Nandita Marijuana Natural Incense

 

Marijuana or cannabis is a not uncommon incense scent. Back in the early Seventies I lived in a hippy commune in a house called White Cottage in Tenby. There were around 30 of us in the property and garden. We'd sort of taken the place over from the owner, Turner - an eccentric English gentleman who was pleased to have all these young people hanging around him. Unfortunately he had been told by the police that us hippies burned incense to cover up the smell of smoking cannabis, so he was never happy when we burned incense. The irony of having an incense which smells like cannabis being used to cover up the smell of cannabis would, I think, have been totally lost on him. 

The scent on the stick is quite fruity and citric and fresh. There is little here that reminds me of cannabis. I tend to think that patchouli is very close to the smell of cannabis - herby, sweet, musky, heady, sensual, dark. This is pretty much the opposite of that. 

The scent on the burn is kinda closer to cannabis/marijuana, but that's mainly because it's a bit rustic and earthy and smoky - more smouldering wood than proper scent. The fruit smell does develop and fragrance the room, but it's not a great scent - certainly not what I had come to expect from a Nandita incense. Quite disappointing.  I got this from the same source as the Devil's Garden Vampire Blood - the OnlineLondonStore.  I worked out that it was likely that the Vampire Blood sticks were ten years old. Given that these were part of a low cost deal, it is possible that all the Nandita I got from the store are part of an out of date batch that they are selling off cheap.  

It's not bad - clean, fresh, fruity. But it's not that great either. Sort of average everyday incense. A little under what I have come to expect of Nandita. And it doesn't, to me, smell of marijuana. 

Date: Nov 2024    Score:  26

***

Nandita of Mumbai

(Nandita) Devil's Garden Vampire Blood

 

This is a fun item. I got it earlier this year from OnlineLondonStore as part of their Nandita Mix and Match deal. I have been impressed with the Nandita incense I have reviewed, so wished to explore further. I had chosen the Vampire Blood from the list, but hadn't expected it to be a private label incense. The company who commissioned it are Glow Industries Inc of Ohio, USA - a distributor of smoking accessories. The address on the box is California, but it appears they sold those premises in 2014, so this appears to be old stock. The branding is Devil's Garden - and there is at least one other incense sold under that brand name: Zombie Repellent.  Vampire Blood is available from various outlets, including Incense Man in the UK for £1.69, and Witches Sage in the US for $2.45. 

The fun aspect of the sticks is the marketing text on the box: "Vampire Blood is harvested through an advanced process in which vampires are slowly bled. The unearthly qualities of the blood are isolated, and extracted into this premium incense... which is certified undead! Some vampires were harmed during this process... but none met true death." 

It's a standard perfumed masala incense, with the same profile as other Nandita sticks. 6 inches of soft crumbly charcoal paste neatly applied to a 8 inch bamboo splint, and then coated in a perfumed brown melnoorva/masala powder. The scent is sweet, floral, fruity, red berries, moderately sharp/fresh volatility, creamy sandalwood. Very attractive - though perhaps a little too sweet and fruity for my taste. The scent on the burn is more modest and less interesting than the scent on the stick. This could be due to age. Nandita quality is generally better than this. 

Though sold as a Nandita fragrance, and conforming to the same measurement and appearance of other Nandita sticks, there isn't a certainty that this is a Nandita incense. The quality, for me, isn't quite there, but these sticks are possibly ten years old or more, so perhaps they are stale. I have seen one shop describe this as being Dragon's Blood. That was my first thought. Some folks report Dragon's Blood as smelling of cherries, and there is a sort of cherry flavoured cough sweets quality about this. But it doesn't smell anything like Nandita's Dragon's Blood. So, perhaps this is not made by Nandita.....

Date: Nov 2024    Score:  28

***

Nandita of Mumbai

Berk Holy Smokes Ambrosia (HMS Blue Lotus)

I bought this on the recommendation of SamsaSpoon/Irene of Rauchfahne - my favourite incense blog. She goes into some of her history with the brand on her blog, and also has her review of Ambrosia. 

The sticks are reasonably standard modern perfumed masala (I think there are few masala incenses made these days which don't use fragrance oils of some sort). 6 1/2 inches of  charcoal paste very thinly hand rolled onto an 8 inch bamboo splint coloured a purple accented red. The paste has been very thinly covered in a fine powder. Both the charcoal and the powder are purple(ish) coloured. Difficult to see what the process was, but the way the powder clings to the paste, it appears that the sticks have been dipped or sprayed after being rolled. The liquid may have been a dye or a fragrance oil, or both. It's all speculation. The charcoal paste is quite dry and crumbly - I got these sticks from the German site Aqasha last year for around £3.00. The sticks are currently [Nov 2024] out of stock on that site. It may be old stock, but some makers do tend to make sticks where the paste dries hard. Anyway...

The scent on the stick is sweet, flowery, Parma Violets, mildly herbal - a mixed dry herbs, vanilla, some chocolate. Very pleasant, though also a little unbalanced and a tad too satiating for my taste. It reminds me a lot both in appearance and scent with HMS Blue Lotus, which is sold under a number of brand names - Primo Blue Lotus,  Sacred Elephant Blue Lotus, and Pure Incense Blue Lotus. 

I paused this review for a while until I got around to comparing this stick with the Primo Blue Lotus. I've now done that comparison, and I am certain it is HMS Blue Lotus, so I am classing this as a HMS stick - as HMS Blue Lotus to be precise - until it is pointed out I am wrong. 

The scent on the burn is gentle, pleasant, sweet, candy, vanilla, violets, soft florals, some sharp notes, some acidity, some smoky notes. It's attractive, though a little one dimensional for my taste, and the vanilla sweetness does become cloying after a while. I don't find the acrid (acidity and smoke) notes to be pleasant, but they do offer some comparison and relief from the candy sweetness.  

Yeah, on the whole this is a decent incense, and one I can see some people really, really liking. I like it. Though because it is, for me, somewhat thin, narrow, too focused on one scent, and weighs too heavy on the candy sweetness, it's not an incense I can get excited over. 

Date: Nov 2024    Score: 34

***

Haridas Madhavdas Sugandhi

Berk

Reviewed on Rauchfahne

Berk Palo Santo Holy Stick

 

I've been curious about Palo Santo for a while now. My main experience has been via incense sticks. I did buy some Palo Santo wood a while back, but it appears I didn't do a review, and I've now mislaid the wood. I will source a selection of woods at some point in the future, but I do need to focus on my backlog first. 

I'm not certain how much the Palo Santo sticks I've had are representative of the wood itself. What is used in sticks, such as these, is essential oil rather than the wood. Though from what I read, the essential oils - provided they use true oil from Bursera graveolens - are accurate. And there are people who prefer the oil to the wood. 

The scent on the stick is soft, pleasant, herby, touches of lavender, chocolate, warm spices - cinnamon and nutmeg, coriander. Mildly sweet. Woody. Some citric. The overall impression is modestly pleasant. moderately interesting, though a little too dry, subtle, and sombre for my taste. I like it, but it doesn't excite me. And I feel I'm doing a lot of the work to get scents and pleasure from the fragrance. It does remind me of Cottage, the original outlet for the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. I don't know if this is the ashram which Berk mention as the main source for their incense, though it seems possible, maybe even likely. 

The scent on the burn is more assertive than on the stick; also harsher, dryer, less sweet, with an accent on burning herbs and smouldering wood. There's also a touch of turps - an oily and dirty pine. It is a cleansing scent rather than something aesthetic, and is perhaps more suited for smudging the house rather than as something pleasant to brighten the house, welcome guests, or use in the bedroom. Kinda functional rather than fun. All that said, I like it. It's not going to be an incense I'd want to burn often, but as a break from sweeter, headier, more perfumed and fun incense, it would be welcome. It's a calming and cleansing and sombre incense. Good, perhaps, for getting into a state of concentration.  As the scent builds and settles there is some resinous, frankincense element that comes to the fore which deepens and rounds off the scent. Yeah. I like this. 

Date: Nov 2024   Score: 37

***

Berk

Palo Santo

Palo Santo

 

Palo Santo is the wood of the Palo Santo tree - Bursera graveolens. It is native to South America, and is in the same family as frankincense and myrrh. Several years after the tree has died, the oils in the wood become especially fragrant and cleansing. 

Reviews

Vijayshree Golden Nag Palo Santo (M)
May 2024 - Score: 42 

 

   

Berk Palo Santo Holy Stick (M)
Nov 2024 - Score: 37

Green Tree Palo Santo Incense Cones (PM)
April 2021 - Score: 36

  

Aromatika Ace Scents Palo Santo (P)
March 2024 - Score: 26 

   

Ispalla Incense Peru Palo Santo & Myrrh (M)
Feb 2024 - Score: 24 

   

Deepika Palo Santo Masala Cones (P)
July 2022 - Score: 21

   

Ispalla Incense Peru Palo Santo & Rosemary (P) 

Feb 2024 - Score: 21

    

Aromatika Palo Santo Natural Masala Cones (P)
Jan 2021  - Score: 20 

   

Satya Palo Santo Dhoop Cones (D)
April 2021 - Score: 18 

Scents:  9
Top Score: 42
Bottom Score:  18

Average:  26

***

Different Scents

Berk Innere Welten

 

Berk Innere Welten (Inner World) are a German importer and wholesaler of Indian goods. They were founded by the Berk family in 1991, and are based in Stockach. They market their own brand incense, which is made on an unspecified ashram in India. It is quite possible that the incense is made to their specification. 

Reviews

* = Reviews over 5 years old

Berk Palo Santo Holy Stick (M)
Nov 2024 - Score: 37

Berk Blue Line Holy Smokes Agarwood (M)
Dec 2015 - Score: 36* 

Berk Holy Smokes Ambrosia
(HMS Blue Lotus) (M)
Nov 2024 - Score: 34 

   

Berk White Sage Incense (M)
Nov 2024 - Score: 25

   

Berk Holy Smokes Swiss Stone Pine (M)
Oct 2023 - Score: 19 

  

Reviews: 6
Top score: 37

Bottom score: 19 
Average:   

Conclusion: 

***

Own brand distributors

Incense Around the World

Berk White Sage Incense

 

 Berk are a large German own brand incense wholesaler. The incense is made for them by one or more unspecified incense companies in India. The sticks are a standard modern perfumed masala.  There is a modest though likeable perfume on the stick. It's vague, though kinda earthy and herbal, with rough wool, wood, soap, and a faint everyday female perfume or body-mist. It is fairly rustic when burned. Kinda cleansing in a rough herbal manner. Not exactly aesthetic. This would be more suitable for doing a form of smudging around the house. It does give a decent vibration. It says it's all natural. And I suppose it's a more convenient way of smudging than using actual white sage. Ho hum. Overall, though, not impressed. 

Date: Nov 2024   Score: 25

***

Berk

Green Tree Kabbalah Tree Of Life Masala Sticks

 

Green Tree are a Dutch distribution company based in Rotterdam who have some own brand masala incense made for them by an unspecified private label incense company. Their incense is generally professionally made and pleasant. This box is the standard Satya sized and shaped box, which is the most popular box for masala incense - certainly that which is marketed to the West. It is the standard 15g, which would be between 12 and 15 sticks on average. The sticks are the standard 6 inches of charcoal paste hand-rolled onto an 8 inch bamboo splint, then coated in a fine brown perfumed powder. The perfume on the stick is quite strong and volatile, suggestive of alcohol and sandalwood with hints of vanilla. It has a nostalgic feel of incense I can remember smelling in the early Seventies. 

The name Kabbalah is a curious choice, as Kabbalah is part of Jewish religion - not a common source for those interested in incense. Asian or Christian religions are most commonly used as points of reference in incense names and themes. 

The scent on the burn is very similar to that on the stick - it is perfumed, woody, light, and attractive. The main impression I get is of sandalwood and vanilla with prickly notes and suggestions of spice - clove and cinnamon. It reminds me of an incense I've just reviewed,
Balaji Dharma Abhyasa Yoga. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Balaji make incense for Green Tree, although Balaji incense is much headier than this Green Tree Kabbalah. 

I like this. Decent everyday masala, not too strong, leaves the room pleasantly fragranced. 

Date: Nov 2024    Score: 35 

***

Green Tree (own label)

Balaji Dharma Abhyasa Yoga

 

The inner sleeve has a famous quote from Bhagavad Gita: "Detachment is not that you own nothing. Detachment is that nothing owns you." This was a popular concept when I was a hippy - it was often cited alongside the dangers of "materialism". It's a concept I like, along with John Lennon/Yoko Ono's Imagine: "Imagine there's no countries / It isn't hard to do / Nothing to kill or die for / And no religion, too / Imagine all the people / Livin' life in peace / Imagine no possessions / I wonder if you can / No need for greed or hunger / A brotherhood of man / Imagine all the people / Sharing all the world". 

This is part of a series of five Dharma branded masalas, where each pack is named after a yoga. Earlier this year I reviewed Balaji Dharma Jnana Yoga, named after Jnana yoga, a Hindu spiritual path to knowledge.  The Dharma range is not widely available, though the decent German online shop, Ephra-World, sell them, and other Balaji, at good prices. 

Oh wow! This is awesome. Beautiful. Captivating. The fragrance is of "incense" - that mystical blend of woods and florals that uplift the spirit and excite the senses. This is the essence of what we think of as incense, and is named "incense" when it is found in perfumes. This is what keeps me interested in exploring and hunting incenses across the world. This is what I want to find to delight and fulfil me. It is the essence of incense, coupled with subtle spices of cloves and cinnamon and aniseed to lift it beyond the ordinary. There's dark woody sweetness, creamy sandalwood, delicate sweet florals - rose and jasmine, and sensual, sexy, seductive musk. Bloody glorious!  

Date: Nov 2024    Score: 50

***

Balaji Agarbatti Company

Balaji Signature

 

This Signature is part of a huge bundle of samples sent to me last year by Ashish of Balaji. I like Balaji, though I have found their products wonderful diverse - there's some fairly average everyday budget room fresheners as well as some delightfully heady and rich top quality stuff. Pretty much all of it is strongly scented, which I like. I'm always curious when lighting up a Balaji as to what I'm going to get: something dry and ordinary, or something sublime which will open up the day.  

 
This is a masala style incense - a handrolled charcoal paste covered in melnoorva powder, which these days is sometimes called masala powder; however, it is highly perfumed. And gorgeously perfumed. Quite Arabic - with elements of sweet, musky, dripping oud, and proper sensual sandalwood. I've been burning a fair bit of East Asian incense recently - Vietnam, China, Japan, etc, which tend to favour sandalwood, and use sandalwood powder. It's good to get back to the rich Indian approach to sandalwood - pour on the oils, and pour it good. Smells great on the stick. The downside, of course, is that while using oil means it smells great on the stick, it usually doesn't burn as well - with some of the subtle and balancing top notes being burned away. While the East Asian approach of using sandalwood powder means there's barely any scent on the stick, but it does burn well. If they're using decent quality sandalwood powder, of course. Otherwise it just smells like smouldering newspaper. Anyway, the scent on this stick is heavenly - there's spice, a touch of ginger, some honey, and light florals - rose and jasmine, and sugar candy. Oh, it's just so yummy!

And, oooh, the scent on the burn is divine as well. It is a warm, sexy, slightly assertive fragrance that does command the room, but without being aggressive or harsh. This comes across like a blend of synthetic and natural oils - there's a warm natural feel given strength and complexity by some quality synthetics. Oh, this is so lovely.  I do love proper sexy sandalwood. This is such a marked contrast to the wimpy, clean, well behaved, sandalwoods of East Asia. Indian sandalwood rocks baby! 

Pack is 15g. Available in the US (Reeds, $1.95) and Europe (Devananda 1.50 Euro) and Australia (Sundrops $3.95), etc. 

Date: Nov 2024    Score: 47

***

Balaji Agarbatti Company

Sandalwood

Vakratund Valakuchi Premium Masala Dhoop Sticks

 

Vakratund is the brand name of a fairly young incense company, United Fragrances, who were founded in Ahmedabad, on the upper Western coast of India, in 2011. Vakratund is one of the names of Lord Ganesh, the elephant god.  I bought this earlier this year as part of a combo deal from Aavyaa.com of six different scents for ₹1,240.00 (approx £12). Unfortunately they no longer sell Vakratund, and I'm not seeing sources in the UK which sell this.  It's available in India direct from United Fragrances for ₹125;  and there are other Vakratund incenses available on Amazon and eBay, but not this particular one - nor any of the other Premium Masala Dhoop Sticks in this set.  Each box in the series contains a clay stand for the dhoop, and a box of matches - so you're all ready to go! All self-contained.  

The Western market hasn't quite caught onto Indian dhoops just yet. Japanese and Tibetan dhoops are popular, but not Indian, so not many authentic Indian dhoops make their way into Europe or America - and if they do, they will generally be found in Indian or Asian grocer shops, rather than the usual incense outlets.  I can understand the reluctance, because some Indian dhoops, the wet ones mostly, are incredibly heady and smoky, and appear to be more about smudging the house to cleanse it of bad spirits and insects rather than delivering a balanced and thoughtful olfactory experience. 

The box is attractive - it slides open, as do a number of better quality dhoop boxes, and contains the sealed-foil packet of dhoop sticks, a box of matches, and a clay dhoop stand. The box cover is decorated with floral designs in shimmering gold on a calm green background. Very pleasing. The dhoops are a medium thickness - approx 0.5cm, and 10cm long. It looks like the sticks are cut into 10cm sections from a longer extruded roll. 

I don't know the meaning of Valakuchi, though suspect it has something to do with vetiver: the subtitle is "Pious Fragrance of Khus". Khus being another name for vetiver.  The scent on the stick is quite heady and intense. Sharp, musky, sweet, earthy, damp, lemon, soap, mouldy petals, and something animal - sweaty horse perhaps. Fascinating. There are elements in the scent that would be found in a vetiver scent, but this is way dirtier and boggy and peaty. It's stuff like this which keeps me interested in exploring incense. 

The scent on the burn is somewhat lighter than on the stick, more joyful and less dirty and less sexy. It is sweet and natural with elements of camphor - herbal, and exciting, opening up the airways, hints of eucalyptus, floral notes, rose and lavender; and grounding it all are touches of caramel and patchouli. This is a fascinating, shifting, always lovely fragrance. It's not an overwhelming scent. it is steady and firm, but quite light and gentle, gradually informing the room, and then lingering pleasantly for hours afterwards. Still shifting.... 

Oh yes. I like this. 

Date: Nov 2024   Score:  44 

***

Dhoop

Balarama Zam Zam Millionaire

 

This is the last of my batch of Zam Zam foil-wrapped incense, but I have three Wicked Dragon foil-wrapped packs to review, also made by Balarama Enterprises of Thailand. I find it interesting that Balarama incense is sold as own brand incense mainly by clothing retailers, such as Zam Zam and Wicked Dragon, or online shops that otherwise don't sell incense.  The scents are not conventional incense scents, they are bright, modern, and different - even the standard single scents like sandalwood and frankincense have a modern twist. There is a big market out there of people who are not attracted to the old hippy-dippy image of incense, and wouldn't think to go into an incense shop either online or on the high street. So placing modern perfumed incense in clothing retailers, or - like Kuumba, associating the incense with trendy clothing firms like Carhartt, brings the incense in reach of a new, young audience, and makes incense cool and acceptable. 

The scent on the stick of Millionaire stands somewhat midway between a modern perfumed incense and something more earthy and traditional. It's green, woody, moderately sweet and musky, with interesting notes of peanut skin, walnuts, fresh leather, butter, pine turpentine, mild vague florals, and a hint of top-end female perfume. Curious. 

There's tangy fruit in the scent on the burn - caramelly orange,  cologne, dark fruits, as well as woods and soft musk. Soft and attractive. Very likeable as a general room freshener. 

Date: Nov 2024  Score: 35

***

Zam Zam
UK importer

Balarama foil-wrapped