Heera Rudraksh Premium Masala Incense

On New Years Day, 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 didn't tell me who makes the incense for them, but they are made somewhere in India. I've burned a few sticks, and all are decent masala, with some at the top end of everyday. 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 are proper job masala - 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 is a volatile scent on the stick which is pleasantly fruity, fragrant, floral - touches of orange, basil, jam, honey, and something  stone cold mineral as well as freshly marine. Good scent, top end of everyday, nudging but not quite heavenly. 

The scent on the burn is warm and pleasant, and follows the scent on the stick, though is a little smoky. It informs the room with gentle fruit notes, generating a calming and refreshing atmosphere. It is pleasant rather than wonderful, and works fine as an everyday incense when a gentle fruit scent would be appreciated. Though the set up gives the appearance of a proper job masala, the scent on the burn could just as well come from a top end perfumed incense. I feel that perfumed masala is an appropriate listing for this. 

The name Rudraksh refers to blueberry beads, which are used as prayer beads by the major religions in India. The image on the packet shows a typical blueberry bead chain. 

At the price (85p for 15 sticks), I feel this is a great value incense. Decent quality, long burning, few off-notes (mildly smoky), pleasant, clean everyday scent. It's not one I would seek out, but if they are there in my local shop, I would certainly grab a handful. 

Date: Feb 2023   Score:  35 

Heera (P&B Foods Ltd)