Resin on a stick (or dhoop on a stick) incense is popping up all over the place. As far as I know the resin on a stick started with Fred Soll around the late 1970s in New Mexico. It developed among the Native Americans in New Mexico and California, and also in South America, particularly with Inca Aromas in Peru, and Sagrada Madre in Argentina, who have been particularly successful. And this style of incense is popping up all over the place. So here is an example made in Yemen by Pure Yemen, who have an Etsy shop, though I got mine from the UK shop Herbal Dimensions, who have put their brand name on the incense. They have attractively packed the sticks in silver sparkle tissue paper inside a firm cardboard box. Herbal Dimensions sell them for £8.95 for 10 sticks. I'm not sure how much Pure Yemen sell them for in their Etsy shop because they are on holiday until May.
The sticks are short - approx 5 1/2 inches of hand-rolled resin paste on a 6 inch dried date palm leaf stalk in place of a bamboo splint. I like that they are using local materials. The resin paste is then dusted with a white powder - which appears to be similar to the white powder found on the Mount Athos monastery incense. The frankincense resin used in the sticks comes from the Boswellia sacra tree growing naturally in Yemen - a war torn, under-developed, and very impoverished country. There are three main grades of frankincense incense in Yemen - "Green" is the purest, then "Royal", then "Amber". I have burned some Amber Frankincense. Amber is the darkest of the three, and contains most of the essential oils that produce the frankincense fragrance. It is the resin that is produced most by the tree, and comes first when the tree is "tapped" or cut. It is the frankincense most used for incense. The other two, Royal and Green, are lighter in colour because they have less of the fragrance oils. This makes them more suitable for therapeutic or medicinal use - the contents are not diluted or disturbed or polluted by the fragrance oils. They taste nicer, for example. They can be used for incense, but will have a less potent aroma. It is almost certain that the amber frankincense will be used in these sticks. Quite likely the same amber frankincense I've reviewed in resin form, as that came from the same country, and the same source.
The resin paste is very hard. It will crumble, though is not easy to break down. As it is black, it is highly likely that the frankincense has been ground down and mixed with charcoal and some form of binder. There is a mild, clean, churchy scent on the scent. Not strong. Kind of cold and like mineral. But approachable and appealing.
There's a delightful churchy scent on the burn - resinous, fruity, citric, fresh, woody, touches of apple and jasmine, green, uplifting - yet calming, a reassuring yet energising experience. Bloody lovely! And it spreads around the house, and leaves a cleansing feeling. Top notch stuff. Though this may be the same amber frankincense I tried in the resin, it seems to work better here in stick form. Perhaps being wrapped tightly in charcoal gives the right sort of heat. Whatever - I love this.
The sticks are short - approx 5 1/2 inches of hand-rolled resin paste on a 6 inch dried date palm leaf stalk in place of a bamboo splint. I like that they are using local materials. The resin paste is then dusted with a white powder - which appears to be similar to the white powder found on the Mount Athos monastery incense. The frankincense resin used in the sticks comes from the Boswellia sacra tree growing naturally in Yemen - a war torn, under-developed, and very impoverished country. There are three main grades of frankincense incense in Yemen - "Green" is the purest, then "Royal", then "Amber". I have burned some Amber Frankincense. Amber is the darkest of the three, and contains most of the essential oils that produce the frankincense fragrance. It is the resin that is produced most by the tree, and comes first when the tree is "tapped" or cut. It is the frankincense most used for incense. The other two, Royal and Green, are lighter in colour because they have less of the fragrance oils. This makes them more suitable for therapeutic or medicinal use - the contents are not diluted or disturbed or polluted by the fragrance oils. They taste nicer, for example. They can be used for incense, but will have a less potent aroma. It is almost certain that the amber frankincense will be used in these sticks. Quite likely the same amber frankincense I've reviewed in resin form, as that came from the same country, and the same source.
The resin paste is very hard. It will crumble, though is not easy to break down. As it is black, it is highly likely that the frankincense has been ground down and mixed with charcoal and some form of binder. There is a mild, clean, churchy scent on the scent. Not strong. Kind of cold and like mineral. But approachable and appealing.
There's a delightful churchy scent on the burn - resinous, fruity, citric, fresh, woody, touches of apple and jasmine, green, uplifting - yet calming, a reassuring yet energising experience. Bloody lovely! And it spreads around the house, and leaves a cleansing feeling. Top notch stuff. Though this may be the same amber frankincense I tried in the resin, it seems to work better here in stick form. Perhaps being wrapped tightly in charcoal gives the right sort of heat. Whatever - I love this.
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