Scents of Japan Firefly Series, Beech & Amber (from Ross)

November 26, 2009 at 1:40 pm (Incense, Japan, Scents of Japan)

Scents of Japan has had these two low smoke incense sticks custom blended for them in Japan. They both use the low smoke charcoal process to produce their scent and at the same time when you light the stick in a draft free area, it will remain standing with a white ash tower and you can watch the red/orange part of the burn moving down the length of the stick. Thus the “Firefly” moniker.

The Firefly Beech really does smell like a beech tree with a sweetish finish to it. Kind of interesting as I have not seen or smelled anything like this before. This is not really the type of scent I gravitate towards but I can see how many people would, especially as it is pretty faithful to what a beech tree smells like.

The Amber stick has a rather nice amber scent to it, on the sweetish side of that category, but not overpowering. The low smoke(really almost no smoke) means that people who normally cannot deal with the smoke issues could, most likely, use this.

These are great fun in low light conditions as it makes the “Firefly” aspect stand out and would probably work well at a party or similar environment.

Samples were rovided by Scents of Japan.

 

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Nikhil / Pineapple Champa, Strawberry Champa, Vanilla Champa

November 25, 2009 at 10:19 am (Incense, India, Nikhil)

Apple Champa, Banana Champa, Cherry Champa
Coconut Champa, Musk Champa, Patchouli Champa

My opinion of these “flavored” champas has actually degenerated quite a bit, not only since I first tried them several years ago, but also since I started writing about them. If there’s anything obvious about the whole series it’s that in every case the same generic nag champa stick (which like every other company isn’t as good as it was a decade ago) is dipped into a fragrance oil, likely synthetic and inferior even in cases where one doesn’t have to pay great expense to get a good scent. Some of these scents have to be synthetic, particularly in the fruit category, as essential oils of many of these do not exist and have to be approximated. And you can often tell as one’s opinion might be fairly positive at first, but by the end of the stick the one dimensional nature of the scents starts to cloy and becomes bothersome. And in this trio’s case at least two of these are scents you can find elsewhere in much improved fashion. So these are definitely scents, especially when you consider your minimum order is 100g of each scent, you want to try first.

Pineapple Champa was actually quite superb in the days where the champa “punks” where high quality and made with halmaddi. The rich honey and vanilla like scent merged quite nicely with all of the fruit scents and there was a time when this scent, the Apple and the Banana were all favorites of mine (the Banana in particular smelled like Banana bread, a fabulous scent), despite the use of synthetic oils (which might have been better then as well). Even to this day burning a stick of the current version is fairly nostalgic for me. The Pineapple oil here is very stylized, more like pineapple candy or flavoring than the sharp and pungent scent of the fruit, mellower and almost distinctly synthetic. Perhaps that’s for the best in some ways, as you really don’t want the more citrus-like elements of the fruit to come out in a champa blend, but the result still lacks distinction. In fact had this been shunted into the Shrinivas line (ironically this has actually been the case – although these pictures did not originate at Essence and thus are not filed on the Shrinivas page) and given a different name it would probably fit in quite nicely in between some of the company’s 100g boxes.

Likewise the Strawberry Champa merges generic nag champa with fragrance oil and this one in particularly seems to burn surprisingly long. And this is unfortunate as the longer it does burn the more obvious the synthetic nature of the oil becomes until it starts to grate. It’s actually kind of easy to pick out as strawberry is so common as a scent and flavor addition to so many air fresheners and food products. And by comparison it also doesn’t hold up, both Blue Pearl’s version and especially Fred Soll’s (the latter a natural approximation of the scent) are much better, neither one holding the deep red coloring this one has.

Finally the very common Vanilla Champa scent. Particularly with amber this is a plentiful and excellent Indian durbar (Mystic Temple, Incense from India and Blue Pearl all do superior versions), unfortunately Nikhil’s is one of its lesser renderings. Like with the Coconut champa the off scents of the oil come through much more than the central scent, making it a very cloying stick in the end. For a scent like this you want your vanilla to be drier, particularly when a champa base is going to impart some vanilla anyway, here it’s overkill to the nth degree, distracting rather then being pleasurable.

Overall and despite the synthetic oils being used here, I do think much of the problem is the champa base being used in this whole series is rather dull, much closer to, say, Goloka than Bam. When halmaddi was more plentiful it added a depth to these that made up a lot for the oils, which now seem responsible in carrying most of the aroma. In every case I’d request samples before ordering a full batch of these as in nearly every case the sticks are quite thin, so you’re probably getting at least 100 sticks in every group and that may well be a lot more than you’d want.

And Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I’ll see you all next week!

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SAMPLER NOTES: Ancient Forest

November 24, 2009 at 11:39 am (Ancient Forest, Incense, Incense Notes/Samplers, United States)

Ancient Forest Incense is created in the Southern Cascade mountains in Oregon. The incense the all-natural company creates is quasi-Tibetan, thick, short sticks that contain large amounts of woods and resins, however I’d say in many cases that the resin content is particularly high for its style and imparts to the incense a strength that most similar Tibetans don’t often reach. In fact the scents could be somewhere in between the Tibetan style and the deluxe, high quality sticks created by Mermade Magickal arts (think Earth Church), kind of like a combination of the wood base of the former with the pungent, evergreen touches often used by the latter. The incense is then distinctly natural and American with ingredients that range all along the West from Red Cedar in the Cascades to Mexican copal. The following five samples run the gamut of what they offer, all striking me as natural, authentic product. These can be purchases with crafted holders or as refill packages, I found them to burn hot but work well with an ash filled censer.

The Cedar/Sage combination is authentically North American if not Native American, like most incenses with sage there’s the flavor of a smudge wand at work, although it’s not quite as strong here as it is in the Sage Blend. As true with most natural incenses, this has a strong campfire-like woody center to it and perhaps the addition of sage covers up the most subtle notes of the red cedar (perhaps only Incienso’s Red Cedar quite captures them). However what’s replaced has a distinct evergreen tint to it, an almost oil-like strength that’s exceedingly pleasant. As is the warning with many Tibetan incenses, the woods can occasionally come across a touch harsh, although I suspect this could be circumvented by crumbling the stick and using a heater.

The Cultural Blend is similar, building on the cedar and sage combination but sharing time with sweetgrass and copal. This is quite a beautiful blend with even stronger hints of evergreen, which I’d guess is the combination of the golden copal strengthening the blend. With less volume of cedar and sage involved, the woodiness is tempered and there’s even a balsamic or possible amber-like note in it that seems a result of the incense’s combination. This one is perhaps the blend to start with, it’s really impressive and quite complex.

Unsurprisingly the Juniper is heavily woody in the same way the Cedar/Sage is, however a great deal of the stick seems to be created from Juniper tips, which gives it a very attractive and lovely evergreen essential oil like scent to it that really lifts it. In fact this is almost exactly what you want juniper to smell like and certainly the type of scent you get in the Pacific region rather than what tends to show up in the Tibetan blends. A very powerful and simple incense.

Lavender Dream goes for a very herbal and natural lavender flower scent rather than going the essential oil route. Anyone whose worked with fresh lavender in incense blends will recognize the scent here, a bit lighter and airier than the oil with an herbal note that shares some characteristics with the sage (or perhaps there’s a little sage in the blend, it’s hard to tell). However there still seems to be something of an evergreen note in the mix, which is quite complimentary and perhaps a moderate quantity of woodiness. Definitely something of a western take on a Lavender incense (the lavender coming from the high deserts of Eastern Oregon) and somewhat unique for it.

The Sage Blend (High Desert and White Sage) is not far from the Cedar/Sage blend naturally except this is even more in the direction of a smudge wand, with a noticeable element of the type of sage used in cooking, very savory. Of course being mostly sage, there’s no real overt woodiness here except what’s used in the base and binder and it ends up being the least woody and most airy scent of the group in question here, although as with all of the line there’s still a distinct evergreen backnote that I find very appealing.

Ancient Forest have quite a few more blends than this available and based on these five, I know eventually I’ll have to check them out. There’s something really unique about Western American incenses, a tradition that seems to combine Native American cultural elements and a real sense of partnership with nature, that seems to be emerging as a distinct corner of the incense world, one that seems to capture elements from our topical geography, deserts and forests with a true ecological respect.

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Pure-Incense / Absolute & Connoisseur / Frankincense, Jasmine, Parijata, Rosewood, Sandalwood

November 17, 2009 at 10:51 am (Incense, India, Pure-Incense)

In this group of Pure-Incense sticks, I’ll be tackling the back five of the incenses that come in two forms, the Absolute and Connoisseur lines. Some of the Connoisseur packages also say Double Absolute, so one might be safe in guessing that the top line doubles the relevant oil or ingredients from the Absolute and that’s actually not a bad gauge to go by, it really does seem in many cases (although there will be two exceptions in this group) that the Connoisseurs are twice as intense or strong as the Absolutes.

For this back five, we have three sticks that are very common in the Indian masala world: Frankincense, Jasmine and Sandalwood. These are the incense archetypes one might find in any Indian incense range from Mystic Temple to Triloka to Primo to Incense from India, however, it’s easy to say that while the Absolute version of these three scents is quite comparative to similar incenses found in these other lines, the Connoissuer Pure-Incense line introduces these scents at, perhaps, their finest. Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot more to say about them that I haven’t mentioned in a previous review or two. On the other hand both the Parijata and Rosewood sticks here are quite unique to Pure-Incense and present variations on other incense woods.

In both the Connoisseur and Absolute forms, Pure-Incense Frankincense is the most common masala form of the scent, one that carries the aroma of the resin quite a ways from its natural state, embedding it in a charcoal, vanilla and sandalwood base and thus transmuting the resin’s qualities into something different, a masala that seems to work more with a resin extraction than the resin itself. The combination of the perfume elements and the base end up creating something of a third note that varies depending on which company creates it, but ends up being something like a confectionary, anything from cocoa powder to caramel to nougat. It’s a noticeable element that one won’t find at all in frankincense resin per se, so it’s important one sets one’s preconceptions aside if you’re coming from a pure resin perspective or perhaps even the sort of frankincense you might find in Minorien or Tennendo lines. In the Connoisseur version this frankincense oil note or the combination of ingredients that make it up is refined to a very high degree thus surpassing any of the masalas that vary from the Absolute version and hail from different companies. At this oil strength the scent is sublime and the strength of the aromatics give it a scent like some fine cognac or wine which really sets it apart from other Indian masalas, making this, perhaps, the best Indian frankincense you can buy that isn’t a champa or durbar style. If you’re familiar with the style based on one of the above companies’ offerings then I’d advise to skip the Absolute and move right onto the Connoissuer, however if you’re not at all familiar with this style than you’re likely safe with either one.

Likewise, there’s a similar comparison when it comes to Pure-Incense’s Jasmine charcoal. In fact of all the sticks that cross from the Absolute to the Connoisseur, I’d say the least amount of aromatic difference exists between the two jasmines. This is the typical jasmine essential oil on charcoal base that you’ll see from many of the above-listed companies and as such it varies very little from one to another. Unfortunately as pretty as the essential oils seem to be on these sticks, the charcoal bases in nearly all cases often compete or overwhelm the oil, no doubt due to the pretty, ethereal and gentle scent of the jasmine. The combination creates a combined note that while not terribly offputting isn’t nearly as distinct a jasmine note as you might find in the Shroff catalog. Even the sparkly fixative used to bind the oil doesn’t seem to help with the dissipation and this characteristic makes it fairly difficult to tell, after some aging, that the Connoisseur version contains a stronger dose of the oil, in comparison it only seems vaguely more intense. Perhaps fresh off the batch it might be more impressive, but again I think this reflects more of the weakness of oil on charcoal scents than it does on the oil itself.

Parijata (nychanthes arbotristis) is another of India’s aromatic flowering trees and appears to be the scent the incense matches up with, but not having actually experienced the aroma of the tree itself, the scent of it seems to me to be almost a variation of sandalwood and a mighty fine one at that. The only other parijata I’ve examples is the Krishna store version and it’s a completely different incense to either Pure-Incense version here. To my nose the Parijata incense here is almost like a chandan sandalwood stick pepped up with light fruity elements, for some reason I always seem to get hints of apple with this one or perhaps citrus in the mix, not to mention an unusual floral subnote. It’s a really attractive incense at the Absolute level and only slightly more intense at the Connoisseur version, the difference obviously the amount of oil being used. And the oil in the Connoisseur version seems to impart an even woodier quality with hints of, perhaps, saffron in the background – really beautiful stuff.

The Rosewood appears to be one of Pure-Incense’s newest catalog entries and like Parijata is a tree in its own right, although I believe what we’re seeing in incense form is something different as the rosewood trees appear to be named as such for their wood colorings rather than aromatic qualities, that is, except for Brazilian rosewood from which an essential oil is distilled. Just about every rosewood incense I’ve sampled has been quite different, so I’ve never been able to guess at what could be the standard, however it’s not difficult to think of Pure-Incense’s two versions as among the best I’ve tried. Even at the Absolute version this is a floral incense that’s as sweet as a durbar and suffice it to say, this doesn’t appear to be a mixture of, say, rose and sandalwood. The rose or floral element that dominates the incense has hints of ripe or even tart cherries and one can detect behind this powerful scent a rather mild wood backing. At the Connoisseur strength these elements turn even more elegant with the tarter elements of the top floral oil mellowed out a slight amount and perhaps a bit more in the way of a woody character. I’ve really yet to get into either deeply but found both really impressive and in this case even at the Absolute level there’s quite a bit of potency at work here. Only the Pink Sayli could be described as prettier.

Finally, Pure-Incense also has the classic Sandalwood oil masala in both Absolute and Connoisseur versions and as one might have experienced if one has dealt with better grades of sandalwood, the Connoisseur is the real treasure here with a really high quality sandalwood oil at the center that does exhibit elements of the heartwood. While the oil is at a strength level that it perhaps obscures certain aspects of the wood itself, I tend to like to think of this as a different experience overall and there’s a real almost antique-like side aroma that comes out of high quality oil at this strength. At the Absolute level we’re almost dealing as much with the vanilla base and thus more of a vanilla sandalwood mix than something purely woody. At this strength it’s a scent that’s almost a dime a dozen, one that can be found in nearly every Indian incense line. The Pure-Incense Absolute version does indeed hold up quite well in comparison to similar scents from other companies, but only the Connoisseur level is truly special here.

Anyway that takes the Pure-Incense overview through the Connoisseur line and thus the next few installments will get into the Absolute only lines. At this point one will notice in many cases that the Absolute versions are at strength levels more comparable to the Connoisseurs in some cases, likely due to more inexpensive ingredients making it possible. Next up I intend to cover some of the Absolute champas and Vrindavan scents, many of which I find the most pleasant in the Absolute line.

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Baieido Tobiume (from Ross)

November 13, 2009 at 1:16 am (Baieido, Incense, Japan)

Baieido has introduced a new incense in their Meditation or Woods line up called Tobiume. I got the 60 stick small box about a week ago and have been slowly working my way into it. It is somewhat reminiscent of Syukohkoku in that there seems to be a similar spice/herb/resin mix but it is paired with a different Aloeswood then the Syukohkoku, in this case from Indonesian sources. I found this to be a very grounding and meditative mix, strong and one that can seemingly change scents from stick to stick. Really it depends what other scents are in the room and, I believe, aromatic fatigue could play a huge role with this one. I have found both vanilla and chocolate(not huge, but there) notes as well as what I considered a very Chinese herb like mix. There are no oils in this blend, but there certainly very high quality ingredients, which is something that makes this company so good.

I find it very interesting and like so many of Baieido’s incenses, with a long learning curve. Which to me means a long term relationship! I think many people will find this more approachable then Syukohkoku. It comes across a little lighter but with all the levels going for it. It is priced very reasonably and hey, Christmas is coming and you could get yourself a present.

I also noticed at Baieido’s blog that there is mention of a Mint based incense that has been released in Japan. A little something to look forward to from what is to my way of thinking is one of the very best incense companies around.

-Ross

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SAMPLER NOTES: Nihon Senko Seizo, Saraike Kunbutsudo, Keigado, Kunmeido

November 10, 2009 at 11:03 am (Incense, Incense Notes/Samplers, Japan, Keigado, Kunmeido, Nihon Senko Seizo, Saraike Kunbutsudo)

Time for another batch of samples, four relatively new imports and a couple old scents I’m managing to get around to now…

Two scents have arrived from Nihon Senko Seizo, the first a cedar incense called Momiji Koh that comes in a ten roll set with single rolls sold individually. This does what it says on the box, however unlike cheaper cedar incenses, Momiji Koh manages to exhibit some of the wood’s finer qualities, with notes of evergreen and especially conifers floating lightly on the top. Undoubtedly this is an inexpensive incense that could easily be filed with daily sandalwoods and there are some interesting subtleties that imply there may be a bit of sandalwood in the mix, but overall this tends to hit a sort of generic cedarwood in the middle. It’s definitely more pleasant than the cedarwood you might find in Tibetan incenses, on the other hand Indian masalas and some American red cedarwood is perhaps a bit more overtly aromatic.

Tsukiyama is also a very evergreen incense, this time going for a pine scent, however where Momiji-Koh is decidedly cedarwood, Tsukiyama seems decidedly more complex. There’s definitely the evergreen notes you’d expect for a pine incense but there seems to be something of a less traditional oil mix on top that modernizes the scent to some extent, making the finish fruity, bright and attractive. At times I’ve detected hints of patchouli, apple, spearmint and berry in the mix, all of which I assume are less notes and more attributes of a certain intricacy in the mix.

Saraike Kunbutsudo also now exports two modern incenses  to the United States via Kohshi. Mt. Fuji is an incense somewhat similar to Shorindo’s Wayko discussed last installment, with sandalwood and cinnamon listed as the two main ingredients, however Mt. Fuji is a more traditional mix even with the spice blended with some unidentifiable light floral qualities. As such the cinnamon doesn’t cut through so much and make the incense stands out and the result is actually quite mild and mellow which I can imagine are likely to be attractive qualities to some purchasers. It has a very restrained feel to it.

Shizuka-No-Sato comes in a huge 500+ stick box making it necessary to get a sample to see if it will have such lasting power for you. I found it to be not terribly different from the previously mentioned Tsukiyama incense, although as shown in the ingredients the jasmine/floral mix is certainly prominent. I found it to be just as mild and smooth as the Mt. Fuji overall, as if the characteristics of the company were an elegant restraint, but such a quality makes it difficult to discuss from a sample. It is quite pretty with no offputting qualities found in relatively inexpensive florals (per stick here of course) with a mix of slight woodiness, a light spice and berry along with the jasmine and likely rose mix.

I forgot to mention Keigado’s Kaori when last discussing the two Magnolias but I didn’t want to forget it as it’s a very nice affordable sandalwood with a slighty minty tone as well as hints of cedar, pine and patchouli in it – a very green incense overall. Like several of the Keigado traditionals there’s something of an oil strength to it and as such it also has a touch of something reminiscent of the line’s Full Moon, perhaps a slight touch of whatever it is that creates the amber in that incense. Overall though the  middle is somewhat airy, giving the whole incense a fleeting smell and as such it’s one of the lightest incenses in the Keigado catalog.

Had good luck with Kunmeido’s wonderful Hosen incense, but the sandalwood, lilac and cedar mix of Unjo Koh isn’t nearly as immediate. By proximity, it did remind me a bit of the Kaori, but without the amber-like depth to it and a much woodier middle. Strangely I didn’t detect lilac much at all, but I can imagine it’s the sort of scent that could get buried among the ingredients and here the woodiness is probably responsible for that. It’s slightly sweet and evergreen and perhaps the cedar is the most dominant note. Certainly pleasant, but fairly dull especially for a Kunmeido scent.

Next up in the sampler notes series, a pentad of scents from American company Ancient Forest. I’ll be out and away for about a week at this point so bear with me if comments or questions addressed after today aren’t attended to until next week. Thanks!

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Shroff Channabasappa / Akash Ganga, Champa Dry, Jasmine, Mogra, Natural, Natural Loban

November 3, 2009 at 12:39 pm (Incense, India, Shroff Channabasappa)

Shroff Channabasappa Part 1
Shroff Channabasappa Part 2
Shroff Channabasappa Part 3
Shroff Channabasappa Part 4
Shroff Channabasappa Part 5

This installment in the ever-growing Shroff Channabasappa catalog brings us back to the now-called Dry Masala group that all the incenses in the first four write ups are part of. There were about eleven new scents added in the last restocking, so this covers the larger “half” of  them with the remainder to be written up next. There aren’t any particular similarities among the six in question here, rather we have three overt florals and three more traditional Indian blends. Many of these seems to revisit earlier territory with a completely different focus and like in most of my Shroff installments I almost found that my opinion of a scent would rise considerably under review. In this case both the Mogra and Natural Loban really opened up for me.

The first scent in question here, Akash Ganga, acts, perhaps, as a transition from the previous semi-wets to the drys as it’s the only incense in the dry category where I’ve seen a yellow box. It make me wonder if perhaps Akash Ganga fell somewhere between the semi-wets and drys as it certainly is a thick stick with a very similar coloring to the durbars. To my nose it’s almost like a variation on the Desert or Vrindavan Flower scents you tend to find in various other catalogs, except as is often the case with Shroff, this is an incense on an entirely new level. It holds some similarities with the Semi-Wet Pearl incense mentioned in the previous installment, although only fleetingly, as this is a much drier incense. On one hand you get a dry sandalwood floral, but woven through this base is sweet wine or raisin-like notes that really lift the bouquet. It adds up to a surprisingly complex incense with both dry masala and durbar-like characteristics as well as a wood, spice and floral mix that plays along the three. [As of 11/3, this aroma is completely sold out at Essence, speaking quite well of its popularity, I'd assume it should be back in stock in the near future - I sure hope so, as I'm running out quite fast now.]

Also transitional on a theoretical sense, is Shroff’s Champa Dry. This is an incense nothing like any champa incense you’ve tried before, it’s certainly not a durbar or wet masala by any stretch, it doesn’t seem to have much in the way of any overt halmaddi hints like we’re used to in champas and it’s also quite different than, say, the Primo or Triloka versions which seem to be mostly oil on base versions. But, of course, Shroff seem to have a singular vision where floral incenses are concerned and this one seems to follow the pattern of having a heavy perfume on top of a natural masala base that seems strong while keeping an earthy tone to the feel. It’s almost indulgently sweet, but not as rich or vanilla-like as the durbars are, while retaining an unusual musky tone beneath. It seems to actually have more in common with the Jasmine and Mogra incenses in this batch than it does with other incenses of its style. Quite unusual and intriguing.

As mentioned, the Jasmine is quite similar to the previous Champa and almost completely unlike the Jasmine 1940 scent. This one strikes me as a pure and earthy Jasmine scent, perhaps in a way almost too sweet and even sweltery in its mix of what seem like natural jasmine oils and even materials.  For a Shroff scent this is actually a very static incense with little in the way of complex layers but it certainly seems to get jasmine in a way few imported incenses do, without using the charcoal and oil method and giving the impression one is in a field of flowers rather than in an essential oil bar.

Of the three florals in this write up, I’d probably give the gold to the Mogra, which is quite simply an amazing incense, one that gets the wavery almost mirage like exotic and eastern vibe of the plant itself that while many oil and charcoal sticks actually do approximate fairly well, they never do with this sort of earthiness and clarity. For one thing, while it has similarities it’s not quite as sweet as the Champa Dry or Jamine, almost as if the sweetness ends with a very dry finish. It really is just perfectly pitched and distinct in its own way from any number of other florals, Shroff yet again just getting the finer tones of these scents down perfectly.

Natural is something of a bizarre incense, especially transitioning from two florals. This has a very gravelley, rough and ready sort of feel that reminds me of lower quality lobans, but it’s totally different in that it seems to have a very strong sandalwood oil as part of the bouquet that at least partially lifts this out from what could have been something of an unfriendly masala. It reminds me slightly of saffron sandalwood mixes or even Chandan sandalwood incenses due to the quality of the oil and the slight spicy overtones and one does get the impression this contains some benzoin, like lobans.

The Natural Loban, however, is as different from regular lobans as the Natural is, but in a completely different direction. Where many lobans are rough, inexpensive and earthy, this version is almost ethereal and airy, as different from the Singapore Loban as the Jasmine is from the Jasmine 1940. The Natural Loban is almost like a stylized, perfumed loban with the top note refined to a lemony finish. That would be enough to make an excellent incense but with clarity this stick pops with white wine notes, green and leafy subtleties and a menthol or evergreen-like freshness that is terribly impressive as if the stick was using the finest benzoin one could imagine, as different from regular frankincense as the Hougary chunks are from what you might find at an herbal store. I’ve actually been disinclined to many lobans from previous experience but this is one that should win anyone over, yet another gold star on what’s becoming a rather full Shroff recommended list.

Next up, and at the very least, some write ups on the rest of the latest Dry Masala imports: Paneer, Poona Amber, Rose Masala, Rosy Sandal and Sandal; the Masala Base florals and hopefully a lot more to come from this premier Indian incense company.

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SAMPLER NOTES: Shochikudo, Shorindo, Tahodo

October 29, 2009 at 12:07 pm (Incense, Shochikudo, Shorindo, Tahodo)

This is a slight summary of some of the more recent modern Japanese incense imports, including one traditional scent and another on the fence. All of these scents are available from Essence of the Ages or Japan Incense.

Like many of the new imports we’re seeing there are quite a few new companies making their entry into the US Market, including an incense from Shochikudo called Kirari or Ocean Breeze. This one has a rather huge list of ingredients given as: rose, lavender, jasmine, ylang ylang, iris, lemon, bergamot, blue cypress, sandalwood, vanilla beans and oak moss. It’s almost like a starter list of essential oils and with a sampler I’d be hard pressed to say that any of these particular ingredients stand out more than any other except for, perhaps, the vanilla bean (I get an impression of some amber as well). This is an incense generally in the vein of Nippon Kodo’s Aqua, a floral mix with a distinct seaside sort of aroma, not quite briny, but a more upbeat and pleasant approximation, like a mix of garden and beach. It’s going to be only for those who really go for a sample as with a box of 200 sticks, it’s one you’ll want to be sure you really like at first. I found it quite pleasant, but my experience with Aqua was the same and I found it quite cloying over time so I’d be hesitant even though I think this is a better incense.

Shorindo has been extremely active on the exportation of front after entering the US market with their Chabana Green Tea mix, in fact since I received the following samples, they’ve added two more incenses in the Chabana line. The first of the four samples here is the most traditional incense in this whole group, a sandalwood and cinnamon scent called Wayko. I love cinnamon so I found this instantly a winner, it’s not a particularly complicated incense, but it differs slightly from the traditional sense in that it seems polished and possibly made partially out of oils or perfumes. But give cinnamon essential oil is quite cheap, it all comes off quite authentic and just a bit stronger than the average Japanese traditional blend that doesn’t use oils like, say, Baieido Koh. It’s somewhat reminiscent of incenses like Shoyeido Horin’s Hori-kawa or  even Kunjudo Karin or its Gyokushodo analog Kojurin in scent, maybe in the middle of this group in terms of a traditional to modern axis.

Shorindo has also brought over three perfume incenses in a line called Kobiana. These are definitely far to the modern style and seem to exist to carry over previously created perfumes, although they seem a little different in that they’re not quite smokeless. I doubt my impressions are going to be particularly useful, so as an addendum I’d like to refer you over to Sprays of Blossoms, Curls of Smoke for a much more informed review before I take a clumsy stab at these.

All three of these sticks, despite the color names, seem to be a dark blue color. The Kobiana Yellow Cute is created to be reminiscent of Etro’s Magot perfume and the notes given are, on the top, bergamot, lemon, jasmine and iris; lavender and cloves in the middle; and patchouli, cedar, vanilla and musk at the base. Like with the Kirari, I have trouble picking these apart although at least I can distinguish this scent from the other two in this series as being distinctly floral and very reminiscent of the types of perfumes you run into being worn in the US. As is the case, I tend to get as much of the alcohol or synthetic scent as I do the florals and completely miss any of the elements supposedly in the base with, perhaps, the iris, lavender and jasmine the most obvious scents to me.

I have a lot of trouble telling the Kobiana Red Elegant and Kobiana Blue Sweet apart, but both strike me as fruit and florals, and like the Kirari above, both are somewhat reminiscent of Nippon Kodo’s Aqua in that they both have an almost watery like scent. The Red is reminiscent of Chanel Chance perfume, the Blue Etro’s Anice. The Red lists pink pepper, lemon and pineapple on top; hyacinth, jasmine and iris at the heart (likely where I’m getting the Aqua similarity from); and amber, patchouli, vetiver and white musk in the base. Strangely enough from this mix I get watermelon, cyclamen and the listed jasmine, but it’s such a light scent that with a sample it’s really hard to break it down. Similarly scented, the Blue lists Brazilian rosewood, anise and bergamot; the middle notes iris, jasmine, anise and garden dill; and the base notes amber, musk and vanilla. I’m not sure if the note similarities between these two incenses account for why I can barely tell them apart, but for some reason I wasn’t getting much anise or rosewood and still felt it was mostly watery, fruity and floral. In the end I had to separate the two and test them at different times just to confirm for myself I hadn’t accidentally gotten the same sample twice and to maybe convince myself I don’t quite have the nose for moderns like these.

Like Shochikudo, Tahodo has currently exported only one incense to the US, although similar to Shorindo Wayko, this is something of a modern/traditional blend. In this case Sekizan Koh is clearly something of a perfumed sandalwood stick and not authentic in terms of a pure sandalwood, but it makes up for it with a nice blend of clove, nutmeg and slight floral and citrus hints. It tends to the slightly sweet and in another life could have easily been added to, say, one of Daihatsu’s modern lines. Like most perfumed incenses I’m not sure how long I’ll last in terms of appreciation, but my initial samples were extremely pleasant and I liked it right away, especially due to the attractive nutmeg subnote.

More in the next installment including pairs from Nihon Senko Seizo, Saraike Kunbutsado and Scents of Japan.

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Ramakrishnanda / Bhagavan, Krishna, Lalita, Radha, Rasa Lila

October 26, 2009 at 8:41 am (Incense, India, Ramakrishnanda)

Ramakrishnanda Part 1
Ramakrishnanda Part 2
Ramakrishnanda Part 3

Since Ramakrishnanda released their first 15 incense blends a few years ago as well as three different sampler packs, they’ve not stopped there, trickling out a few other new blends that as of yet do not have an associated sampler pack. This review covers the five newest blends as of the current date which include one new premium Agarwood stick that costs about a dollar more than the usual 10 stick packages. The rest of the newer incenses follow in the durbar or flora styles used by the company and continue their experimentation with different ingredient combinations. As always the results are always unusual and intriguing, if not always successful.

Bhagavan is a durbar that combines patchouli and vetivert, given the listed concoction, however this is actually a stick that doesn’t particularly evoke either ingredient so much. In many ways this is an alternative to the types of flora incenses found under the name Golden Champa such as Sai Flora itself, Sai Deep, Sai Leela and several others, although in this case the stick isn’t quite as hefty. Any noticeable patchouli qualities seem to be lost in the mix or at least the oilier aspects of the scent are submerged, what’s left is more reminiscent of the brighter, foresty type of scent one might associate with Shrinivas’ Patchouli Forest blend. The Vetivert is less submerged but still floats more as a background note, and it’s difficult not to wish both aspects were cranked up a bit more. As both scents evoke sort of an earthy type of scent, I was surprised to find the earthiness mostly existed as part of the drier finish. However if one just forgets about trying to match up what their smelling with the ingredients on the package, you’ll still find this a very pleasant incense, particularly if you’re fond of any of the flora types mentioned earlier.

Krishna is a champa type incense that’s something of  a variation on Ramakrishnanda’s own Narasingha Dev. The ingredients given are vetivert, cedarwood and halmadi, but the strongest element seems to be the sweet gum like center, the aspect it has most in common with Narasingha Dev which opens the question whether that incense also has halmadi (which could be implicit in the champa part of its ingredients). It certainly has the strong vanilla aroma halmadi tends to bring with it, but again whatever vetivert is being used here doesn’t seem to overwhelm the incense as if it’s just being used as a note. The cedarwood, as well, isn’t as strong as it tends to be in Indian masalas but likely strengthens the forest like gum scents of the incense’s center. The entirety is a bit of a mix up, not as successful as Narasingha Dev, as if there’s just a bit too much going on and too many contrary scents cancelling each other out.

Lalita is a very pleasant sandalwood and musk incense with an incredibly attractive sandalwood oil at the center of the stick. As this is one of the newer Ramakrishnanda blends, it begs the question if some of the older packages are perhaps losing a bit of steam in terms of oil quality, as the scent here is very powerful and terribly attractive. It’s true one can detect a very nice topping of musk as a faint note with the incense, but it’s only a side note on what is a great sandalwood champa incense with an oil that’s pitched about perfect. Not a complex incense, but a very nice one, if there’s any other side notes it would be a touch of vanilla and maybe a bit of spice that reminds me of Indian masalas with chandan in the title.

Radha’s ingredients are given as patchouli, cardamom and rose and had I not seen cardamom in the list I might have compared the interesting spice note in this incense to anise. The rose I’m not sure I detected at all, and given the track record with patchouli in this line, I’d say the company is using less of the obvious patchouli oil and perhaps more of the herb, because it never strikes you as overt. I’m left with the impression of a champa with quite a bit of sandalwood and benzoin in it with the vanilla touches not blending terribly well with the cardamom. There even appear to be some bitter or sour notes in the mix which are uncommon to Ramakrishnanda incenses which are usually always at least pleasant. One might chalk this up to an experiment that didn’t work so well, or perhaps by the time a packet was in my hand, the oils had faded considerably.

Which brings me to the last and newest of the Ramakrishnanda line, the powerfully scented agarwood incense Rasa Lila. Again one wonders at the level of oil dissipation (particularly when all of these incenses seem to be packaged very well) as in this case the oil levels are eye-stingingly powerful, although with an increased, premium price (as well as a gold sticker on the front setting it apart) perhaps we’re getting a bit more for the money. It’s a  rather thick durbar style whose primary scent is less the wood than the heavy citrus/orange/lemon that gives the aroma an almost furniture polish-like aroma in all the best senses. The agarwood/oud oil then floats as a background note behind this giving it all a nice three dimensional presence, taking the place that sandalwood tends to hold in most of the line’s incenses. It would be too much if it wasn’t for its resounding natural qualities which help to give this a very fresh and cleansing solar quality to it. It’s not at all like, say the Agarwood incenses found in the Mystic Temple line or the Absolute or Connoisseur versions in the Pure-Incense line, it really does have a unique and interesting quality all of its own. I’d probably chalk this one up as one of Ramakrishnanda’s more successful experiments.

Ramakrishnanda then has a total of 20 different blends to date and no doubt we’ll see more in the future. They also have a series of resin blends that I have not yet decided to spring for that may be of some interest to heater or charcoal burner lovers. Overall they’re a quality company with a lot of interesting scents, perhaps not at the apex of the art, but growing closer in that direction (I’d certainly like to see more in the way of premium scents). Perhaps the major downside is that they only seem to commonly retail 10 stick packages which means if you like any particular aroma you’re almost due for a restock as soon as you open a package. And I don’t doubt you’ll find at least one or two new favorites among the 20 scents they carry.

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Daihatsu’s Father’s Love, Eight Scenes Green & Eight Scenes Orange (from Ross)

October 20, 2009 at 10:44 pm (Daihatsu, Incense, Japan)

These are three new sticks that Japan Incense has brought in from Daihatsu.

Father’s Love is a smokeless stick, which I generally stay away from as the smokeless sticks seem to lack punch and, to me,  a lot of the characteristics( woods) that I look for in incense. This one is a different customer, it has a Aloeswood base topped with a sort of cherry/plum top note that is very interesting. It really surprised me, both in the amount of scent as well as the overall complexity within it. There is a resemblance to Kyukyodo’s Shiun in the scent qualities. This would be a great stick for someone who has problems with smoke but would like to experience incense.

Eight Scenes Green is a regular type of incense stick, colored a very dark purple/blue (so I am assuming that the colors of the sticks have no bearing on the names). The scent is a combination of  florals that edge into almost fruit based notes with a very light wood note of Sandalwood under it all. It sort of reminds me of some of the Shunkodoh’s (like Haru no Kaori) without the Aloeswood.

Eight Scenes Orange (which is colored green) is quite interesting, it’s write up says Sandalwood and secret spices. There is a distinct vanilla note at the top with a slight powdery feel to it, underneath that is a spicy note that tends to weave in and out of perception and then finally the Sandalwood. Vanilla is tough to pull off in incenses it scent reminds me of some Indian sticks, but much less intense.

All three of these come in very large amounts, you might want to check with Japan Incense, as the samples they kindly sent to me are in smaller tubes. These are everyday style incenses that are reasonably prices and well made.

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