Ask the Olfactory Rescue Service

This is the ongoing general questions page, open to both question and answer from anyone who’d like to post here. Post away. Thanks to Steve for the idea.

1,764 Comments

  1. colonel32 said,

    May 7, 2012 at 4:45 am

    Hi, thanks for all the work you put into this blog, I have had some great recommendations from you already!

    I wonder if you recognise this incense, or know where to obtain it? My friend brought it back from a trip to Lhasa.

    http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/7452/snowland1.jpg
    http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/6371/snowland2.jpg

  2. Nick said,

    May 5, 2012 at 7:07 pm

    Hi. I’m still fairly new to the grand world of incense, except for frankincense:). I tend to like scents like Juniper Ridge’s Sweetgrass and Piñon incenses. So I guess I like natural vs perfumed scents. On top of this, I really don’t like smoke. I did a little research and it turns out incense may be surprisingly carcinogenic and the smokeless incenses may be the worst. Here is an interesting article that I thought I might share:

    http://iopscience.iop.org/1468-6996/8/1-2/A06/pdf/1468-6996_8_1-2_A06.pdf

    I’m guessing the best thing for my situation is to use an electric heater with resins and woods. I do have a heater from mermade but I have never been happy using it with frankincense. I suppose I should get the $350.00 Shoyeido electric wood chip heater:/ I think I should also try more expensive Japanese incenses.

    I’ve been learning so much on this website! Any suggestions would be very welcome. Thank you all.
    Nick

    • Alan said,

      May 7, 2012 at 12:18 am

      Seems like relevant science..Once in a while we should be
      reminded of potential health risks from too much of a good thing..

  3. Charlus said,

    April 27, 2012 at 3:57 am

    Hello again, suggestions on incenses hat are similar to the traditional Baieido KOBUNBOKU are very welcome.

    Thanks in advance – Charlus

    • glennjf said,

      April 27, 2012 at 4:10 am

      Well worth reading the ORS review for Baieido Kobunboku as it touches on some other Baieidos, some/all of which might meet your need. Traditionals similar to but produced by other companies? I’d leave others to suggest which ones be worth looking into, meanwhile, Baieido Kobunboku continues hitting “the spot” for me.

    • Arisan said,

      April 27, 2012 at 10:18 am

      There are couple of the very similar red, sandalwood-oriented sticks – with “Kobunboku” (KBB) they are my alternative morning sticks.

      “Kojurin” by Gyokushodo is more clear and sweet, lacking some of the deep notes of KBB but on the other hand having fresh and clear contours. As with Japanese sticks the sweetness never gets too much, though. “Karin” by Kunjudo is not so clear in profile as KBB and Kojurin but comes a good third alternative of the same orientation. All these should be quite inexpensive.

      Good other Baieidos could be the splendid Bikou KBB and Tobiume, from the very similar plum-scent family.

      And this could be my suggestion of entering the basic Baieidos (in this order, getting from lighter to more complex ones):
      Bikou KBB – Tobiume – Syukohkoku – Byakudan KBB – Sawayaka KBB – Kaden KBB – Tokusen Syukohkoku – Kaiunkoh

      Have lots of fun entering the marvels of Baieido. After this there is no way back : )

  4. charlus said,

    April 20, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    Greatful if somene can inform me where is the oficial website of Shunkohdo.

    Many thanks in advance.

    • doctordruidphd said,

      April 20, 2012 at 2:42 pm

      http://www.kaori.co.jp/shunkohdo/shunkohdo1.htm

      • Charlus said,

        April 21, 2012 at 1:22 am

        Thank you Mr. doctordruidphd for the answer. I am looking for the Kumeido site too, any sugestions?

        Thanks in advance

        • doctordruidphd said,

          April 21, 2012 at 6:06 am

          Don’t seem to have that one in my list of links. Finding these things is mostly a fishing expedition on Google.

  5. scott said,

    March 29, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    Hello,

    I found your site because of your excellent article on Mukhallats.
    I am relatively new to scents, and wondering: could you recommend some perfumes/attars/mukhallats that centralize the scent of Frankincense? Or others that embody the smell of BURNING incense (particularly Japanese)? If anybody has ideas in this area, I would appreciate it!
    Thank you.

    • scott said,

      March 29, 2012 at 3:54 pm

      PS: preferably $200ish or under, but with good quality ingredients…

  6. Starlene C.. said,

    March 26, 2012 at 4:11 pm

    I need recommendations for my first Japanese incense purchase. Nothing over 10-25¢ per stick, as I want to be able to use anything I like daily. I’ve tried locally and liked Shoyeido Nokiba, and especially Kunmeido Reiryo Koh! What do you think are the superstars in my price range? Thanks so much . . .

    • Robert Green said,

      April 10, 2012 at 10:38 am

      Hey Starlene, I started out as a consumer of oil dipped incense cones from my fathers collection and after a few years of that I accidentally came upon a store owner burning some Nag Champa. I quickly fell in love with “quality” incense. The reason I call this quality is because oil dipped cones smell good if it is a scent you like for the first half, but as they burn down they just smell like burned sawdust, and badly at that. I wallowed around in the store bought indian incense scene for a couple of years until I realized that there was a {huge} incense market on the internet, which opened my eyes to some frankly out of this world Indian made incenses. After a while on the net I found an awesome seller called Incense on the way run by a wonderful lady named Elizabeth Richardson. She runs her store al by herself or at least she did until she really started to grow. Her store I where I found Japanese Incense. The only problem with her store is that her Japanese selection is rather limited for somone really into Japanese incense, so after about a year of discovering what I liked about the Japanese stuff I found a diamond of a store named Japan Incense run by two of the finest gentlemen you will ever meet. Jay and Kotaro are the gemtlemen I am referring to they are owner operators and the do it well. They have a selection of Japanese incense {as japanese is all they sell} second to none. Quite frankly Starlene I am suprised that your post has been here this long without a reply, I am more than happy to share any and all of my experience with any kind of incense you may ask for. the main difference in Japanese and Indian incense is tha the Indian sticks will scent the whole house where as the vast majority of the Japanese sticks are only suitable for an area or a samll room at best, as the Japanese take their incenses very personally. I would do for you to read up on the Japanese incense ceremony. While it is said that it can take a fifetime to master it you can certainly get the gist of it in under an hour of reading. I tend to burn most of my Japanese right next to me. As far as recommendations I would have to tell you that first I would need to know what kind of scents you like. Is it floral, sweet, woodsy or even artificial? The Japan Incense website does a wonderful job of breaking down their inventory by both ingridient type and scent type, which is a start for you. Next once you find which direction you want to go the next place to go is right back here and you will find almost without fail every scent, brand and quality if reviewed extensively here. At this point you should be able to make up your mind well enough to place a small order to get started seeing if your brain and yopur nose agree on what it is that you reall like. In the end your nose will win. Japan Incenses guys will be happy to help with some recommendations but in the end they will want you to make your own choice. Often there are sampler packs to order that are nice for the position you are in. Lastly I will recommend my favorite shops to buy from and with this collecdtion you should be able to find just about anything you need Incensewise. My firs favorite seller is Incense on the way. Elizabeth strives for perfection.She is always on top of her inventory and usually has good descriptions of the incense and almost always ships within one day of placing your order, I have a good relationship with her. Tied with IOTW is Japan Incense, and the only real differences between the two are that J.I. ONLY sells Japanese and J.I.s inventory is vast and diversified they do one thing and they do it beyond excellence, and they don’t hesitate to treat good customers with a personal flair which is one of the main reasons I go here, another is their quality and experience. In what I’d call third place is Essence of the ages, run by a nice lady named Beth, another company with excellence in quality of service, inventory and diversity. Beth has the most diverse inventory and excellent customer service to back it up. The last one on my list is a company called Ecclecstacy Arts. These guys have some realhard to find stuff and a huge selection. They also sell on eBay as “Pricklypath” I think. they have some issues with delivery on time though. It has been some time since I have ordered from them, as what I order from them is only their specialty “Aloeswood” stuff. Aloeswood is the highest quality of wood type incense available with varying qualities of course but it can be the most expensive incense available. I am going to stop here as I believe I am about to type your ear off. take what I have written if you like and go with it. ask me anything anytime. Sincerely, Robert Popsrobert Green P.S. I typed this fast without spell checker so forgive me for any mistakes as I did not proofread it before I sent it

  7. charlus said,

    March 24, 2012 at 8:19 am

    I wonder if someone here can recognize the brand of this incense:

    http://dl.dropbox.com/u/32390037/photo.JPG

    many thanks in advance.

    • glennjf said,

      March 26, 2012 at 5:05 am

      It may be it’s a Tenkundo Company incense? Saxifrage may be the name of the incense, possibly that’s the name of a plant.

      Tenkundo may also be the manufacture’s name or it could be the name of a shop that’s selling the incense, it’s unclear to me.

      It’s an agarwood base incense far as I can tell.

      *further guessing* I get a feeling Tenkundo, if it is a the manufacture, may be associated in someway with Nippon Kodo? The product packaging appears similar to the Nippon Kodo Exceptional Quality Incenses such as Mainichi Byakudan and Jinkoh Juzan.

    • Arisan said,

      March 26, 2012 at 5:15 am

      This is a Tenkundo product:
      http://www.tenkundo.co.jp/online-shop/002/003.html

      • charlus said,

        March 26, 2012 at 11:28 am

        Many thanks for the answers, you are really experts in the subject!

        Could you tell me a bit more about tenkundo? the do their own incenses, the have a distributor in Europe?

        I really love the scent could you guide me in finding something similar in the same soapy and refined line of smell?

        Thanks again to all.

  8. Orgoglio italianO said,

    March 18, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    Anyone try Rikumo/Hinoki Incense Sticks?

    http://www.rikumo.com/Bed-Bath/Hinoki-Cypress-Products/Hinoki-Cypress-Natural-Incense-p85.html

  9. pat said,

    March 18, 2012 at 2:45 pm

    Thanks glennf but Incense Guru is out of Roshni and doesn’t think it will get anymore. This is the same at the other venues I checked as well. Is there a similar fragrance?

    • glennjf said,

      March 18, 2012 at 3:41 pm

      Sorry to hear that, I checked Incense Guru, not till you click to order do you get the out of stock alert.

      An alternative? Have a look at… Hall of Fame: Indian Incense, those reviews in particular, there’s got to be something in there to satisfy your need. I now have a number of Dhuni, The Mother’s India Fragrances and some from the Shroff Channabasappa stable of incenses after reading the reviews. Previously I had been one who swore to never buy indian incense, happily all that has changed thanks to ORS and the reviews therein.

  10. pat said,

    March 16, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    I really have enjoyed Nandi- Roshni but cannot find it anymore. It had a mellow aroma to it. Can anyone recommend something similar?

    • glennjf said,

      March 18, 2012 at 1:09 pm

      Good news, there’s a review here at ORS, contains a link to a companyselling the incense.

      Out if interest I also googled using your text ie Nandi- Roshni, I found both somewhere to buy from and the ORS review on the first page result :)

  11. Orgoglio ItalianO said,

    March 12, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    Is Shoyeido Sho-Kaku and Baieido Kyara Kokoh similar in scent?

  12. Kevan said,

    March 12, 2012 at 4:18 pm

    It’s been awhile since I’ve commented, but y’know, it seems as if the Indian Hall of Fame is a bit too stacked. I’m not saying that the Mother’s line, Pure-Incense, Hari, and the Dhunis aren’t worthy, but along with Schroff, these few lines have completely filled the list. It kinda gives the impression that the rest of Indian incense is below-par Satya stuff or something. There are several sticks that fly below the radar that I think probably deserve a review and consideration.

    Namely, I recently sampled two incenses from Shankar Perfumery Works that are simply divine. Both are moist masalas and must have gigantic ingredient lists but they smell delicious. Suvarna Dhara in particular is a scent in the same vein as Schroff’s Super Star but better in every way. And that Yagna from R. Ranga Rao (the same people that make Woods) is an instant masterpiece in my opinion. How has this not been reviewed here? It’s got a very rich yet friendly aroma and what seems to me a trail of Tibetan-style musk in the mix that I’m pretty sure you guys at ORS would be over the moon about. And Gokula Flora from Darshan incense is a very friendly, creamy champa-like flora that’s moist and rich.

    Worth looking into.

    • Mike said,

      March 13, 2012 at 7:47 am

      Hey Kevan. Thanks for the recommendations to check out. Right now, I’ve got a lot of other things in my plate so I haven’t really been able to give ORS the attention this year that I did from 2009-2010. A lot of recent additions to the hall of fames come from the samples I’ve been sent. Were I sent samples of some of your recommendations I can imagine some of them would make it to this list too. Or if you want to contribute a review or two of them, contact me off list (via the About page).

      • Kevan said,

        March 14, 2012 at 1:55 am

        I don’t trust my descriptive abilities enough to volunteer to write a review, since you guys are usually so much better at picking out certain scent components in a perfume. I will say that I’m quite addicted to the Yagna. There’s a definite similarity to “Woods” in that they are both rich, woody scents that have that attractive, resinous forest-like quality. But Yagna’s got a different perfume. There’s definitely a lot of ambergris going on and right under that is a musk note combined with something very buttery-spicy. Cycle Brand/Ranga Rao calls this “exclusive” and created in tribute to the brand’s founder. It is quite delicious the perfume REALLY opens up in a large room.

        I read the Gokula Flora box today for the first time and it mentions right on the description that the recipe contains halmaddi. Well, no wonder then. I burned two sticks today and it’s definitely a friendly Champa scent but in the same vein as the higher-quality stuff of late from Shroff. It’s also got a few notes that aren’t in the typical nag champa stick. There’s a food-type note that I can’t identify that’s evident as soon as you smell a fresh stick. The perfume has the typical honey-marshmallow richness of a champa but there’s also something cooling that’s VERY present. Call me crazy, but it’s there — I want to say it’s mint but I’m just not sure.

        I need to give the two Shankar sticks another go in a large space. Suvarna Mudra is a musk bomb….that much is clear. I doubt it’s animal musk (since the stick is Indian) though it does remind me of a Tibetan stick. Suvarna Dhara is like if you took Shroff’s Shanti and mixed in the citrus notes of Super Star. Not really unique in terms of an Indian stick since I’ve encountered it before, but very well done. Clear and clean. Not like a Satya stick that tries to be impressive but ends up smelling like a dirty, musty disaster with perfume trying to cover it up.

        If you’d like Mike, I can send you a few of each to sample and put on your ever-growing review list. They might not make the hall of fame but I’m pretty sure they’d all get a recommendation.

        It’s so nice when blind buys turn out like this. ;-)

        • Mike said,

          March 14, 2012 at 9:57 am

          Kevan, that would be terrific, you can find my e-mail address on the About page to arrange. Also, I think you’re pretty good at describing incenses. I’ve been mostly on an Indian incense kick of late, so look forward to trying what I’ve missed.

  13. March 12, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    You might contact David at http://www.alicesincense.blogspot.com/

    • March 12, 2012 at 4:21 pm

      Thanks I’ll send him an email and see what I can find out!

      A random question for you in reference to the Rose Neriko on the top ten last April. On Parfumphyto’s blog she mentions using Jinko soaked in Rose absolutes, is there a post on ORS detailing this or can you give more info on how you went about it? (Soak time; amount of absolute to Jinko used etc.)

      Seems like an interesting/really good idea to use as a base ingredient.. Dabbled in making a rose and jinko senko but just couldn’t put together anything decent!

      Thanks!
      (Posted on ORS as Taran; my middle name..)

  14. Taran said,

    March 12, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    Hello ORS!

    I’ve been dabbing into my incense obsession once more and keep coming across old references to ‘Alices Resturant Yahoo group’ ( what brought me here in particular a comment about Kyara on the 2009 post on Koh Shi Boku..)

    Does anyone have an archive of this old Yahoo group that can be made available? Sounds like a lot of good information in English was lost with it being taken down..

  15. Vinny said,

    March 7, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    Hi,Just back from a great day of incense shopping here in NYC at my favorite Japanese book store……I have been going here for at least 20 years and they always have a great selection of Kyukyodo..I dont know how they get it since nobody seems to have stock online…..Heres what I picked up, expensive day but it was worth it……..Box of each # 145 Kunshikoh……..# 151 Gyokurankoh…….#225 Shinnyo…#219 Chitose… and #035 Gift Set in the Black Lacquer Wood Box which has 1 roll of each 201 Seigetsu…..202 Benizakura…..203 Miyuki……..Just had a chance to try the Shinnyo which is great…….If anyone has tried any of these please comment about them and let me know what you think…….

    • March 12, 2012 at 3:06 pm

      Vinny sounds like you got a nice mix of Kyukyodo scents!

      Kunshikoh is great.. to me smells like a nice dry Aloeswood with spices and maybe a bit of musk going on? ( I am just a beginner though so bare with me! )

      Gyokurankoh seems to be a nice soft Sandalwood slight floral blend; it and Miyuki share some similarities as both are Sandalwood based with that slight floral tone to them.

      Benizakura is an Aloweswood blend with a spice/musk bit to it; one of my favorites by Kyukyodo. Was told by a sales rep in the Yokohama store that it actually contains real animal/deer musk.. (One of their lower end sticks too have it.)

      Seigetsu is an amazing Aloeswood based stick; to me very resinous and sweet.

      Chitose is another Sandalwood based stick; seems a bit dry I don’t get much else from it yet.

      What are your impressions of them so far?

      • Vinny said,

        March 13, 2012 at 11:34 am

        Justin,I really didn’t get a chance to go through them yet,only the shinnyo…I really didnt want to rush through them,as I want to sit back and enjoy them…..I just today bought a box of #143 Shobaikoh….as they only had one box and I figured I better get it because we all know its not easy getting Kyukyodo and who knows if I will see it again……When I go through all of them I will post a review………Vinny…….

  16. Robert Green said,

    March 6, 2012 at 7:12 pm

    Hello, its been a while since I wrote in but I have a need so here I am again. Those incredible gentlemen at Japan Incense or Koshi if you go to the store, have accquired some as yet unknown in the states Gyokushodo treasures. The reason I call them unknown is that I couldn’t find them any where on here, and if it is not here it is unknown, no? Anyhow I’m in a bit of a hurry so I’ll clue you in and you can look them up at your own pace, as I’m sure at least a few of you will be compelled to either request samples or as good as their other aloeswwod stuff is, order some if not all, I’ll warn you though, they are upper end pricey, for the working man at least. They are not unobtainable just “spendyish” I just ordered the first three starting at the bottom, cause I never start at the top or you never know what you might miss. You don’t start with filet mignon and work down to burger do you? Well thats all for now. I’ll be interested to read your take on these I may share my own thought as well. Till next time, Robert G

    • doctordruidphd said,

      March 6, 2012 at 7:44 pm

      There is a sampler that has one stick of most of these at:

      http://www.japanincense.com/gy-0013.html

      Like one stick is ever enough…

      • doctordruidphd said,

        March 6, 2012 at 7:45 pm

        I stand corrected — 2 sticks of most, just one of the Kyara.

        • Robert Green said,

          March 7, 2012 at 6:53 pm

          Yeah but if you look there now there are also the actual boxes available as well. I found out about these accidentally{and I can’t say how} and bought the sampler and that is why I am sooo excited about the boxes becoming available, I am not rich so I can’t just go and order all of them at once, well I could but Jay and Kotaro are funny about wanting to be paid before thet send me anything so I ordered the first two aloeswoods The Nami No Sho (Nami means wave) and Mori No Sho (Mori means forest) Yesterday I said I ordered the first three aloeswoods but between then and now that has changed due to the fact that between yesterday and this morning Kotaro-san also added five new seikado treats three aloeswood and even two Kyara selections which I ordered the first two of these as well, the Ryoun and the Zuiun. I’m thinking that it seems like I may have a little problem when I get an overwhelming desire for fine incense no matter what the cost(well within reason anyway). These new Seikado sticks are priced similarly to the Gyokushodos aforementioned. The reason I am writing all of this aside from sharing the news of new to the U.S. fine incense offerings frome these two companies is that hopefully someone with deeper pockets than mine will get the higher end selections and be able to share with me the qualities they contain. Thanks for anything that comes from this. Sincerely, Robert (Popsrobert) Green

          • doctordruidphd said,

            March 7, 2012 at 7:26 pm

            Oh man, just when my bank account was starting to recover…

            A suggestion to those interested — using the search function on the Japanincense website will bring up a lot more (and mostly more expensive) stuff than is listed in the menu links. Search by manufacturer name, or if you really want to waste your expense account, just search for kyara.

            Gotta go out and get an extra lottery ticket.

            • Robert Green said,

              March 8, 2012 at 3:30 pm

              Say doctordruidphd, are you a staff like kind of person here @ ORS or are you a fellow odifacatuer This is a word that I conjured up to describe one who suffers from odifacatueritis a condition where one has a penchant for buying any new variety of fine incense from any of their favorite suppliers up and even sometimes beyonda the risk of not making his or her mortgage or even buy your family proper amounts of food, that is if you get it bad enough. If you do go the route of Kyara please do me the favor of sharing your experience in as best detail as possible in hopes that someday I will be financially well off enough to compare notes. Sincerely, Popsrobert

              • doctordruidphd said,

                March 8, 2012 at 7:28 pm

                No, I’m not staff here, and I’m not sure I’m quite so bad (yet) as to short the cats on their food for a stick of Houzan. Gave up on the Big Macs, though, so my habit may have multiple benefits. Getting into incense opened up a whole new dimension of reality I never knew was there. I have found that many of these — not surprisingly, the Kyaras in particular — are very helpful in various meditation and concentration experiments. Psychedelic isn’t the right word, it’s much more subtle than that, and in that subtlety lies the genius of the incense maker’s art. Those decks of Tarot cards I play with take on a whole new perspective with a stick of Tenpyo burning nearby.

  17. February 28, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    Nicly said Arisan, it really is about two differnt cultures.

  18. 2dennis said,

    February 27, 2012 at 6:29 pm

    Can anyone recomend an indian style incense that has no or minimal muskyness? I’m too sensitive to musk.

  19. Hello said,

    February 24, 2012 at 4:09 am

    Is it just me, or does the kobunboku series emit a really weak scent? I don’t get this as much with the classic red stick, but with the tokusen and the family secrrt I often feel that the scent is so weak that the smoky scent from the stick overpowers it almost completely. Perhaps my sticks are just too old?

    • Mike said,

      February 24, 2012 at 8:06 am

      Baieido traditionals don’t use oils and so even compared to other Japanese sticks the aroma is going to be fairly mild. A few of that series really do need a bit of work, with some of their aloeswoods I tend to find the aroma dense and hard to describe at first until I spent some time “listening” to them. The extra work is worth it.

      • 2dennis said,

        February 28, 2012 at 8:17 am

        Hi Mike,

        Am I correct in assuming that the Japanese purposly “hide ” some notes in their incense so that quiet meditation reveals them?

        • Mike said,

          February 28, 2012 at 8:53 am

          I’m not sure I’d put it like that. Oils are usually aromatics concentrated and if our noses get used to that level of aroma then it can be more difficult to pick up less intense aromas. It means Baieido traditionals tend to be quieter. I don’t want to make it sound like you need to meditate to enjoy them, I’d say in this case the idea of listening is more like contemplation, but only in the sense that you’ll enjoy them more putting focus on the scent. I find that different to, say, lighting a thick Indian champa which will share its scent much faster.

        • Arisan said,

          February 28, 2012 at 12:24 pm

          I think Japanese operate with lots of sordino. Even the strongest ones are not strong in a sense Indians tend to be. I had a funny incident in Tokyo Yamadamatsu store where a helpful lady was sorry Kumoi koh being so strong and pungent! She was burning for me very quiet and for my elephant senses very delicate sticks of which I then could not make much.

          IMHO “hiding” means style and culture, making a statement in a very Japanese way: not raising the voice but talking with sustained, somewhat hidden endless richness. I think adopting an attitude like this helps a lot to understand and enjoy incenses which have a great and classic reputation but which doesn’t seem to give you anything in the beginning.

          • 2dennis said,

            February 28, 2012 at 5:18 pm

            Hi Arisan,
            Being new to Japanese incense I didn’t get much at first. I am beginning to recognize the sandalwood scent in Yamadamatsu tiny cut SA grade chips. At first it smelled like cutting two by fours with a skill saw;:woody but only like freshly cut pine or fir. Now after a week with my incense heater, I can distinctly recognize the scent of sandalwood.I think you have to be attentive.I may eventually get on to these subdued (but fine) scents.

    • Hello said,

      March 18, 2012 at 1:44 pm

      Thanks for your replies guys, I have actually tried to integrate the burning of incense into my meditation routine and the results have been very interesting.
      In the tokusen which I once found so brash and dry I have now found a source of smooth, woody indulgence. The japanese incenses really are quite something, like a Mahler symphony which at first sounds indechipherable but grows on you with each hearing as you start noticing its subtleties.

  20. SPQR said,

    February 12, 2012 at 10:48 pm

    Also forgot to add (sorry) I’m also looking for Royal Hougari Frankinsense tears not superior,Royal is the best quality. Any idea where I can buy the Royal Frankincense ?

  21. SPQR said,

    February 12, 2012 at 8:59 pm

    Where can I find the best Egyptian Kyphi incense?

  22. RMA said,

    January 28, 2012 at 7:55 am

    Hello, I live in the UK and would like to know if you would recommend a reputable supplier of genuine Hougary Frankincense. Thank you.


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