I have two packets of Blue Pearl Classic Champa Sampler & More, which I've possibly had since approx 2023. The packets contain 10 sticks, each with a different fragrance - one of which is the "Premium" Golden Champa, described as "Champa with a dolce honey flourish". Not quite sure what is meant by "dolce honey" - suggestions on a postcard please. Possibilities include a soft, sweet honey, or honey blended with fruit. Champa generally indicates an incense with a floral aroma, usually based on plumeria/frangipani - a waxy, fragrant flower with a sort of creamy jasmine or gardenia scent touched with fruit or citrus.
The sticks are quite thick and firm, and are coated with a brown powder. The impression is that of a flora style incense - based on Sri Sai Flora Fluxo. The scent on the stick is quietly heady, fresh, open, and oily, with sandalwood and spicy florals. It's an engaging scent. Very attractive. The burn is very heady and smoky, and not suitable for burning indoors with the windows closed, unless you love to be totally enveloped in a pungent incense. The experience is similar to that of Sai Flora - quite rich with oils, and with a dry balsamic approach. Herby, smoky, and woody, with a muted vinegary sharpness, and a subdued sweetness. There is a floral note on top - a dry, waxy jasmine. And there's the warm wool scent I associate with halmaddi. It's an experience typical of incenses based on Sai Flora.
I like flora style incenses; though over time I have experienced many different floras, as well as other styles of incense, and my enthusiasm for exploring new variations has waned slightly - partly through over-familiarity with the style, and partly through an awareness of other, more interesting, incense styles. While enjoying this Golden Champa I find it's not lifting or exciting me. It's not doing anything that a dozen other flora style incenses have not already done, and many have done better. Nothing against this incense, it's a good example of a flora, and I might have been more excited if I'd had this early on in my quest around the world's incense; but as I find myself making healthy progress in exploring Asian incenses, particularly those from China and Japan, I'm finding myself leaning more toward quieter incenses. Or, at least, incenses that are a little calmer and quieter than big, bold, earthy, and terpene-rich floras.
The sticks are quite thick and firm, and are coated with a brown powder. The impression is that of a flora style incense - based on Sri Sai Flora Fluxo. The scent on the stick is quietly heady, fresh, open, and oily, with sandalwood and spicy florals. It's an engaging scent. Very attractive. The burn is very heady and smoky, and not suitable for burning indoors with the windows closed, unless you love to be totally enveloped in a pungent incense. The experience is similar to that of Sai Flora - quite rich with oils, and with a dry balsamic approach. Herby, smoky, and woody, with a muted vinegary sharpness, and a subdued sweetness. There is a floral note on top - a dry, waxy jasmine. And there's the warm wool scent I associate with halmaddi. It's an experience typical of incenses based on Sai Flora.
I like flora style incenses; though over time I have experienced many different floras, as well as other styles of incense, and my enthusiasm for exploring new variations has waned slightly - partly through over-familiarity with the style, and partly through an awareness of other, more interesting, incense styles. While enjoying this Golden Champa I find it's not lifting or exciting me. It's not doing anything that a dozen other flora style incenses have not already done, and many have done better. Nothing against this incense, it's a good example of a flora, and I might have been more excited if I'd had this early on in my quest around the world's incense; but as I find myself making healthy progress in exploring Asian incenses, particularly those from China and Japan, I'm finding myself leaning more toward quieter incenses. Or, at least, incenses that are a little calmer and quieter than big, bold, earthy, and terpene-rich floras.
The Classic Champa Sampler & More is available from Vitamin Grocer for £3.95; and Healing Waters for $2.99.
Date: Feb 2026 Score: 45
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Note: It is not known who makes the incense for Blue Pearl; however, some of the incenses are similar to those made by HMS of Pune.
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