Misbah's Bakhoor Premium Incense Sticks

 

One of a number of Misbah incenses I got from Aavyaa, the online Indian store. This one cost ₹ 250.00 (approx £2.50) for 50g - that's double the domestic price, but considerably lower than such incense would normally cost in the West, and with free international shipping.  

I got this out to review a little while ago, and then had problems with it. I have burned it now and again, and haven't really settled on exactly how I feel about it. I love bakhoor or oud, such as
Al-Afdal Perfumes Swiss Arabian Oud Muattar Sahra and Al Haramain BukhoorAl Watani, and a few years ago I bought a selection of Arabian/Persian bakhoor incense to review, and haven't yet got round to it. This does have some of the qualities of oud (which is another name for agarwood, popular in Japanese incense, though usually used in a dry formulation rather than the rich wet formulation used in Arabia and India, where oils tend to be heavily used, so the experience is less subtle and more overwhelming), though has aspects which are not quite oud, and which I am not sure about. 

The stick is 9 inches, consisting of 7 inches incense and two inches of bare bamboo. A dry, crumbly black masala paste has been somewhat crudely hand-rolled onto a machine-cut plain bamboo splint, and then a very fine brown wood powder has been very thinly applied. The stick has a rather powerful volatile scent which is like inhaling menthol - it clears the sinuses a treat! I'd recommend sniffing carefully at a distance.  The scent resembles old leather and agarwood, though is not inviting to investigate for long due to the chemical volatility. The box is beautifully designed and well made with textured swirls and raised text - this gives a very good first impression, which tends to linger, so it's easy to overlook the scruffiness of the stick, and the rather too powerful chemical volatility on the stick. 

On lighting the stick there is a lot of black smoke, which I associate with perfumed incense and/or agarbatti oil or DEP, and which Fair Trade Incense Works also say is due to the use of DEP. In this case, I have little doubt that rather too much DEP has been used to dilute the oud essential oil. And I think it's the presence of the DEP that has been putting me off this incense, which, otherwise, does have that familiar and attractive oud scent. I like the scent, and I really want it to be a good incense because this has come direct from India and has such a pretty box. I know that kind of sounds trivial, but these things kinda matter to me. It gives me a closer connection to those who make the incense. 

Anyway. Now that I have taken the time to review the incense, rather than just casually burn it and be puzzled by it, I  understand my confusion. The oud oil that is the base of the scent is actually very good, and is probably expensive, which is why they have cut it with DEP. It's just that (at least for me) they have cut it with just a bit too much, so that it takes away a certain amount of the pleasure. 

So, not a Top Drawer incense, and ultimately falling just short of being Heavenly. But, by heck, it's close! A little less DEP lads, and this could be a killer! 

Date: Aug 2023   Score: 38  

***

Misbah's Fragrance

The best agarwood incense

India luxury box incense

Vintage incense

This vintage incense collection is those incenses which are either no longer made under their previous brand name, or which appear to have significantly changed character over the years.  Stocks may be available in some locations, but once sold, will not be replaced. As such, treat any supplies of worthwhile incense with care and respect. Once gone it may not be possible to experience such incense again.  However, if the incense was sold under the name of a distributor, such as Happy Hari, Gokula, or Absolute Bliss, then it is possible (even likely) that the incense is still being sold, but under a different name - perhaps the name of a different distributor, or the name of the incense maker. 

Struck through = Vintage incense not reviewed for over five years 

I'm no longer updating this. See the Vintage Incense section of Top of the Dhoops! Best Rated Incense

Reviews

  

Absolute Bliss Oudh Masala
Sept 2023 - Score: 49

Stamford 

Chakra Muladhara Root (M)

Discontinued

Oct 2023 - Score: 48↑↑

Aargee Joss Styx Chakra
Manipura Solar Plexis
Discontinued
Dec 2023 - Score: 47

Satya (BNG - pre 2017)

Reiki (M)

Score: 47↓

Happy Hari Yoga Sutra

Niyama Sutra (M)

Score: 47

 

Absolute Bliss Bengali Jungle
Fluxo Durbar (M)
Oct 2021 - Score: 46

Stamford Chakra
Anahata Heart (M)
Discontinued
Score: 45↑

Aargee Imperial
Kashmir Sandal Fragrance (M)
July 2018 - Score: 45↓

Dhuni (Happy Hari) (M): 42

Mantra-life Mantra incense - three scents (M): 42 

Stamford Chakra Ajna (Third Eye) (M): 42=

Happy Hari/Cultures of Eden Darshan Flora (M): 42

Aargee Imperial Maharani Heena Fragrance (M): 41

Aargee Imperial Bharat Mata Bouquet Fragrance (M): 40↑
Aargee Laxmi Pooja (M): 39  

Absolute Bliss Exotic Jasmine Sept 2023 - Score: 40

EL Incenses and Fragrances Sunflora (M): 40 

EL Incenses and Fragrances Capture Luxury Flora Incense (M): 29↓↓↑↓ 

Absolute Bliss Lotus Flowers Sept 2023: 38

Absolute Bliss Queen Of Roses Sept 2023: 38

Yadalam Vaastu Champa Thick Dhoop 2 (D): 37↑
Yadalam Vaastu Rose Thick Dhoop (D): 37 

Absolute Bliss Exotic Lavender Sept 2023: 35

Absolute Bliss Yoga Sept 2023: 34

Absolute Bliss Yoga (M): 34 

Unbranded Agarwood (P): 37 

Happy Hari's Nag Champa Tru Blu (M): 34 

Aargee Patchouli: 33

Poundland Coley & Gill Fig and Wild Plum (P): 33

Aargee Rose (tube series): 32 

Happy Hari Yogi Sutra Asana Sutra (P): 32  

Yadalam Vaastu Loban Thick Dhoop (D): 32

Yadalam Gomaathaa Dhoop Bathi (D): 32 

Yadalam Vaastu Sandal Thick Dhoop (D): 31

Pavitra Natural Incense Ancient Musk (M): 30↑ 

Stamford Chakra Svadhistana Sacral: 30 Discontinued

(Happy Hari) Cultures of Eden Kerala Flower (M): 30 

Aargee Imperial Raja Rani Lavender (M): 30↑↓ 

Tree of Life Nag Champa (P): 32↑ Discontinued

Tree of Life - Shalimar (P): 28↑↓ Discontinued

Tree of Life Jasmine (P): 20↓ Discontinued

Tree of Life Opium (P): 20= Discontinued

Tree of Life Cannabis (P): 20↓ Discontinued

Poundland Coley & Gill Incense Sticks 5PK (P): 30

Poundland Coley & Gill Strawberry Flower & Lily: 27 

Happy Hari / King of Incense King of Myrrh: 26↓ 

Yadalam Vaastu Camphor Thick Dhoop (D): 26 

Yadalam Vaastu Lavender Thick Dhoop (D): 25↓ 

Stamford Chakra Muladhara Root Cones: 25 Discontinued

Yadalam Vaastu Gugal Thick Dhoop (D): 20 

Poundland Coley & Gill Fresh Lavender (P): 20

Divine Spirit (P): 18 

Pavitra Natural Incense Mayapur Frakincense (M - May 2018): 03

***

The Best Incense Makers

 What's The Best Incense In The World?

Eyes Of The Lord Buddha Royal Nepal Incense Sticks

 

Something a little different in Himalayan or Nepal incense (at least for me) - this is a standard Indian masala incense. On the back it does say "Pure Flora Stick", and even though it's not as plump or wet or heavy as most floras I've encountered, it is in that area, and not in the area in terms of  scent and construction of other Nepalese incense I've tried. This has the Indian bamboo core joss stick approach - there is a soft black masala paste which has been hand rolled onto a plain machine-cut bamboo splint, then coated in a brown wood powder which has the scent of the essential oil on it.  

The scent on the stick is lovely - a sweet, mildly floral, somewhat honeyed scent. Quite perfumed. Some gentle citric notes. The scent on the burn is attractive, though much less so than the scent on the stick, and does wander off into the rough now and again, oddly reminding me of  regular Tibetan incense - the somewhat crude burning of grass and garden waste that I associate with Tibetan incense. 

I think the stick burns too fast, so most of the delightful higher, sweet, floral notes on the stick are consumed in the heat and are not allowed to make themselves known. 

Not much information on the company who makes them, other than that they are hand-made in Kathmandu, Nepal, and the packet is made from hand made Lokta paper.  It is available in the US from NirvanaMala for $0.60 a packet.  Other Eyes Of The Lord Buddha incense can be bought from MidnightSun in Florida who do ship internationally. 

A reader notes (in comments below) that the company making these sticks is called Lovely Incense, who have a shop in Kathmandu, and a reasonably active FaceBook page. 


Date: Aug 2023    Score: 25  

***

Himalayan incense
Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan

Himalayan incense - Nepal, Tibet, and Bhutan

 

Nepal and Tibet are two similar regions separated and joined by the Himalayan mountain range - both areas share Mount Everest. Tibet is to the north of the Himalayas, with China to the north and east, and is claimed as part of China, Nepal is an independent country to the south of the Himalayas, with India to the south. Bhutan is a third, similar region, a little to the east of Nepal, between Tibet and India. The peoples in all three regions follow Buddhism. And all three have incense which is termed Himalayan incense. 

Tibetan incense is the most well known and most commonly available of all three countries. It is a long dry stick dhoop style incense made with local herbs and intended more for ritual, spiritual, or health purposes than for aesthetic burning. Incense from Bhutan is very similar. Incense from Nepal can sometimes be dry stick dhoops, though is more frequently "rope" style - powdered ingredients are placed in paper which is then twisted into a rope shape and burned. 

Reviews 

  

Harati Tibetan Incense
Sept 2019 - Score: 35

Bosen Blessing Incense
April 2019 - Score: 35

Sumati Padma Tibetan Incense

Jan 2014 - Score: 30 

  

Himalayan Rope Incense
Sept 2021 Score: 28

  

Dr. Yonten’s Tibetan Healing Incense
March 2017 - Score: 26

   

  Eyes Of the Lord Buddha
Pancha Buddha Incense Sticks (M)
Sept 2023 - Score: 25

Eyes Of The Lord Buddha
Royal Nepal Incense Sticks

Date: Aug 2023  - Score: 25  

   

Dhompatsang Enterprises Peace Incense (D)
Sept 2019 - Score: 21

Boudhanath
Himalayan Rope Incense
Sandalwood
June 2017 - Score: 20

Bosen Pythoncidere Incense

June 2017 - Score: 19

Scents reviewed: 10

High score: 35 
Low score: 19
Average: 27 

***

Incense Around the World

GP Industries Pandhari

 

I had a sample stick of GP Industries Ruh Amber, which I really liked, and discovered that their best known brand is Pandhari, so I bought a pack from an eBay company that was recommended to me on the Reddit incense  forum.   GP Industries are based in the city of Shimoga in Karnataka, and have apparently been in business for 23 years, but I have found little other information. Which is a shame, as going by the Ruh Amber and this Pandhari, they are a decent incense company. It continually surprises me how many decent Indian incense companies there are which us Westerners know nothing about - meanwhile a handful of well known brands predominate.    

This is truly delightful stuff. A soft black masala paste has been hand rolled onto a plain machine cut bamboo splint, and then coated in a fluffy brown wood powder. There is a scent on the powder - though I suspect that is a transference of the essential oil that has been applied to the stick. The oil has a bold perfume reminiscent of a Turkish lemon cologne infused with fresh vanilla and coconut, Fresh, gently manly, musky, sensual, bright, transportive - hugely inviting and compelling. The scent on the burn - as with the best masalas - carries on the scent from the stick, albeit in a softer, more diffused, manner. It doesn't overwhelm, but firmly informs and decorates the room with the incense perfume. It is a surprisingly subtle incense, unfolding gently, and spreading pleasantly around the room and into the house. Yet, we've also used it in the garden while indulging in our hot tube, and it makes itself known even in an open space. 

I'm impressed with this. A lot. It hasn't got me that excited or intrigued enough to go into my top drawer, but it is certainly a heavenly incense that does stand out as something a little bit special. Nice one.  

Date: Aug 2023   Score: 43 

***

 What's The Best Incense In The World?

India luxury box incense

Satya (Mumbai) Fortune

 

A Satya incense by Nagraj Setty (the distributor brother) in Mumbai. Produced for the Indian-American distributor R. Expo / Song Of India.  Machine extruded sticks. 

This presents as a perfumed incense. It smells perfumed, and it looks and behaves like a perfumed incense (including the black smoke when the stick is lit). The scent is pleasant, but nothing special. It's slightly woody, slightly musky, kinda generic "perfumed incense". There's not a lot here to get the mind or spirit into. But, it is a pleasant enough incense I'm happy to burn casually in the house.  

Date: Aug 2023    Score:  31 


  

While I said I was happy to burn this incense casually in the house, we actually put it out in the outhouse to keep that space happy and refreshed. The construction and the scent reminds me of foil wrapped incense, which I am fond of, and which seems to be just a British thing.  We have enjoyed this in the outhouse. Certainly more than the average perfumed incense. Score moved up a little. 


Date: Sept 2023   Score:  35 

Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya)

Blue Pearl Sandalwood

 

Machine made perfumed-charcoal incense sticks with the brand name Blue Pearl, sold and distributed in the US by Lotus Brands.  Made in India by an unknown manufacturer to help raise money and awareness for the SYDA Foundation. 

I really liked the Blue Pearl Classic Champa, a masala incense, so thought I would explore more Blue Pearl branded incense, but I've been somewhat disappointed at how ordinary they are. This is a pretty average perfumed incense. There's nothing remarkable about it at all. Bog standard. Doesn't even smell of sandalwood. I mean, it's OK. It's not offensive. But it is just generic perfumed incense to freshen up a room. 

Date: Aug 2023   Score: 23  

We've used them up in the outhouse. Our view of them has reduced. They have nothing to commend them, while they are mostly just generic perfumed-incense smoke, too often the smoke is just a tad too much which does make them sub-par. 


Date: Sept 2023   Score: 18 

***

Sandalwood

Blue Pearl

Reviewed on Rauchfahne

Bimal (BAW) Shree Vitthal Flora Sticks

 

I picked this up from a UK eBay seller, Home-giftSolutions - recommended to me on the Reddit incense forum, which is a useful international resource and place to gather and chat. The eBay seller has imported a selection of 50g packets of rich incense by a variety of little known but traditional Indian manufacturers. The prices include postage, and represent excellent value for money. 

This is a 50g packet of flora style incense - such incense tends to be a richer, fatter, and wetter form of masala, often heavy with fragrance oils.  This is certainly heavy and moist, though is perhaps a little thinner than the average flora/fluxo. 

The scent on the stick is perfumed and volatile with touches of alcohol and fruit and cleaning materials - it is mildly sharp, alert, clean, softly acerbic. It presents to me like a mixture of fruit gin, wax furniture polish, and mouth wash. It's curious and mildly pleasant. More curious than pleasant, though not at all offensive. I could sniff for hours and discover new scent suggestions - chocolate, sandalwood, etc, though I'm not finding it especially compelling nor as interesting as it could be. It's like the scents are just dumped there - they don't actually integrate or contrast in a way that intrigues or delights. Nice though. 

The scent on the burn lacks clarity. It has a warm, smoky presence, not too assertive, but certainly enough to makes itself known and to inform a large room. There are elements in the burn of the scents on the stick, but with little distinction - the scents sort of merge in a homogenised and pleasant whole. I do like it - this is my sort of incense, but the vagueness and lack of clarity means it's not an incense that interests or excites me. It's a lower end decent incense. 

The company, Bimal Agarbatti Works (BAW), is a family business founded in 1979 by Jaswantray Acharya in Rajkot, a large city in the Gujarat region on the west coast of India. They sell a wide range of perfumed and masala incense. They don't appear to have an outlet in the West, though some individuals are selling them on eBay. 

Date: Aug 2023   Score: 34 

Flora, Fluxo, and Supreme

India luxury box incense

Gokula Oud Pure Vietnamese Agarwood Connoisseur

 

I'm clearing away incense that has accumulated on my desk, and I come upon a cellophane packet of Gokula Oud with just two sticks in it. I've either burned the rest of the packet with absolutely no recollection, or someone sent me these two sticks as samples or gifts. If you know who you are, make yourself known so I can say thankyou! 

Gokula is a UK based distributor, Mark, who sources from a variety of places, including from the respected Haridas Madhavdas Sugandhi of Pune, and mainly sells under their own brand name.  The incenses tend to be decent quality at low prices. And they are worth checking out if you're in the UK. 

The sticks are a firm dry brown paste machine extruded onto a hand cut dyed pink bamboo splint. There is a faint vague perfume fragrance on the stick - a little like emulsion paint, wool, stale butter, mineral, church hall chairs, cedarwood, frankincense, and honey. But it's all too vague and faint and somehow subdued and old to be especially interesting. Moderately pleasant.

On the burn this smells like a joint made from fresh marijuana - earthy, herby, very green with notes of nettles and green tea. Very pleasant, though not what I would associate with oud.  

A moderately intriguing and moderately pleasant incense. 

Date: Aug 2023   Score: 28

***

Gokula-incense

The best agarwood incense

Meena Perfumery Meena Supreme

 

As regular readers know, I love Happy Hari's Meena Supreme.  I think I have bought up all remaining packets of Paul Eagle's original Meena Supreme (though there are a number of modern packets of Happy Hari's Meena Supreme, which all claim to be the authentic, which can be bought). As those who are familiar with Happy Hari and the Meena Supreme story know, Paul Eagle got all his incenses from Indian suppliers, details of which he kept to himself, though just before his death he did share his sources with Cory of the currently closed Absolute Bliss (Cory has cancer - folks who would like to support his treatment can donate at GoFundMe). I had been told a little while ago that this Meena Supreme by Meena Perfumery of Bangalore was the source for Paul's Meena Supreme. So when I found a source on eBay, I bought a packet. Sadly that source has dried up, and the Meena Supreme website is down (though details of their products are available on WayBack). Americans can still buy Meena Supreme and other Meena Perfumery products, and these can be imported into the UK from eBay, but at a cost. 

Meena Perfumery belongs to the Kabadi family who say they are a third generation incense company, with the skills of incense making passed down by the grandfather to the father who then passed them on to the present owners. They date the start of family incense making to 1947, though the Meena company itself was founded in 1968. They are based in one of the tangle of streets off Magadi Road, Bangalore, but appear to be closed. 

Happy Hari and Meena Perfumery
side by side

Without a doubt Happy Hari's Meena Supreme is Meena Perfumery's Meena Supreme. Same name, same picture, same scent, same fat fluxo sticks with the bamboo tips dyed green. 

The sticks are composed of a fat, generous, dried hard, black paste crudely hand rolled onto plain hand cut bamboo splints with the tips dyed green, and the whole covered thinly and untidily with a white powder.  I'm used to my Happy Hari Meena Supreme being a dried paste, and I have always assumed this was because of age. But this Meena Perfumery Meena Supreme is also a dried paste. It could mean that the Meena formulation is a dry one - though it could also mean that my Meena packet is an old one.  

The image on the packet is attractive, and appears to be a Mughal style painting of a royal couple - possibly a prince seducing a princess beside a stream - he is pouring her a drink, and is gazing softly at her pert, partly exposed breasts and slim torso. It is rich with colour and soft movement. 

The scent on the stick is heady, beautiful, exotic, and so very Indian. It is the essence of Indian incense. There's the soft sweetness of vanilla, and sambrani, and oud, the woolly warmth of halmaddi, and a comfortable woody base of creamy white sandalwood. It's at once exotic and familiar. It shifts constantly like a shimmering diamond. This is a living, breathing scent - warm, sensual, inviting and mysterious. The gentle sweetness is cut with woodiness and sharp notes - touches of a patchouli musk and a lemon sherbet. It is delightful. 

The scent on the burn is similar, though less sweet, and the mineral notes of the sambrani tend to dominate. It is remarkably well mannered for a fluxo style incense - not too smoky, and not too assertive. It gently though firmly informs the room, and lingers pleasantly and cleanly for a long while afterwards. A damn fine incense. It would be greater if more of the promise of the stick made it into the burn, but as it stands it is a top notch incense. A pleasing sambrani based mix. 

I am giving this the same score as Happy Hari's Meena Supreme as it is exactly the same incense.  


Date: Aug 2023    Score: 44 

***

Flora, Fluxo, and Supreme

 What's The Best Incense In The World?

Reviewed on Rauchfahne