I'm not a fan of cones when it comes to the scent side of things. They burn quickly, they burn a little hot, a little flat, and - for me (and I think others who are really into their incense) - they are just not as good as sticks. However, they do have certain advantages. They are neat, tidy, convenient, and they give a quick, short hit of smoke and scent that is useful for rapidly masking unwanted smells, such as in the kitchen or toilet. We use them in the toilet. When we buy cones, we are buying them for the toilet. Having said that, there are some cones which I have really, really enjoyed - such as Parimal Yatra Cones, but I have liked the Parimal Yatra Sticks slightly more. These cones are made by Balkrishna Setty of Satya, who continues to produce Satya incense in Bangalore, using the masala/flora method taught to him by his father, K.N. Satyam Setty. We don't associate the masala method with cones. Though it is a similar method to making traditional dhoops. We generally associate cones these days with perfumed incense. Indeed, much incense manufacture in India these days is perfumed in one way or another. A quick crude way of thinking of the difference is that with a masala incense the fragrant ingredients are folded into the paste as it is being made. This protects the fragrance from fading. The German cone makers Knox and Crottendorfer appear to be using this method, and they claim that the scent in their cones will last indefinitely if kept dry. While with perfumed incense, the fragrance is added to the outside - either by dipping the stick or cone in a perfumed solution, or by spraying or pouring the solution over the incense. Much "masala" incense these days is actually perfumed. I tend to call it "perfumed masala". It looks like a masala stick, and may even use some masala methods in the production, but the bulk of the scent is applied to the finished stick. As a rough guide, if there is a strong scent on the stick or cone, the chances are very high that a perfume solution has been applied externally. With some masala sticks which are coated in a fine wood powder (traditionally called melnoorva, though increasingly these days called masala powder), the wood powder might be fragranced before application. And that fragrance is just intended to make the sticks smell nice before being burned. In pretty much the way candle makers have a "cool throw" - a scent on the candle that browsing customers notice, and so will be compelled to buy, and a "warm throw" - the scent when the candle is burned, which is deeply satisfying, and so encourages customers to repeat order. Anyway, all that is to say that I think this is a perfumed cone.
The scent on the cone is more like a pine toilet cleaner than sandalwood. It's not encouraging. There is an attractive twin column of smoke. And that is another one of the things I like about cones - the way the smoke is so concentrated that it produces an attractive amount of smoke, and that as it burns it shifts from a single column to a twin column - the columns sometimes mirroring each other, and sometimes swirling and twirling independently. While I'm not impressed with the burn scent, it is way better than the scent on the cone (which is usually what I find - don't judge a book by its cover, don't judge an incense by its cool scent). It's a little ashy and like smouldering paper and garden waste, but there is some warm sandalwood in there. Not much, but it's there.
I've had three other Satya sandalwood incenses - Natural Sandal, perfumed-masala sticks from Bangalore, which didn't impress; Sandalwood, perfumed-masala sticks from Mumbai, which also didn't impress, but on repeat burning I liked it a bit more; and Super Sandal, from Mumbai, which I've bought and burned several times, and enjoyed if they are made from 2017 onwards - earlier cones (with the old style logo) are not good. So, I would say in the battle of the brothers as to who makes the better sandalwood incense cones, I'll give it to Nagraj and his Mumbai cones. This Bangalore cone is not appreciated in the house. Too smoky and too much like smouldering paper.
The scent on the cone is more like a pine toilet cleaner than sandalwood. It's not encouraging. There is an attractive twin column of smoke. And that is another one of the things I like about cones - the way the smoke is so concentrated that it produces an attractive amount of smoke, and that as it burns it shifts from a single column to a twin column - the columns sometimes mirroring each other, and sometimes swirling and twirling independently. While I'm not impressed with the burn scent, it is way better than the scent on the cone (which is usually what I find - don't judge a book by its cover, don't judge an incense by its cool scent). It's a little ashy and like smouldering paper and garden waste, but there is some warm sandalwood in there. Not much, but it's there.
I've had three other Satya sandalwood incenses - Natural Sandal, perfumed-masala sticks from Bangalore, which didn't impress; Sandalwood, perfumed-masala sticks from Mumbai, which also didn't impress, but on repeat burning I liked it a bit more; and Super Sandal, from Mumbai, which I've bought and burned several times, and enjoyed if they are made from 2017 onwards - earlier cones (with the old style logo) are not good. So, I would say in the battle of the brothers as to who makes the better sandalwood incense cones, I'll give it to Nagraj and his Mumbai cones. This Bangalore cone is not appreciated in the house. Too smoky and too much like smouldering paper.
With the kind of money they have, they can produce far better products!
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