I am fascinated by incense resins, especially frankincense. This is one of our oldest, purest, and most acclaimed incenses. I have burned frankincense resin a few times over the 11 years I've had this blog, and I have liked it, but have found it a steep and tricky learning curve, with only slow progress because at no time have I really settled down to concentrate on exactly the best way to burn this extra-ordinary incense. Initially I burned the resin on charcoal discs. A messy, awkward process, but it worked well, and I had moments I recall as being very special. Then after discussion with a few enthusiasts, I was encouraged to get an electric burner. I have tried three static electric burners (two have now broken - it seems the cheap ones are not that sturdy); though I also found using burners awkward and messy, and found it hard to control the heat to get at the optimum temperature, which enthusiasts have assured me will result in olfactory heaven. Then I moved to an adjustable tealight burner, which I have found more pleasing than the static electric burners, though a little fiddly, and apt to errors. I have now acquired a cheap adjustable electric burner, though still not finding it easy to use, nor that rewarding. Melted resin can be difficult to clean off the burners. Yet using foil to protect the burners can sometimes inhibit the heat so the resin doesn't burn as well as it might (especially as my cheap adjustable burner doesn't go to a very high heat anyway). However, I will keep experimenting.
I know only a little bit about frankincense, so over the last couple of days I've been doing a bit of research. I'm finding conflicting and/or incomplete information in various places. Resin sellers can be useful sources of easily digestible info, though may be inclined to favour their own sources, and so not give a complete picture. Some sources may focus a lot on the scientific aspects, while others focus a lot on the political aspects. It's a complex and somewhat huge area which I've only dipped into so far, but will give a quick summary of the main points of what I've gathered so far, with the intention of adding more as I go along.
Resins are a gum produced by trees, essentially to protect them when cut. The gum will ooze out of the tree to cover the cut, and then harden. This gum may be classed as sap or resin. Resin is similar to sap, but is not the same substance. While all trees produce sap, only trees in the pine family produce resin. The tree from which frankincense comes is not in the pine family, so technically frankincense is not a resin, it is a fragrant sap. Fragrant sap contains the active ingredient α-Pinene, and it is that which is responsible for the fragrance. Saps contain sugar (maple syrup is a sap), so a fragrant sap is sweeter than a resin.
Frankincense comes from several different trees in the Boswellia family - with each tree producing distinctive resin with its own character. The trees are native to the countries of Oman and Yemen, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, and to Ethiopia and Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, and has been traded from those countries for thousands of years. Though these days the countries are war torn, and with a recent demand in the West for the healing properties of frankincense, crude harvesting by desperate farmers is threatening the existence of frankincense trees in these countries. In 2012 it was replanted in Israel in the Middle East, 1,500 years after dying out there. Frankincense is also sold as coming from North Africa and India, though most sources agree that the southern Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa are the regions producing the best frankincense, and of those, it seems most folks point to Oman as having the best of the best.
Incense is graded by size and colour. The lighter the colour, and the larger the size, the more expensive and prized it becomes. With the very pale coloured resin giving a green appearance, and these are often termed "Royal". This Royal green frankincense, also called Hojari, grows in the Dhofar mountains in Oman. The Boswellia tree family in addition to frankincense provides the other classic incenses Myrrh, Copal and Palo Santo.
I know only a little bit about frankincense, so over the last couple of days I've been doing a bit of research. I'm finding conflicting and/or incomplete information in various places. Resin sellers can be useful sources of easily digestible info, though may be inclined to favour their own sources, and so not give a complete picture. Some sources may focus a lot on the scientific aspects, while others focus a lot on the political aspects. It's a complex and somewhat huge area which I've only dipped into so far, but will give a quick summary of the main points of what I've gathered so far, with the intention of adding more as I go along.
Resins are a gum produced by trees, essentially to protect them when cut. The gum will ooze out of the tree to cover the cut, and then harden. This gum may be classed as sap or resin. Resin is similar to sap, but is not the same substance. While all trees produce sap, only trees in the pine family produce resin. The tree from which frankincense comes is not in the pine family, so technically frankincense is not a resin, it is a fragrant sap. Fragrant sap contains the active ingredient α-Pinene, and it is that which is responsible for the fragrance. Saps contain sugar (maple syrup is a sap), so a fragrant sap is sweeter than a resin.
Frankincense comes from several different trees in the Boswellia family - with each tree producing distinctive resin with its own character. The trees are native to the countries of Oman and Yemen, in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, and to Ethiopia and Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, and has been traded from those countries for thousands of years. Though these days the countries are war torn, and with a recent demand in the West for the healing properties of frankincense, crude harvesting by desperate farmers is threatening the existence of frankincense trees in these countries. In 2012 it was replanted in Israel in the Middle East, 1,500 years after dying out there. Frankincense is also sold as coming from North Africa and India, though most sources agree that the southern Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa are the regions producing the best frankincense, and of those, it seems most folks point to Oman as having the best of the best.
Incense is graded by size and colour. The lighter the colour, and the larger the size, the more expensive and prized it becomes. With the very pale coloured resin giving a green appearance, and these are often termed "Royal". This Royal green frankincense, also called Hojari, grows in the Dhofar mountains in Oman. The Boswellia tree family in addition to frankincense provides the other classic incenses Myrrh, Copal and Palo Santo.
Included in an order of incense from Herbal Dimensions.com was this small sample pack of Amber Frankincense from Yemen. This is regarded as not as pure as the royal or green frankincense, though is more suited to incense burning as it contains more of the fragrance oil content. I burned it on both my new adjustable electric burner (it struggled to get warm enough to allow the resin to really display itself - at least for me as I wanted more aroma), and my adjustable tealight burner (more successful, though it took me a while to find the right height - too low and it singed, too high and there wasn't enough aroma).
There are pine notes, citric notes, some turps and petrol, and a general sense of "church incense". It's overall very warm, bright, uplifting, and pleasant - reaching into memories and associations. I liked it.
Very good review, Steve! My personal favorite is Boswellia carterii from Somalia, but unfortunately, it is a challenge to procure these days. I really wish that the ongoing political turmoil in Somalia and Ethiopia ends so that the pending container orders of my suppliers can start arriving.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame there aren't rare minerals or oil or wheat in those countries. The whole world knows that there is a war in Ukraine, and that certain leading countries have been spending billions on supporting Ukraine in the hope of getting some deal on the riches that Ukraine can offer. But conflicts in Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia, Myanmar, etc, get overlooked because those countries have little to offer.
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