Garden Fresh is the brand name of Vivasvan International, a Bangalore incense house, founded in 1998. They claim to be "one of the world's fastest-growing manufacturers and exporters of incense sticks" and "pioneers in the incense making industry". Such claims are common in most industries in most countries, though appear to be bolder and with less restraint in the Indian incense industry. There is a certain charm about such claims, though it means that through experience such claims need to be taken with a pinch of salt, like Trump's claims about his wealth.
They are a new incense house to me. I picked up a few packs last year when browsing through the decent German based online incense shop, Ephra World. They sell for €1.75 for 15gms on Ephra World. Vivasvan, unusually for Indian incense houses, sell internationally from their own website, at £1.17 for 15gms, with free shipping for purchases over $100. As well as masala in standard oblong Satya style cardboard packets, they also sell hexagonal packets of synthetic-perfume sticks. The presentation, and the scent names are all fairly standard - Lavender, Jasmine, Pure Rose, Nag Champa, 7 Chakra, Good Fortune, Everest, Black Opium, etc.
This Pure Patchouli packet is a standard Satya size and shape, with a simple design - some Celtic scroll work on the ends, a stylised water lily, and a calm green main colour. It's solid and attractive without being in any way eye-catching or stimulating. It's not a design (or name) that is going to pop out at you, but when you have it, it's cool and elegant, and gives a solid impression. The blurb on the back says: "The strong, earthy, versatile and unique fragrance of patchouli has a grounding and mood harmonizing effect on you. Find your balance. ... made from the finest aromatic herbs, natural resins, rare woods, flowers of exquisite fragrance, aroma oils, and exotic spices. ... free from heavy metals and harmful chemicals." It's a good blurb - clearly and evocatively written, capturing the main points that Western buyers are looking for. But it's not a fascinating or original blurb. It works. Job done. Move on. Ho hum. The box is marked "For Export only". And it does feel that this is an incense created to appeal to the Satya market in the West. I don't like the "Garden Fresh" name - it sounds more like a pack of frozen peas, than masala incense. I prefer the name "Vivasvan".
The sticks are a standard 8 inches with approx 6 1/2 inches of hand rolled masala paste on a plain bamboo splint, and coated in an attractive brown melnoorva powder. It looks like a standard masala stick - this could be a Satya or a Goloka or any of the main masala brands that are exported to the West. Perhaps a bit less fluffy than most. There is a pleasant natural perfume scent on the stick - slightly sweet, slightly herby, slightly floral, touch of rose and jasmine and lily, some sandalwood. Pretty much as expected for a mainstream masala. I like it because I like most sweet, mainstream masala incense, though it doesn't excite or intrigue me.
It burns well - no off-putting black smoke. A good steady stream of smoke and fragrance - a little light for my personal taste, though quite acceptable. This is a soft, sweet incense which likely uses vanilla crystals as a fragrance enhancer rather than halmaddi. I am always going to enjoy incense which uses other fragrance fixatives than halmaddi, so this works well for me. The fragrance is similar to that on the stick. I'm not getting much of the patchouli, and if this wasn't named as patchouli I wouldn't automatically recognise it - though, looking for it, I can detect some minty herbals and a touch of sweet musk. But there's not much. This is a rather shy, well behaved patchouli, not the rough, earthy, raw, sexy, naughty stuff that I love. In all it's a pleasant room freshener - calming, gently cleansing, mildly bright and uplifting. It's OK.
The sticks are a standard 8 inches with approx 6 1/2 inches of hand rolled masala paste on a plain bamboo splint, and coated in an attractive brown melnoorva powder. It looks like a standard masala stick - this could be a Satya or a Goloka or any of the main masala brands that are exported to the West. Perhaps a bit less fluffy than most. There is a pleasant natural perfume scent on the stick - slightly sweet, slightly herby, slightly floral, touch of rose and jasmine and lily, some sandalwood. Pretty much as expected for a mainstream masala. I like it because I like most sweet, mainstream masala incense, though it doesn't excite or intrigue me.
It burns well - no off-putting black smoke. A good steady stream of smoke and fragrance - a little light for my personal taste, though quite acceptable. This is a soft, sweet incense which likely uses vanilla crystals as a fragrance enhancer rather than halmaddi. I am always going to enjoy incense which uses other fragrance fixatives than halmaddi, so this works well for me. The fragrance is similar to that on the stick. I'm not getting much of the patchouli, and if this wasn't named as patchouli I wouldn't automatically recognise it - though, looking for it, I can detect some minty herbals and a touch of sweet musk. But there's not much. This is a rather shy, well behaved patchouli, not the rough, earthy, raw, sexy, naughty stuff that I love. In all it's a pleasant room freshener - calming, gently cleansing, mildly bright and uplifting. It's OK.
This is an incense I'm going to be happy to have in the house, though it's not going to be one I'll rave over, or keep for special occasions. This is going to be a top end everyday burner. At under £2 for 15gms this is a good value everyday incense, though is there enough here to challenge Satya packets which can be bought for less than £1 for 15gms? Probably not.
Date: Jan 2024 Score: 37
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