Shroff Channabasappa Pavitram

 

I like Shroff's floral incense. My taste in scent inclines to the woody and musky, so I generally like ambers and sandalwoods, but when it comes to Shroff, I lean the other way. It may be that while I incline to woody and musky, I absolutely adore sweet, rich, and intense. Shroff's ambers and sandalwoods tend to be a little dry, sparse, austere for my taste. A little old fashioned. Tastes differ, and there are those who like traditional, austere, simple single scents, such as those made by Cottage Industries in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, which - like Shroff, have been making incense with the same recipes for well over fifty years. I prefer Shroff's more playful and expressive florals, such as their Mogra and Suganda Bathi. I was somewhat beguiled by the rose water scent on the Paneer, but wasn't so fond of the sandalwood which gradually dominated during the burn. I have a bunch of sandals left in this "dry" sample batch, and I'm wondering how I'm going to get on with them. 

Meanwhile, I am enjoying the floral notes on the stick of this Pavitram. Musky floral, like jasmine. It smells like a classic floral + sandalwood mix, a bit like Nag Champa, which in my observation is typically a blend of magnolia and sandalwood (though each incense house will do their own thing, so there is some variation on the Nag Champa theme). Some of the most successful Indian incenses appear to be based on a variation of a blend of floral + sandalwood fragrances. After sniffing some more, I'm thinking that the sweet floral notes are closer to vanilla, or that vanilla is involved; perhaps some benzoin, some lemongrass. It's a familiar combination, though I can't pin it down.  Jasmine, benzoin, perhaps lemongrass or vetiver, underscored by sandalwood. There's florals, musks, citrus notes, and a creamy, sweet, soft woody sandalwood with a touch of oakmoss. There a feel of a chypre accord about this, though more feminine, less sharp.  I'm loving the playfulness of it. Light, floral, musky, sexy. Yes. 

Pavitram appears to be Sanskrit for pure or sacred - not a scent or ingredient; which suggests that this incense is a deliberate combination or two or more prominent fragrances. Perhaps  a combination that Shroff wanted to keep to themselves, so they wouldn't announce it like: Shroff Jasmine Sandalwood and Benzoin.  

On the burn the familiarity in the fragrance increases. I'm sure I've burned an incense close to this before. It's a warm, woody scent on the burn with touches of warm raw wool which I associate with halmaddi. I've tried placing the stick at various angles, and in various places, including upright beneath me, in the hope I could catch the top notes I found so delightful on the stick, but the burn is predominantly woody. A pleasant woody. But there's little to none of the light citrus and jasmine that was so beguiling on the stick. This is a sweaty wood. But dry. I'm wondering if there is some agarwood or cedarwood here - or at least the intention of agarwood. It's less creamy and light than sandalwood.  I've just checked the price on Padma Store, and note that at 18.45 EUR for 50g, it's more than twice the price of other Shroff. So perhaps there is some agarwood oil in the mix. 

After burning for a while the room, even with the doors to the house open (it's a pleasant summery day), starts to fill up with the fragrance in a dry, austere, slightly intimidating way. The fragrance now feels very woody and dark, and quite a long way from the sweet, floral playfulness on the stick.  Interesting incense. I look forward to returning to this at some point in the near future. 

Date: June 2024    Score:  30  

***

Shroff Incense

Reviewed on Rauchfahne

HEM Gold Silver

 

Chemical toilet odour on the stick, and a faint metallic scent on the burn. This is not a good incense.  The scent on the burn is not appalling, but it's not great. There's little impact at first, but then it informs the room in modest mainly neutral manner. A warm metallic aroma. 

Date: June 2024   Score: 18

***

HEM Corporation

Shroff Channabasappa Paneer

 

I was curious as to how an incense based on a soft white cheese would smell, and even more curious when I got the sticks out of the packet to find they have a sweet, sherbet, rose or Turkish delight scent.  A quick Google, and it turns out that paneer (or panneer) is a popular rose water flavoured pop (soda) in South India, which is sometimes used to spray over wedding guests. Great fun! 

The scent on the stick is delightful, and feels refreshingly modern. It is a light rose rather than the usual heavy Damask rose typical of traditional and/or mainstream incense houses. There are interesting vague savoury notes, as well as the usual sandalwood. Overall, a very promising and somewhat intriguing scent on the stick.  

I have a new way now of setting up the scent on the burn for reviewing. I smudge the area around me. When not reviewing, I frequently smudge the house with incense - sometimes using one, but often several sticks. I will light several sticks, and then walk around the house, smudging in corners, playing with the smoke - making smoke circles or swirls, leaving sticks in key rooms. This fully informs the house, and gives a good sense of the scent. Yet, somehow when reviewing it has become my habit to light a stick on my desk and then make notes as it burns. This is not actually the way I use incense, so it has struck me that it's odd that I have developed this habit for reviewing. 

Anyway, after smudging, I then place the stick in a traditional 20 degree angle wooden incense holder on the table behind me, which is in the centre of the room. This gives space and air to the scent, and allows the lighter notes to travel and thrive, while the heavier notes remain close to the holder.  I tend to prefer the heavier notes, though I love the balance and delight offered by the lighter notes. One key thing is that most of the off notes generated by joss sticks, such as the scorching wood scent, is less apparent the further away from the burning stick I am. If I turn around I am closer to the burning stick, so I can get a mix of scents. 

I like this stick when first lit. It has a gentle mix of light floral rose and soft, low level sandalwood. There are light metallic notes, such that I note when it rains after a long period of heat, which bridges the sandalwood and the rose. It doesn't overwhelm me.  Like much of the dry Shroff I find it a little dry and austere, a little formal, and underwhelming. I relish passion and richness in my incense, as well as unique scents. This, while not being unique, is a little more interesting than the usual Shroff with the playful delicacy of the rose, though the sandalwood tends to dominate on the burn, building up over time. A short burn with this Paneer is, for me, more rewarding than a long one. The scent on the stick is captivating and beautiful, and I wish that could be obtained and sustained on the burn. The scent is fairly light and beautiful initially becomes rather heavy and woody as the burn goes on. 

After reading Irene's review on Rauchfahne I was struck by her comment that this stick reminded her of the scent of ironing. I wonder if that is similar to my scent of rain on a hot day. 

Date: June 2024    Score:  28 

***

Shroff Incense

Reviewed on Rauchfahne

Reviewed on ORS

Shroff Channabasappa 505 Amber 1882

 

The 1882 in the title refers to the date that Shroff was founded. I'm not sure what 505 means, other than it signifies a different incense to Shroff's 707 Amber, which I didn't get on with. The amber would refer to a formulation, possibly with a labdanum or cistus oil made from the rock rose plant, or perhaps a blend of heart note oils, such as vanilla and benzoin, with some floral oils and some sandalwood, to approximate the elusive and mysterious scent of amber. 

I like the scent of this 505 Amber on the stick - it is light and floral, with notes of vanilla and benzoin, underscored by soft creamy sandalwood which grows in strength as the light top notes wear off. There are gentle volatile notes which indicate that liquid fragrances (oils, attars, perfumes...) have been used in the formulation. It is warm, pleasant, and inviting. 

I have two samples. One thin one, and one fat one.  Learning from my experiences, and informed by the knowledge passed on by SamsaSpoon/Irene and her excellent blog Rauchfahne, that space and air is important in developing the scent of an incense, I now burn my incense on the table in the middle of my room rather than on the desk in front of me when doing reviews. This does mean I have to be patient as it takes longer for the scent to reach me, but when it does it is cleaner and lighter. The thin stick I stopped after a while as it was burning too much like scorched wood, and switched to the thicker one which initially displayed the sweeter, lighter scents I had picked up on the stick. While there is a charm to the variability of hand-rolled incense - that scents may be sweeter, woodier, stronger, etc, depending on how the stick was made, and there is a delight in that variety, and a pleasure in encountering the unexpected  (which I know Adi-Guru of Pure Incense also likes), it can mean that reviews will be inconsistent, depending on the nature of the stick that one has - especially when working from small samples, such as here where I only have two. Having settled with the thick stick, I burned it at both a 22 degree angle on a flat wooden holder, and upside down on an upside down incense holder. It burned sweeter and cleaner to my mind when held at the 22 degree angle. 

It's an attractive burn, though even at its sweetest, its rather more woody than amber. There's a lack of sexuality, indulgence, and delight here - those experiences which I tend to associate with the sort of amber fragrances which really get me off. It has a woody spice which is attractive, with a rasp that reminds me of herbs or dried plants being burned, so this has something in common with Tibetan incense, and also something in common with the traditional/heritage Cottage scents such as their No 16 Amber. So this is in good company if you tend to like your incense fairly traditional, and a bit dry and raspy, with a sense of burning green leaves and twigs on an outside bonfire. But would be liked less by those, to which I incline, who like their scents sexier, wider-ranging, moister, more joyful, and more "clever" or modern. There is something of sambrini about this, which I find to be more chalky, woody, and mineral than the vanilla associated with benzoin. Even though benzoin and sambrini are linked, such that most sources feel they are two different words for the same resin, there seems, to my mind, to be a continuity scent spectrum in which benzoin is sweet vanilla at one end, and sambrini is chalky woody mineral at the other.  

Anyway, I love the sweet, vanilla (benzoin) scent on the stick. And I respect the rustic, earthy, woody (sambrini) scent on the burn, though overall the 505 Amber hasn't won my heart. 

Date: June 2024    Score:  30  

***

Shroff Incense

Reviewed on Rauchfahne

Reviewed on ORS

Amber

HEM The Sun

  

Hand-rolled charcoal paste on a hand-cut bamboo splint. A little messy, and the charcoal dust comes off on the fingers. Warm, spicy scent on the stick. Pumpkin, raw sausage meat, and shoe conditioner. Floral notes - rose. Green notes - mint. A surprisingly good accord. 

The scent on the burn is warm and delightful, albeit displaying a little too readily the synthetic origins of the scent. There's a chemical lemon tone, likely from D-limonene, a natural terpene that is extracted from oranges, and is a by-product of condensing essential orange oil to make it stronger. Though natural, when scent molecules are separated from their companion molecules they don't smell "right" - they lose some of the odd complexities that make them special, including the off-notes that by themselves might smell bad, but when blended with the pure notes create a profound and complex accord that astonishes us. Synthetic is, for me, putting scent molecules together that can smell delightful, but somehow miss the beauty and power of the natural original. As such, for me, the best synthetic compositions are those which don't attempt to emulate originals, but instead aim for a unique and original accord. And that, to be fair, is what is happening here. 

I have enjoyed the three planetary themed HEM incenses I have burned over the past few days. This has a good woody base, quite light and mossy, with fragrant citric notes on top. It is a chypre accord with light, warm elements of Brut by Faberge - not my favourite accord, but one that when down softly and warmly, as here, can produce a pleasant, cleansing, and calming atmosphere. I like this.

Date: June 2024   Score: 33

***

HEM Corporation

Shroff Channabasappa Holy Incense

 

I got a sample pack of  Shroff "Dry Masala" from the excellent Padma Store last year - time I reviewed them! (The sample packs are currently sold out) Shroff divide their incense into "Wet Masala" and "Dry Masala". The wet masala is more expensive, and I have a preference for the wet as being richer and sweeter, though the dry masala is also attractive. 

25g for €3.95 from Padma Store

The sticks are 6 1/2 inches of brown paste roughly hand-rolled onto an 8 1/2 inch hand-cut bamboo splint dyed pink. The scent on the stick is very alluring. Candy, baby powder, floral, sweet, light, playful, iris (orris root), touch of Parma Violets, some sandalwood. It's lovely. 

The upside down incense stand in the photo was sent to me by Aida of IncenseBurnerHolder.com - I like the look of it, and like the way it neatly catches the ash, but I haven't yet used it to burn a full stick. I am curious, though also a little concerned that the incense will burn too hot. I intend to investigate more fully later. In the meantime, I am only using it for photos. I then do reviews using a conventional flat wooden burner. 

I chose to do the review of this Holy Incense before the rest of the set, as I was impressed by the scent on the burn as I was doing the photo. Now that I have the stick on my conventional flat burner at an approximate angle of 25 degrees, the scent is not quite as impressive. Hmm. Maybe the upside burner is not as bad as some people have been saying. Anyway, while the scent is not quite as impressive as when on the upside down burner (I will transfer the stick to that burner shortly) it is nevertheless attractive. Yes, the wonderful sweet, playful notes on the stick have mostly gone - burned off fairly quickly,  though still present albeit softer. But what we have instead is something quite green and woody. Touches of sweet musk. 

OK, I have transferred the stick to the upside down holder. Now, I have the stick in a different place in my room - it's on the table behind me rather than on the desk in front. On the table it is more open, and I note the smoke rises more readily in a steady upward column, looking very beautiful, then fanning out as it reaches the ceiling. The smoke, and also the scent, then starts to come down. I'm getting a cleaner scent than when burned flat on my desk. It's soft, subtle, musky with touches of milk chocolate. I then put the stick back in my flat wooden holder, put put that holder on the table instead of on the desk. Yes. It's the position in the room that seems to have a greater impact on the scent dispersal rather than if the stick is flat or upside down. There are a  number of ingredients to this scent, and it wanders around pleasantly as it burns. I like it. Woody, herby, occasionally floral, touches of sweetness, but mostly a warm, soft, dryish sandalwood with a dry citric herbal accord like sage or lavender informed by mossy notes and some faint warm patchouli. It's a chypre style accord. Subtle, engaging, and very attractive. I've really got into this! 

Date: June 2024    Score:  41 

***

Shroff Incense

Reviewed on Rauchfahne

HEM The Star

 

As with The Planet, a machine extruded black paste on a machine cut bamboo splint. Volatile household cleaner aroma on the stick - not unpleasant, but not exactly sublime either. Scent on the burn is moderately attractive - vaguely warm amber. Indeed vague and warm are the key terms. It's an OK burn scent, with musky undertones, but nothing to excite interest or attention.  A harmless and acceptable everyday room freshener. 

Date: June 2024   Score: 26

***

HEM Corporation

HEM The Planet

 

I have six Hem hex packets left from a cheap bundle I bought off Amazon about a year ago. There's a planets and elements theme, but that's not why I grouped them - they are the ones left because the title and design is arranged vertically rather than horizontally, so is a little trickier to photograph. This one is called The Planet and has an image of some planets in the solar system. 

A machine extruded black paste on a machine-cut bamboo splint. Volatile aroma on the stick. Initial hit is quite chemical and off-putting, with sharp top notes that quickly meld down into something floral and heady, roses, before moving into something darker and deeper, something faintly primeval and woody and musky. Of course, whatever is on the stick is largely irrelevant, because we buy incense to burn. The whole essence of incense is in the burn. And therein lies the rub. Because much perfumed incense, such as this HEM, smells better on the stick than it does on the burn. And I think some incense, like those American ones they sell loose in jars, are designed just to make an attractive scent when left open in a jar. They are not designed for the scent when burned. I think HEM do make an effort at making their incense smell OK when burned. But  I have noticed that light top notes, floral and citrics, don't burn well, and certainly don't store well (either masala or perfumed); while heavier, darker base notes, woods, ambers and musks, do burn well, and last well (both masala and perfumed). I'm not attracted to this scent on the stick - and I don't think these perfumes have been chosen for how good they smell on the stick. I am quietly assuming that this will smell ok (or least better) when burned than it does right now evaporating slowly on the stick. 

The scent on the burn is warmly musky and quite acceptable and attractive, which bears out my comments that this was designed with the burn in mind, and that deeper notes work better in incense than top notes.  

Date: June 2024   Score: 30 

***

HEM Corporation

New Age Black Copal

 

Black copal is, as Wikipedia says: "a tree resin, particularly the aromatic resins from the copal tree Protium copal (Burseraceae) used by the cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica as ceremonially burned incense.".

This is spicy, citric, pine, herby. It's like a walk through a Mediterranean pine forest on a hot summer's day. It's clean, pure, natural, emotionally relaxing yet intellectually refreshing and stimulating. It smells wonderful, and it feels emotionally and intellectually positive. Job done. 

Niggles? Yes. There's a burning note throughout - so added to the image of a walk through a Mediterranean pine forest there's a smoky bonfire of autumn leaves in the middle distance.  While attractive ("wonderful" indeed), the scent range is fairly narrow - it's a fairly mid-range citrus and pine; which are the scents associated with cleaning products, so there is little excitement or novelty here. There is little contrast, balance, or counterpoint. I'd welcome some base musky scents, and/or light, playful, joyful top notes, perhaps some fruits or florals. After a while this stick feels more functional and worthy rather than the wonderful of the first moment.  Judge it for what it is - a spiritual smudge cleanser, and it really works fine. More than fine, as a spiritual smudge this is glorious stuff. But overall there are details missing which would make this world class for me. But, by heck, it's close! 

I've enjoyed the New Age products I've had, and would be happy to explore further. 

Date: May 2024   Score: 42

***

New Age

New Age Storax Balm

Storax balsam is an ancient incense, here done in the modern form of a joss stick. Joss sticks in this format - a paste of charcoal powder, binders, and fragrance ingredients rolled onto a bamboo splint - were first created around 1900 in Mysore, and have become popular because of their convenience. They have popularised and increased the use of incense, especially in the West, though are often misunderstood. The use of charcoal for example. Charcoal has been used to burn incense since at least the time of the Ancient Egyptians, because it burns hot without producing smoke or odour; yet some folks dislike the idea of using charcoal in joss sticks, and may need to be assured that charcoal is relatively pure compared to non-charcoal flammables, such as wood. 

I like the concept of combining ancient incenses with a more convenient modern form of burning. Yes, there is the part of me that loves the link with tradition and culture that comes with burning ancient resins on a brass censer with glowing charcoal embers - and without any binders or bamboo (which has a faint burning paper aroma when burned), but I'm also attracted to how culture (and humanity) evolves and adapts; and the most popular incense burning method in our society today is the joss stick (or incense stick or agarbathi, call it what you will). We are today a busy people; as such we are willing to forsake some purity and some ritual for convenience and saved time. And, in fairness, my observation is that if the incense formula is decent quality it will easily overcome any olfactory negatives in the use of bamboo splints - it tends to be the poor quality formulations, mostly used in scented ("dipped") incense, especially those which rely on delicate top note florals (which may be natural) rather than heavier, more muscular base notes such as musk and amber (which may be synthetic), as the heavier base notes stay longer, and resist being quickly consumed by the heat of the burn.

I want to emphasise here that in my experience it is not the use of synthetics that is the problem, but the nature of the scent formulation, and the amount of fragrance used in comparison with carriers and fixatives, and the quality (and nature) of those fixatives. Acclaimed fixatives are halmaddi, benzoin, and vanilla - though these can be intrusive on the scent formulation; decried fixatives are ones based on chemicals, such as DEP. A good fixative is the workaday and often ignored gum Arabic - it tends to do its job (and do it well) without drawing attention to itself. In my opinion an incense house which is using gum Arabic, rather than DEP, or halmaddi, or vanilla, is one which is more concerned with creating a good scent rather than with either the cost implication or image/marketing.  A house using DEP is trying to save money (and usually succeeding because most folks don't notice or don't care), while a house using halmaddi will tend to mention it in marketing in the hope of gaining a clientele who have been attracted by the mystery and romance of halmaddi. Anyway....

Storax is an interesting resin. It is also known as styrax, and is sometimes confused with benzoin, a wonderful but equally confusing resin, which is extracted from the styrax (or storax) tree. No wonder it gets confused! But while benzoin comes from the storax tree, storax is extracted from the sweetgum (or liquidambar) tree. But, and here it gets even more confusing, there is a belief in some quarters that ancient storax was benzoin. So, what we get in our "storax" or "benzoin" incense is rather dependant on what the incense maker decides is storax or benzoin. As the sweetgum tree (also known as American storax) is more likely to be found in California than the styrax tree, which prefers Asia and South America, I'm inclined to the notion that this New Age Storax Balm comes from the sweetgum tree, and so, at least, is a modern storax, and also likely to be the ancient storax mentioned by Pliny and other. I have no opinion as to if this is the same storax that was offered to Hecate (at least in popular tradition, as I'm unclear if this traditional belief has been academically researched - the links of storax with Hecate appear to be relatively modern, and come from non-academic sources), though we know from sources such as Dioscorides, who wrote about it in his De Materia Medica, that storax was used an an incense (and perfume and medicine) in ancient times.  

And now the stick....

The stick is nearly 11 inches long, just over 7 inches of which is the incense. The incense is composed of a lumpy, fairly thick and robust, black paste hand applied to a machine-cut splint. The scent on the stick is gentle and very pleasant with an attractive array of mostly heart notes - coconut, vanilla, sweet almonds, with light, playful florals which lift the heart. Some creamy sandalwood at the base, finishes the display. It feels surprisingly modern and uplifting and joyful. 

There is no visible smoke when lit - indeed the flame struggles to stay alight and catch hold, and I have to relight a number of times to make sure it is going. And each time it is alight, I see no smoke, but each time the flame goes, some smoke arises from where the stick is glowing. The scent is fairly gentle, and takes a while to inform the room.  It has echoes of the scent on the stick, though less sweet and much more herbal, much warmer and Mediterranean. It feels very natural and harmonious. It is woody, sage like, nips of citrus - not lemon but more lavender. Though harmonious, it doesn't feel balanced or designed. This isn't like a great perfume with a classic accord (though if it were to have an accord, it would be closest to fougère), but feels more like a bonfire onto which various fragrant ingredients are thrown now and again. The ingredients do work together as they are close to each other in scent, but they are not forming a construction - they are too loose, and too natural. There is an appeal in that. Though, for me, such an appeal is limited. I find this to be very likeable, but not profound or elegant. While I like rough and earthy, I like the rough and earthy to be more passionate and have more energy and sex. This is just a tad too mild. And it lacks passion or focus. For me at least. 

There is about this something like Tibetan incense and/or ritual/spiritual incense where the focus is on the spiritual nature of the fragrance ingredients rather than their scent, and how that scent works with the other fragrance ingredients. I kind of prefer my incense to smell great first, and to have the romance, mysticism, and spirituality second. I want the romance, etc, but first it has to smell good.  

On the whole this is a very likeable incense. It feels cleansing and natural, and evokes nature and spirituality. But it doesn't come together enough on the olfactory front to make this a winner for me. 

This is made for New Age Incense of California who commission incense products from indigenous tribes in California. I got my sticks from Exotic Incense, who sell a pack of 6 for $5. They do ship internationally. I have found them to be very reliable and good value.  

And thanks to SamsaSpoon of Rauchfahne for sending me information on storax. 

Date: May 2024   Score: 35 

***

New Age

 

HEM Iris

 

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've had an iris incense - indeed, it appears to be an uncommon scent for incense. The root of the iris (called orris root) has been used as a perfume by Ancient Egyptians and Ancient Greeks. The roots are matured for three to six years before being made into what is a rare, precious, valuable, and expensive ingredient in some top perfumes. It is used both for its own scent, and for its ability to fix a scent - to have it linger pleasantly for a long time before fading.  

The scent of orris root has musk and wood at the base, spice and heavy rose at the heart, and violets at the top. As it's an expensive oil to make, synthetic orris/violet is commonly used, and HEM would have made their own synthetic blend in their own laboratories. 

The scent on the stick is simply gorgeous - very floral and sweet: violets (Parma Violets especially), Morello cherry, at first, then some leather, dusty rose, before sandalwood and musk come through. A wonderful journey, nicely balanced and fresh throughout.  

There is a lot of black smoke when lit, but when the flame is blown out, it settles down into an attractive swirling grey as standard. The scent on the burn resembles that on the stick, though warmer and softer. This is a very gentle incense, and is probably a little too gentle for my taste. While I appreciate the softness and delicacy of it, and that is something I do desire now and again - such as on a soft Sunday morning; my heart will usually be grabbed by mighty scents that swagger in like heavy metal gods. All in all, though, this is a fine, fine scent.  I'll be keeping this packet in the house. I'd love to see more incense houses having a go at making an Iris incense. 

Date: May 2024   Score: 35

***

HEM Corporation