Vinasons (VNS) Royal Sandalwood Dhoop Sticks

 

Vinasons appear to be experts with sandalwood - a significant proportion of their output is sandalwood. Possibly to a degree above average for an Indian incense house (many Asian incense houses deal mostly in either sandalwood or agarwood, while Indian incense houses are more varied). Vinasons' sandalwood incense as a body is quite impressive; I have two listed with scores in the 40s, signifying what I regard as "Heavenly Incense".  This dhoop of the Royal Sandalwood fragrance blend is another fine sandalwood by Vinasons. Minty fresh aspects to the fragrance on the dhoop promises an intriguing blend. There's silky chocolate notes balancing the earthy sandalwood which is the backbone of the accord. 

The dhoop is thin and dry, and fairly short, so this is not a long, heady burn, nor is it smoky such as I tend to get with wet dhoops. This is more a casual everyday quick room freshener. Much in the style of  dhoops such as Panchavati, Vakratund, Padmini, Balaji, etc. And it does elegantly sweeten the room with a soft fragrant sandalwood - more floral and minty than earthy, though the accord is well supported by a sweet, musky, woody embrace. The general impression is perhaps more patchouli than sandalwood, and that plays to my tastes. 

I like this. I like this as a casual room freshener. It is not a complex incense, nor an attention seeker, this is a delicate pleasure giver. Soft, subtle, fragrant, floral,  and really quite pleasing. Some vanilla notes in the burn (possibly benzoin), linger delightfully for hours afterwards making the home feel clean, fresh, and happy. 

Royal Sandalwood Dhoop Sticks are available in boxes of 10 sticks from VNS at 30 rupees (25p). (If you live outside India, to buy from VNS you need to contact Shreyas Sugandhi at vns@vnsons.com). 

Date: Oct 2025   Score:  40

***

Vithaldas Narayandas & Sons
Vinasons

Sandalwood

Dhoop

Huss Raucherbaumchen Incense Trees Pinewood

 

I love the playfulness and inventiveness of Jurgen Huss, who in 1990 restarted the family cone business in the Ore Mountains, Saxony. These cones are mini Christmas trees - perfect for the German Christmas season, the most popular time for burning cones. There is a small hole in the base. This is too small to be a backflow cone - so I assume they are intended to be placed on some kind of stand which has pins pointing up. 

The scent is fresh, green, outdoorsy, spicy, sweet, with a focus on pine. There's some smouldering wood notes which detract from the overall fragrance. The company say they use charcoal. And they do. Though I think there's some wood powder involved as well. There's some caramel and sandalwood notes here as well. At least for me. And gunpowder, like a spent firework. This is a curious one. Not as pleasant for me as the other Huss, though still attractive. 

Available direct from Huss for 2.90 Euros + shipping. 

Date: Oct 2025    Score: 29

***

     

Huss Incense

Huss Neudorfer Raucherkerzen Karsl Dr Christbaam

 

Karsl is a German cone character developed by Jurgen Huss, the grandson of the original founder of Huss incense, who restarted the company in 1990. He sells a variety of cute Karsl products, spoons, jumpers, beer, etc. I loved the idea of this one - "All in one place - Ore Mountains Emergency Kit". A matchbox with a slide out metal tray, three frankincense cones, and four matches. Great fun! Of course, if you put the cone on the tray the box tips over, so I had to put a counterweight in the box. 

The incense is decent. It has the same fragrance as the Mini cones, so is good. The main thing here is the novelty of the kit. There are four different characters to select from, all with the same frankincense fragrance.  I bought mine direct from Huss for 3.60 Euros + shipping. Not really good value for three cones. But I couldn't resist the gimmick. It's not entirely original, there are several Indian dhoop incenses which provide a metal stand in the box to hold the dhoop stick, such as Padmini, though they don't provide the matches as well.  

Date: Oct 2025   Score: 32

***

Huss Incense

Huss Incense

   

The best known and biggest German cone maker is Knox, whose products are available in the UK and elsewhere. As I got into incense I discovered that there are other German incense makers, and the tradition of making incense cones in Germany goes back to the 19th century. Knox was established in 1865, which as far as I'm aware makes them, outside of Japan, the oldest incense house still in existence. After Knox I became aware of Crottendorfer, and then Huss (there's also a Canadian branch: Huss). And that is the order of their size and popularity in Germany: 1) Knox, 2) Crottendorfer, and 3) Huss.  I've communicated with a German, Sascha, who enjoys German incense cones, and they tell me that there are three more incense houses in Germany, smaller than these three, but each with their own following. The other three are Carl Jager (founded 1897), Bockauer (founded mid 1990s), and Oerm, and I shall explore them all! 

Huss was founded in Neudorf in the Ore Mountains, Saxony, in 1928, by Kurt Huss as a part time business to supplement the family income. The business developed, and a factory was opened; though after Kurt's death in 1970, the Huss factory closed. Kurt's son, Siegfried, carried on the business, though it is not clear for how long. In 1990, Siegfried's son Jurgen restarted the business, which continues to this day. 

I'm not sure of the combustible ingredients. Certainly there is charcoal here, but there appears to be wood as well, as the cones do not crush easily, and the cones are packed loose in the box, as with Knox and Crottendorfer, because they are confident the fragrance will be locked in the wood paste and not quickly fade. Charcoal is an excellent combustible for incense, but as it is permeable it allows fragrance vapour to evaporate, while wood holds the fragrance for longer. 

Reviews

Huss Neudorfer Raucherkerzen
Schoko (Chocolate) (P)
Oct 2025 - Score: 41

   

Huss Neudorfer Raucherkerzen Spruce/Pine (P)
Oct 2025 - Score: 32

   

Huss Neudorfer Raucherkerzen Mini (P)
Oct 2025 - Score: 32

 

   

Huss Neudorfer Raucherkerzen
Karsl Dr Christbaam (P)
Oct 2025 - Score: 32

   

Huss Raucherbaumchen

Incense Trees Pinewood (P)

Oct 2025 - Score: 29

Reviews: 5 
Top: 41
Bottom: 29
Average: 33

***

The Best Incense Makers

Incense Around the World

Huss Neudorfer Raucherkerzen Mini

 

These mini cones are very cute. Very small, but cute and able to produce a decent, although brief, waft of incense. The aroma is frankincense, burnt wood, and coal. Attractive.  Too small for me, but I was curious to try them. I assume they are made small to fit some of the smaller German smokers. 

I bought mine direct from Huss for 1.90 Euros + shipping. 

Date: Oct 2025   Score: 32

***

Huss Incense

Huss Neudorfer Raucherkerzen Spruce/Pine

 

Gentle perfumed scent on the cone. A little soap, strawberry jam, fresh air, herbs. Soft and softly pleasant. Little to no awareness of pine or spruce. The scent on the burn, however does have woody pine. Soft, but noticeable. There's the sense of being outdoors in winter in Wales when I was a youngster and smelling the coal fires burning. It's an attractive blend of woody resin, pine, and coal smoke. A child's Christmas in Wales.  A modest though attractive and evocative fragrance. Nice. 

I bought mine direct from Huss for 2.30 Euros + shipping. 

I was sent a little present with my purchase,
this little pyramid containing three cones.

Date: Oct 2025   Score: 32

***

Huss Incense

Chocolate incense

 

Chocolate has a gorgeous scent - it can range from indulgent and silky to dark and bitter with attractive success. It is used as an incense scent, mainly in perfumed incense. Though it does appear in perfumed-masala incense, most masala type incense tends to focus on traditional or "natural" scents, so a masala chocolate incense is less common. 

Reviews

* = Score over 5 years old, so can't be relied on 

   

Huss Neudorfer Raucherkerzen
Schoko (Chocolate) (P)
Oct 2025 - Score: 41

Tulasi Chocolate (P)
Jun 2018 - Score: 33↑* 

   

Krishan Dark Chocolate (P)
Aug 2013 - Score: 30↑* 

Gokula Connoisseur Chocolate & Vanilla
Gaura Chocolate Supreme (M)
Nov 2021 - Score: 24*

   

Reviews: 4

Top: 41

Bottom: 24

Average: 32

***

Best Scents

Huss Neudorfer Raucherkerzen Schoko (Chocolate)

 

The best known and biggest German cone maker is Knox, whose products are available in the UK and elsewhere. As I got into incense I discovered that there are other German incense makers, and the tradition of making incense cones in Germany goes back to the 19th century. Knox was established in 1865, which as far as I'm aware makes them, outside of Japan, the oldest incense house still in existence. After Knox I became aware of Crottendorfer, and then Huss (there's also a Canadian branch: Huss). And that is the order of their size and popularity in Germany: 1) Knox, 2) Crottendorfer, and 3) Huss.  I've communicated with a German, Sascha, who enjoys German incense cones, and they tell me that there are three more incense houses in Germany, smaller than these three, but each with their own following. The other three are Carl Jager (founded 1897), Bockauer (founded mid 1990s), and Oerm, and I shall explore them all! 

Huss was founded in Neudorf in the Ore Mountains, Saxony, in 1928, by Kurt Huss as a part time business to supplement the family income. The business developed, and a factory was opened; though after Kurt's death in 1970, the Huss factory closed. Kurt's son, Siegfried, carried on the business, though it is not clear for how long. In 1990, Siegfried's son Jurgen restarted the business, which continues to this day. 

I'm not sure of the combustible ingredients. Certainly there is charcoal here, but there appears to be wood as well, as the cones do not crush easily, and the cones are packed loose in the box, as with Knox and Crottendorfer, because they are confident the fragrance will be locked in the wood paste and not quickly fade. Charcoal is an excellent combustible for incense, but as it is permeable it allows fragrance vapour to evaporate, while wood holds the fragrance for longer. 

There is a chocolate scent on the cone. Quite a dark, dirty, woody chocolate scent with an earthy tone, though there is also a touch of sweetness. It is more fascinating than pleasant, but I am drawn to it as both an interesting and attractive scent. Oooh, and I love the scent on the burn. It continues the fragrance experience of the cone, but builds and expand on it, bringing it to life. It is still a dark, earthy chocolate, but with some air and warmth around it, there is a compelling energy and feel of black magic. Gosh, I do like this!  My main complaint is that the cones burn too quickly!   

I bought mine direct from Huss for 2.30 Euros + shipping. 

Date: Oct 2025    Score: 41

***

     

Huss Incense

Chocolate incense

Vinasons (VNS) Green Rose

 

Wow! This is a fresh and pretty floral bouquet! Not fresh flowers, this is like a potpourri. It is deliciously sweet with spicy notes - cinnamon, clove, and cardamom, and a touch of fermentation and alcohol. There's rose in here, but mostly its the melody of sweet, fermented flowers that is the centrepiece -  an Indian potpourri in a wooden bowl left by the window so the breeze will bring it in and swirl it around the house. I love this. Gently and upliftingly heady. This is an accord to make me smile and laugh with joy. Great stuff.    

Green Rose is available in 20g packs from VNS at 47 rupees (40p). (If you live outside India, to buy from VNS just contact Shreyas Sugandhi at vns@vnsons.com). 

Date: Oct 2025   Score:  44

***

Vithaldas Narayandas & Sons
Vinasons

Best floral incense

Stamford Patchouli Woods

 

Stamford emerged as the main incense own brand of the British incense and Indian goods distributor Aargee; which, around the year 2020, split into Puckator and Stamford London, with Stamford concentrating on the incense. Stamford are a significant importer and distributor of Indian incense in the UK, with a long term working relationship with Satya so they are the sole importers of Satya incense into the UK. They have in the past worked with Satya to create unique scents for Stamford. They have also worked closely with other Indian incense houses - usually in Bangalore - the "incense capital of India", such as Padmini and Goloka. This Patchouli Woods is in the Bangalore style of incense, and could have been made by a number of incense houses in Bangalore. 

Beautiful scented fragrance on the stick - floral, minty, pale woody - white sandalwood. Warm, soft musky embrace. Delightful. 

The scent on the burn is attractive, echoing the fragrance on the stick, though with more emphasis on pale, clean, warm sandalwood. There's perhaps an awareness of patchouli in the accord, but what I get mostly is a generic Bangalore masala incense with its focus on fluffy sandalwood and light floral. A likeable, familiar, and enduring fragrance accord that possibly epitomises most folks understanding of Indian incense, especially if they burn Satya.  

After burning this,  which I felt was typically Bangalore,  I burned a random Satya, a random Goloka, and a random any other Bangalore incense house for comparison. There does seem to be a recognisable Bangalore character. The sticks are generally hand rolled charcoal paste covered with fluffy melnoorva/masala powder. The scent character appears to be a  sweet woody and floral aroma on the stick; a generous scent, though not too heady, often quite sweet, and rarely volatile, with the scent on the burn generally following that on the stick in a familiar manner of a typical Indian masala incense. 

Available for £1.30 from IndianSpice, £1.50 from FreshGarbage,  and plenty of other places in Europe and the UK. 

Date: Sept 2025   Score: 39

***

Stamford London

Patchouli

Temple of Aromas Cherry Love

The last of the samples sent me by Derrick, the owner of London based Temple of Aromas, a new UK trader brand. Derrick sells perfumed sticks which are almost certainly sourced from Zam Zam of London, who almost certainly source from Balarama in Thailand. I don't know if he buys the sticks ready scented, or if Zam Zam supply him with the sticks and scent separately, so he can dip himself, and say that the sticks are made in the UK. There are a number of UK traders who sell exactly the same sticks and scents, using the same names, and they claim the incense is made in the UK. So that may be Zam Zam's wholesale selling point. It is possible that is what is done, as normally I find Zam Zam / Balarama incense to be both pleasant and fresh. The Temple of Aromas incense has the same scents as the others, but tend to be weaker or less fresh. Ho hum. 

There is a faint cherry note on the stick. Or, at least, I could be convinced that it is cherry because of the name of the incense. It could also be freshly defrosted prawns. Or a soft white cheese. There is a mildly intriguing smell of decay or rot. The scent on the burn is a little more assertive than the Black Orchid I just reviewed, though I'm not entirely convinced that's a good thing. There's an aroma of dry ice and rotting orange. Interesting, and not as bad as it sounds. But, yeah, not great, really. 

This Temple of Aromas branded Cherry Love can be bought from Temple of Aromas for £4. 

Date: Oct 2025    Score: 19

***

   

Foil wrapped incense

Temple of Aromas

Temple of Aromas Black Orchid

Temple of Aromas is a new UK trader brand selling the same incense as the foil wrapped incense supplied by Zam Zam of London who provide incense for a number of UK own brand traders; though the owner, Derrick, who sent me some samples, informs me that he makes the incense himself in London with "natural oils from around the globe". Perhaps the deal with Zam Zam is that they supply the sticks and the oils, and each trader dips the sticks themselves. 

This is a typical Zam Zam / Balarama stick. Attractive perfume on the stick which is based on a bakhoor style fragrance - woody, alcoholic, and floral.  The scent on the burn is mild, and it doesn't diffuse well. Sometimes there are smouldering wood off notes. 

The same or similar sticks can be bought in the UK from various places including as Regent House Black Orchid for £2.56, or as Zam Zam Black Orchid for £2.49. This Temple of Aromas branded stick can be bought from Temple of Aromas for £5. 

Date: Oct 2025    Score: 22

***

   

Foil wrapped incense

Temple of Aromas

Oriental Golden Petals

 

This is the last of the batch of Oriental samples I was sent. I have found them attractive. On the whole they are quite heady and perfumed (which I like) and more than suitable for everyday room freshening. They are, though, more designed for the Indian market than the Western, where the temperature is hotter (scents, especially top notes, evaporate more quickly in hot temperatures, so the incense needs to be stronger) and where homes are more open than the almost permanently sealed Western homes, so the fresh and moving air dilutes the fragrances naturally. Plus I think the Indian taste is toward stronger fragrances. I am inclined toward the Indian taste. I like spiced food, and colourful clothing, and bold fragrances in both perfume and incense, so I tend to like heady Indian incense. Each to their own. Anyway, while I have found the samples mostly attractive and acceptable, the last two - this Golden Petals and the Amber Gold - I have found to be particularly attractive. It'll be interesting to see how I feel when I go through the samples again in a few months time. Perhaps I didn't quite get into the fragrance zone with the other Orientals. That happens sometimes. 

    

Sold by Scenting Secrets for Rs 150

The scent on the stick is very fragrant and heady - damask roses in abundance, lifted by some soft sandalwood and musk, a touch of something citric - gently lemon, and a hint of resin with a vanilla note. Bloody amazing actually. 

The scent on the burn is a  beautiful rose - huge, soft, and beautiful, like being smothered in a blanket of  rose  petals. The little touches of wood and musk along with the lemony citrus, stops the rose from being overwhelming or boring. Those extra scent touches keep the accord alive and interesting. Rose is generally not one of my favourite incense fragrances. It can be both cloying and old fashioned. It can also be somewhat boring. For me, at least;  rose lovers, of course, would have a different opinion. Anyway, as someone not in love with rose incense, I love this one. Not enough to give this a really high score, but  certainly enough to score it more than I thought I would when burning the other Orientals in the samples. While the fragrance is bountiful, the incense is not harsh or assertive. It is surprisingly gentle and subtle within the scope if Indian incense. I do like this. 

Date: Oct 2025   Score: 40 

***

Oriental

Best rose incense

Reviewed in Dubai

Oriental Amber Gold

 

A sample of Amber Gold by the New Oriental Agarbatti Co, better known simply as Oriental -  the incense house founded by Attar Syed Rahman Hussain / Attar Khasim Saheb,  the businessman, along with Mr. T. L. Upadycya, who created the bamboo-core agarbatti, and so started the joss-stick revolution. This "new" company was founded in 1890 and is the oldest incense house in the world to make agarbatti. 

    

Sold by Scenting Secrets for Rs 150

This Amber Gold has a heady fragrance on the stick, quite volatile and alcoholic, though rich with bakhoor scents drizzled with mint and citrus. A powerful and arresting accord that is compelling and troubling at the same time. I love it! This stick does lean strongly in the area of Fluxo/Flora style incense - oil rich and heady incense that is so intense it is loud and colourful and somewhat crude and vulgar. This is not a sleek black panther elegantly slinking along ornamented with a single precious pearl, this is a monumental elephant proudly swaggering along dressed in rich tapestries and bells, and surrounded by howling dervishes and musicians blowing trumpets and banging drums. I like Flora style incenses, though their brashness can be challenging. They are very Indian, and tend to perform best in lots of space and air. And I think they are designed for hotter ambient temperatures, where the scents will tend to evaporate more quickly, so more weight is put on them to linger. Here in the UK, our ambient temperature is such that the scent, especially the top notes, lasts longer, and so there is a build up of greater intensity than possibly intended, and a greater clash between the top and base notes. Flora style incense, such as this Amber Gold, are probably best burned outdoors on a hot sunny day to really appreciate and understand them. 

The scent on the burn pretty much follows the experience of approaching the scent on the stick. It has the rich, slightly sharp, alcoholic tones, the grounding in bakhoor, the mint and citrus notes, along with chocolate and dark red wine. This is a robust and exciting scent, and I love it. Yes, it is emphatic and somewhat thunderous like a trumpeting behemoth. Yes, it lacks elegance. But sometimes an assertive beast of a scent is just what I want. And there are some delicate moments around the heart of this accord to give balance and interest. Grrrr. Damn good. 

Date: Oct 2025   Score: 40 

***

Oriental

Flora, Fluxo, and Supreme

Amber