that is appropriate as both the UK based Greater Goods who market The Mother's, and the US based Auromere Imports who market Auromere, are sourcing from the Pondicherry/Auroville area. Essentially, it appears that the same folks are making them, though possibly to different specifications. 

I start with the Champa (Perfection), which has a delightful sweet, floral scent. I do like this. These are not masala sticks - which the Kasturi and the Sandalwood are; these are perfumed-charcoal sticks. They are simply-made little sticks with varying thickness of charcoal paste which has been impregnated with a scented oil of some sort, perhaps a perfume rather than an attar. It is light, fun, and somewhat temporary. Likeable in a modest, fun way. The sticks do briefly brighten up the room, but the scent doesn't linger. A modest Champa.  Score: 31 

Auromere Imports, USA

Auromere Kasturi Aspiration

 

Kasturi is deer musk - originally sourced by cutting  the musk glands off a slaughtered male deer, these days the scent is typically prepared from plants and resins such as myrrh, patchouli and lemongrass. The scent for this incense was prepared by using "the fruit of the Manjal tree". I think this refers to Indian barberry or tree turmeric (no relation to the spice turmeric), the powdered root of which has medicinal and Ayurveda properties. 

As with the Sandalwood by Auromere, this is a quiet, dry, subtle, gentle, and pleasing aroma.  It is a warming and uplifting scent. It does inform the room moderately, though doesn't leave much of a lingering impression by itself. There is something of Japanese incense about this. Dry, modest, gentle, pleasant, not overwhelming. It's the sort of incense which you have to approach, rather than let it come to you. You need to pay attention, otherwise it slips you by or gets dismissed.  

I've burned this a few times now, and while I like it, I find it hard to get excited about it because it is so well mannered. I kind of prefer a bit more character and energy in my incense. Not always, because there are times when something soft and reflective is appreciated, but mostly I like something that does stand up for itself and say, Here I am - enjoy me. 

I find the scent rather more woody than musky, though there is a warmth about it, and a gentle sensuality. I'd prefer it a bit sweeter. 

Date: Feb 2023    Score:  31 

***

 

Auromere Imports, USA

Musk

Aravinda's Parijata

Cheap as chips machine extruded everyday perfumed-charcoal incense. It's a synthetic scent, clean, acceptable, does what people want. Not an incense for anything more meaningful than to freshen the house, cover smells, and detract flies. There is a modest perfume which approximates jasmine. It's warm, it's acceptable; it's not interesting, but that's not the point. My main issue on the couple of burns today is that the scent is not that strong. Indeed, we had it in the front room this morning, and I don't think anyone noticed. I tend to waft the incense smoke toward me when reviewing, in order to get closer to the scent, and that can at times distort the true experience. The true experience of incense is to let it breathe and inform a room at it's own pace. We shouldn't really be getting close to incense smoke and breathe it in. Incense smoke is harmful. Especially perfumed-charcoal incense with the charcoal, the binders, and the synthetic perfume. It is the scent we should be experiencing, not the smoke. 

So, assessing this as an incense to inform a room and provide pleasant scents, creating a positive mood, it is actually quite weak. The scent is acceptable, but it doesn't have quite enough strength to do its job. 

Date: Oct 2023   Score: 26  

Made by Aravinda Parimala Works, of Mysore, who were founded as a small local company in 1963, and whose most notable product is Sugandha Shringar.  These are very cheap perfumed-charcoal incense, which can be picked up from various Indian shops, like Popat Stores at £1.25 for 6 packs and Desi Khazana at 49p for 1 pack. Packs are the hex packs which are generally used for standard low cost perfumed incense. I kinda like these packs, as I associate them with older style Indian incense - though I prefer the even older round packs, which are somewhat less common. 

There is a pleasant floral scent on the stick, slightly fruity, slightly heady. Parijata is a night jasmine. I've had one incense previously with this scent - Goloka Nature's Parijatha, which I see I also felt had fruit notes alongside the floral. 

The burn is very clean, and retains the same scent as on the stick, which is impressive. The formulation is clearly quite pure, and so there is a steady, slow burn with no off notes. The stick is machine extruded onto a machine-cut bamboo splint. Everything about this screams that this should be a nasty stick: machine-made, perfume-dipped, dirt cheap, and yet the scent is quietly fresh and pleasant. 

I'm OK with this, and at the price, quality, and freshness of the scent, would be happy to buy again as an everyday decent incense to brighten up the house. 

Date: Feb 2023   Score: 33 

Aravinda Parimala Works

Best jasmine incense

Jasmine v Jasmine (a burn off)

Auromere Sandalwood Purity

 

This is a Sandalwood stick from Auromere, an American non-profit organisation who follow the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, the spiritual leader who, with Mirra Alfassa (The Mother) founded the  Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. 

The sticks are a dry masala - a fragrant paste hand-rolled around a machine-cut bamboo splint, and then coated in a nurva powder (woody dust) to prevent the sticks from gluing together as they dry. The paste is dry and crumbly, and there isn't a strong aroma on the stick, though there is a vague sense of a pleasant scent. Resins, herbs and oils (or "essences") have been used in the making of these sticks, though there is low level of oils. 

The burn is gentle, with a modest, dry, woody, slightly spicy aroma that gradually informs the room. The style of the sticks, the dryness, the spice, the way the scent unfolds is in keeping with other incenses I've had from Pondicherry and the related nearby Auroville community. It's a solid, decent incense that settles in the room, cleansing it, and keeping it vibrant the next day. Ayurvedic tradition says that sandalwood is a cleansing and calming fragrance, and Kinkele says that it is "warm, soothing, and gentle". 

I like this, though it is a modest and fairly simple incense so is not as interesting or uplifting as the incenses that tend to get me excited. A wholesome and attractive incense that is not overly dramatic or assertive. Yes, quite nice. Indeed, nicer than I was anticipating. 

Date: Feb 2023   Score:  37 

Auromere Imports, USA

Sandalwood

Heera (P&B Foods Ltd)

 

On New Years Day 2023, a reader asked about reviews of Heera masala incense. Curious, I decided to explore. Heera is a brand of P&B Foods Ltd, a large and successful importer and distributor of goods to the Asian community in Europe and the UK. Heera incense is available in many Asian online stores and corner shops for reasonable prices (under a £1 for 15g). They have a wide range of fragrances - I wrote to the company to see if I could buy the complete range in one go,  but that was not possible. They gave me the address of the nearest stockist they believed would have a good selection, and I bought all that the shop had.  Six sticks, and four packs of cones. 

 

Bought from local corner shop
for less than £10

The company did give me a full list of the incense they import:

code	description (number of contents)
16018	RISHTA LAVENDER AGARBATI HEX (20)
16017	RISHTA ROSE AGARBATI HEX (20)
16015	RISHTA CHANDAN AGARBATI HEX (SANDALWOOD) (20)
16014	RISHTA FRAGRANCE AGARBATI  HEX (20)
16016	RISHTA MOGRA AGARBATI HEX (20)
16024	RISHTA MUSK AGARBATI HEX (20)
16023	RISHTA LILY AGARBATI HEX (20)
16019	RISHTA PURE FLOWER AGARBATI HEX (20)
16013	RISHTA 3 IN ONE AGARBATI (20)
16012	RISHTA VANILLA AGARBATI HEX (20)
16100	HEERA BAKHOOR OUDH AGARBATTI (15)
16101	HEERA PURE CHANDAN AGARBATTI (15)
16102	HEERA PURE JASMINE AGARBATTI (15)
16103	HEERA KRISHNA LEELA AGARBATTI (15)
16104	HEERA PURE LAVENDER AGARBATTI (15)
16105	HEERA PURE MOGRA AGARBATTI (15)
16106	HEERA SAI BABA NAG CHAMPA AGARBATTI (15)
16107	HEERA RUDRAKSH AGARBATTI (15)
16108	HEERA SAFFRON ROSE AGARBATTI (15)
16109	HEERA SAFFRON SANDAL AGARBATTI (15)
16110	HEERA WOODS AGARBATTI (15)
16111	HEERA PURE ROSE AGARBATTI (15)
16099	HEERA QUALITY BOUQUET - EXTRA LARGE INCENSE (12)
16112	HEERA ASLI OUDH AGARBATTI (15)
16113	HEERA KHALIJA AGARBATTI (15)
16114	HEERA JANNAT UL FIRDOUS AGARBATTI (15)
16115	HEERA GO AWAY EVIL AGARBATTI (15)
16116	HEERA ATTRACT MONEY AGARBATTI (15)
16117	HEERA GOOD LUCK AGARBATTI (15)
16118	HEERA AGAINST JEALOUSY AGARBATTI (15)
16119	HEERA PROTECTION AGARBATTI (15)
16120	HEERA MONEY DRAWING AGARBATTI (15)
16130	HEERA 4 IN 1 DHOOP CONE (rose, lavender, musk, mogra)(10)
16131	HEERA NAG CHAMPA DHOOP CONE (10)
16132	HEERA OUDH DHOOP CONE (10)
16133	HEERA SAFFRON SANDAL DHOOP CONE (10)
16134	HEERA SANDALWOOD DHOOP CONE (10)
16135	HEERA VEDIC HAWAN DHOOP CONE (10)
16128	HEERA SMALL DHOOP STICK (10)

They didn't tell me who makes the incense for them, but they are made somewhere in India. I've burned a few sticks, and they are decent masala, with some use of fragrant oils or perfumes. At the price, these are excellent value for money. On the whole I find them more attractive and pleasant than the average Satya, at a lower price point. I have a feeling the incense is made by Tulasi -  though that is no more than idle speculation based on superficial similarities in packaging and some similarities in incense formulation and scent profile. It could be any number of companies. 

The sticks I've explored are masala in appearance - a fragrant charcoal paste hand rolled onto pink dyed bamboo splints, and then coated in a noorva / nurva powder to prevent the sticks gluing together when drying. The paste is soft and semi-moist, indicating that fragrant oils have been used. There are volatile scents on the sticks which is generally pleasant. The burn scents are good - generally more woody and woolly than the fresh scent on the sticks, and certainly what I associate with decent masala. Good scents, certainly decent, though not quite heavenly.  Excellent value for money. 

Reviews

 

Heera Krishna Leela
Premium Masala Incense
Feb 2023 - Score: 36

Heera Khalija
Premium Masala Incense

April 2023 - Score: 35

Heera Rudraksh
Premium Masala Incense
Feb 2023 - Score: 35

Heera Pure Chandan
Premium Masala Incense (M)
April 2023 - Score: 34

 

  

Heera Sai Baba Nag Champa
Premium Masala Incense

April 2023 - Score: 29

Heera Vedic Havan Incense Cones
Feb 2023 - Score: 29

  

Heera 4 in 1
Rose/Lavender/Musk/Mogra Incense Cones
Feb 2023 - Score: 23

 

Heera Oudh Incense Cones
Feb 2023 - Score: 20

Heera Saffron Sandal Incense Cones
Feb 2023 - Score: 20

Scents tried (masala sticks): 5
Highest: 36
Lowest: 35
Average: 36 

Scents tried (cones): 4
Highest: 29
Lowest: 20
Average: 23 

Scents tried (all): 9
Highest: 36
Lowest: 20
Average: 30 

***

 

Own brand distributors

The Best Incense Makers

Heera Krishna Leela Premium Masala Incense

 

Sandalwood and fruit predominant in this very attractive masala stick.  The term "Krishna Leela" refers to stories about Krishna, such as Bhagavad Gita.  This and other Heera incense is available from many UK Indian corner stores for less than a £1 for 15 sticks - or online from UK Indian grocery shops, such as; Kopalretail.co.uk (99p), Savecobradford (79p), Falcononline (77p), etc. 

The stick is a masala incense - a fragrant charcoal paste hand rolled onto a bamboo splint, and then coated in a nurva powder (a fine woody powder) to prevent the sticks from gluing together as they dry. A fragrant oil or perfume has been used, and this provides a pleasant fruity, bubble-gum aroma, quite crisp and fresh, with soft notes of creamy sandalwood. It's a decent scent. 

On the burn there is some prickly lamb's wool, which I associate with halmaddi, and in general with all masala incense, even though such a scent is not always present. It's a good scent, though most of the fruity high notes from the stick are not quite present - the scent now being more woody and more woolly.  It's a good scent rather than a wonderful scent. Kind of everyday, but more decent than that. There is no clear defined character, but it does generate a general "decent masala incense" aroma, and a feeling of calm and comfort. It's rather like an average Satya. But, of course, slightly cheaper. 

I like this, and I think it's great value. It doesn't excite or transport me the way that heavenly incense does, however,  based on the masala sticks I have burned so far from Heera (more reviews to come!), I'll be getting more of their sticks.  

[Added 2024: This is similar to Aargee Krishna Leela, which could have been made by Nikhil's as they have a Krishna Leela in a very similar packet.  When I get access back to my stock (currently in the attic) I'll compare this with the Aargee - and I'll see if I can get hold of some Nikhil's Krishna Leela.  

Date: Feb 2023   Score: 36 

Heera (P&B Foods Ltd)

Heera 4 in 1 Rose/Lavender/Musk/Mogra Incense Cones

 

Four plastic bags with three perfumed cones in each. Scent is identified by looking at the colour and sniffing the cone - there's no other guide. I have to say my expectation of these cones is quite low from burning the other cones from Heera, so this is unlikely to be a detailed or positive review. The Rose is actually better on the burn than I was expecting - there's elements of rose in the scent, and very little intrusive sawdust. That said, it's still lower end everyday incense.  Ah. And the Mogra (jasmine) is also reasonably pleasant and flowery with a distinct waxy jasmine quality. Again, not brilliant, but sort of  acceptable everyday average incense. Stuff you'll burn not to pay attention to, but just to jolly the place up. And the Lavender is also acceptable - bright, warm lavender tones. The scents are not good quality, but they are what they say they are, and there are few off notes. Quite acceptable low to middle everyday average incense. The Musk is the weakest of the four, but is harmless.  It has a vague brown scent, fairly neutral. Ho hum. 

While I feel Heera's masala sticks are quite decent, the cones - apart from the Vedic Havan - are lower end everyday perfumed incense. I have no interest in exploring any more Heera cones, though the masala sticks are good value.  

Date: Feb 2023   Score; 23 

Heera (P&B Foods Ltd)