Ekom Chandanam

 

This is the third of four attractively packaged samples from Ekom,  a new incense company founded in 2022 in the young city of Chandigarh with its bold modern architecture by Corbusier.  This year (2023) Ekom have won an award for being the "Sustainable Incense Brand of The Year". Their products are organic, with no charcoal, or potassium nitrate, or chemicals. The aim is to produce a modern, natural, gentle and subtle incense. 

The sticks are 8 inches long, with approx. 7 inches of  machine extruded sandy brown paste applied to a machine-cut undyed bamboo splint. There is a soft fine powder on the stick. The scent on the stick is gentle and warming, like sandalwood soap. When lit the flame is modest with no discernible black smoke. The burn is modest. The scent is gentle and pleasant, though struggles to make itself felt, and when it comes is fairly flat. It lacks richness, depth, complexity, etc. All the things I really love about incense are missing here. That said, the scent is pleasant with a dry sandalwood, and will find an audience, particularly among those who don't wish for an overbearing incense, preferring something subtle and delicate.  The stick burns for around 45 minutes. I found the scent on the stick to be quite promising, and was a little disappointed at the modesty of the scent on the burn. The sandalwood scent that comes through is simple, dry, and lacking in depth. 

Available from Aavyaa at 300 Rupees (£3) for a pack of 42 sticks. 

Date: Oct 2023   Score:  27 

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The Ekom samples

Sandalwood