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
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
***
Great review. These “Royal Nepal” line I think aren’t produced anymore, they upgraded the design and kept the natural packaging, but use the same “Flora” sticks . It’s mandala arts from KTM or they go by lovely incense ltd.
ReplyDeleteThey make a great golden nag champa too
Found them:
DeleteLovely Incense Nepal
Thanks for that. The website doesn't seem finished, but they do have an active Facebook page:
Facebook
There's some photos of their shop on Google Maps:
DeleteLovely Incense shop in Kathmandu