I managed to finally get a whole bunch of incense notes done, so over the next month or so, will be rolling out lots of new articles. First up, the first batch of incenses from the Chinese company Huitong (Anne will be covering the second half somewhere down the line), the Nitiraj Classic and Color Aromatherapy ranges, five Sarathi masalas, the new Shroff wet masalas in two parts, six Tibetan incenses from Doma, Kunmeido’s Gokuhin Daikunkoh, the beginning of a look at the incenses sold via the Krishna website, five Natural Arogya incenses, more from Mystic Temple, and probably a lot more. Hopefully I’ll start rolling these out this week.
R-Expo/Bam Champa
May 4, 2011 at 9:33 am (Administrative, Champa, Incense, India, Mike, R-Expo)
I’ve removed R-Expo’s Bam Champa from our hall of fame after being sent two samples showing the incense has completely changed and is now inferior product. It’s an extremely puzzling move in an era when we’re seeing something of a Nag Champa comeback. In fact the new version I wouldn’t even consider a champa anymore, the sticks are dried out (more than they originally were) and the perfume now strikes me as synthetic. As always if anyone has reports on incenses that have drastically changed scents or formulas, let us know.
Small Happy Eagle Enterprises / Meena Supreme + Nag Champa Gold
May 3, 2011 at 10:47 am (Champa, India, Mike)
In late 2010 I got an e-mail from Paul Eagle (aka Happy Hari) about a particularly special incense. I can’t remember the specific quote but it was along the lines of “best incense ever” which always leads to two thoughts, one is wow I’d like to try it and the second is a charmed disbelief. Now, even with such raised expectations, I don’t go into an incense thinking it’s the best incense in the world and come out agreeing. In fact as someone who loves the whole diversity angle on incense, having to pick one or even ten desert island incenses isn’t an easy thing to do. I want to bring them all with me.
But even if you can’t count on incense nirvana, usually something so prized is usually going to be quite good and for the most part Meena Supreme succeeds from just about every angle and if it may not be the best incense ever created, I’d definitely say it’s one of the more unique and desirable of Indian incenses and certainly one I’m going to add to our Hall of Fame. Meena Supreme is a fluxo incense which means it’s solidly in the genre inhabited by Sai Flora, Sai Deep, Sai Leela and the like, which also means it’s a big stick, highly aromatic and something of a major smoke producer. This is perfect for me, especially during the dawning of spring where various allergies often make smelling Japanese incense very difficult, but if Indian incense smoke is too much for you, Meena Supreme will likely be too. In fact during the first two sticks, I wasn’t even sure if I would end up liking it, but it was likely because it was just too much at the time.
Since my initial foray into Meena Supreme, I think I’ve burned three to four boxes of it if not more (the size box I got fit about 6-8 sticks I believe). It is a highly addictive scent once you get it as most signature scents are and is also very hard to describe. Meena Supreme starts with the same earthy, almost stable-like background tones of Sai Flora but that’s where the similarity between incenses ends. Where Sai Flora goes in a bright, heavily floral, brassy direction, Meena Supreme is much more sultry with a mix of woods, rose, cocoa, coffee (with milk) and most importantly a feeling that all the subscents have been blended and aged. Most importantly Meena Supreme had the ability to make me think about it a lot when I wasn’t burning it, which has let to a lot of impromptu reaches.
I’ve since received samples of a second incense from the company, Nag Champa Gold. Where Meena Supreme is definitely in a category of its own, Nag Champa Gold joins a quickly growing wave of old school nag champas that are all within only a few degrees of each other scentwise. Perhaps NCG is closest in scent to the red box Shantimalai Nag Champa, although it’s a touch spicier which draws some comparison to the since deleted Blue Pearl Spice Champa blend. The sticks are fairly skinny and the incense contains gold flakes giving them an eye catching quality to them. Certainly this is an excellent nag champa, with a bit of halmaddi richness and a balance that’s a little less dry than, say, Dhuni or Shroff’s recent versions. But it’s also not as thick as either and unlikely to burn as long.
Anyway I’m looking forward to see what other treasures Happy Hari can dig up on his journeys as he’s certainly 2 for 2 at this point. I’m looking forward to when both are more widely available, as no doubt it won’t be long before I’m eyeing the last of my Meena Supreme.
April 2011 Top Ten
May 1, 2011 at 10:20 pm (Baieido, Dhuni, Kyukyodo, Mermade Magickal Arts, Minorien, Ross, Tennendo, Yamada Matsu)
Tennendo: Enkuu: Dry, austere and intriguing. The perfect meditation scent (well, for some of us). A long time favorite here and with good reason. This is not a simple scent, there are a great many levels to it; it can become a fascinating study listening to it.
Baieido: Kun Sho: This is Cambodian Aloeswood with the subtle addition of a supporting caste of a few other traditional Japanese incense materials. The whole idea here is to showcase the Aloeswood and of all the incense makers I think Baieido does this the best. I reach for this box quite a lot.
Yamada Matsu: Hyofu: This incense relies on a very good grade of Aloeswood, probably Vietnamese, to produce this sort of ultra light floral/clean note (which might be Jasmine) that mixes in with the woods and produces a scent that is very hard to describe and also very intriguing. It has an interesting property of cutting through other scents even though it really is a seemingly light scent. Great for meditation or as something to subtly scent a room. This one also takes a long time to even start to figure out 
Kyukyodo: Kinbato: A very nice Aloeswoods base with some sandalwood added in over which rides a beautiful floral with hints of spice. I find this to be a real favorite of mine the more I pull it out. Kyukyodo is shaping up to be the masters at these types of Japanese floral/perfume scented incense. It probably does not hurt that many of these recipes apparently come from the Japanese Imperial Court and its past incense masters.
Dhuni: Khus: I burn this in small amounts as I find it strong. That being said I also really like the somewhat greenish and uplifting qualities it has. There are a lot of the Indians that are simply too much for me but this one works quite well. Great stuff and not to be missed. I figure Dhuni (who seems fairly new) is already one of the best around and look forward to new releases. I would really like to see them go for a big woods line.
Minorien Kanzeon: This is very different from the standard Minorien’s we have had in the past, you can check out my review on this and Daijyoukoh for all the tasting notes, but in general I find this a very refreshing and clean scent, just the thing for Spring time.
Minorien: Granulated Kyara or Sandalwood: These are in a granulated or loose style and while they work well on an electric heater they really cut loose on a makko trail. The Kyara is somewhat reminiscent of their Kyara stick incense, but it is also much more potent and “in your face”. Very deep, almost musty at times, not used lightly! The sandalwood is altogether different with a wonderful sandalwood scent combined with camphor and spices; it’s an upbeat scent that is very fresh and spicy. Available at Japan Incense/Kohshi
These next three are all from small makers; most of them are limited editions or small batch runs. They all use the best of completely natural materials. These are the real deal in hand made aromatic art and every one of them is a treasure.
Mermade: Incense Kisses: These emit a wonderful coco/chocolate scent for all you foodies, very different from anything else I have tried, anywhere. Don’t miss these; they are really fun and something of a real show stopper. You might also try Spring Sutra, which uses a very special Attar(something like 50 different ingredients distilled into in just this). Got a feeling this is very limited. A stunning romance floral.
Nathaniel Musselman: High Temple: Nathaniel does quite a lot of research and goes to great lengths to source the materials for his blends; most of them are also very labor intensive. This one is great on a heater with a great, rich resin scent. It really does justice to the name as it’s very easy to picture something along these lines in ancient temples in Egypt and surrounding areas. It has a very clean and open feel to it. I find that using it on a heater or charcoal, letting it simmer and coming back into the room after about ten to fifteen minutes is a wonderful experience.
Parfume Phyto: Rose Neriko: Neriko are incense balls made to be gently heated, not burned. When done correctly they will last at least an hour, with enough scent left in them to use again. These are a sort of East meets West scent, using traditional Japanese incense materials and techniques with the addition of assorted forms of rose added. They are delicate, gentle and at the same time come with quite a lot of depth. Not overpowering but they do get the point across. Plus they are smokeless and totally hand made from first class ingredients.
