Zhingkham Kunchhab Choetrin #2 (ZKC) is a “purple” stick incense from Bhutan’s largest incense manufacturer. We have documented at least some of this company’s incenses through the years, a chore made a bit harder by some accusations of bootleg Nado incenses roughly a decade ago but all of this has largely settled down under incense-traditions.ca, and Stephen’s most recent review is a good starter guide to the line’s classic Bhutanese scents. Honestly Bhutanese incense, at least to my nose, doesn’t vary in scent all that much, even across companies, they are usually red, purple or tan color incenses that mostly vary depending on how much sandalwood is included. Any general scan of our reviews here are likely to be referential of previous reviews as my initial take is usually something like “that’s kind of like the last one.” ZKC would be little different, it has a very traditional blend, featuring hints of sandalwood, berries, gentle spices and a bit of sweetness, a whole conglomerate of aromas that largely form a traditional Bhutanese scent (it’s listed ingredients are clove, nutmeg, saffron, red and white sandalwood and other medicinal ingredients). These are a bit fuller than most Nepalese brands, not quite as wild or variant as the monastery incenses from Tibet and are generally pretty friendly. ZKC is perhaps a little bit more astringent, there’s a bit of chalkiness in the scent but overall it still largely has that tart red berry topped smell most of the incenses in the style that are not tan colored have. If you’ve never tried a Bhutanese this is good a place to start as any, in may ways it could be the mean scent in that there are probably better and worse incenses of the style. So it’s perhaps a little generic. I also believe I got a sample of the #1 which looks like the same wrapper but white instead of pink, but I am not sure if they are different.
Nado Poizokhang / Zhingkham Kunchhab Chhoetrin (#2)
November 22, 2022 at 10:53 am (Bhutan, Mike, Nado Poizokhang, Red Sandalwood, Saffron, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.))
Gangri Thökar Nunnery / Snow Mountain Gathers Incense
November 16, 2022 at 11:16 pm (Bamboo, Cardamom, Gangri Thökar Nunnery, Mike, Myrobalan, Red Sandalwood, Saffron, Sandalwood, Semen Alpiniae Katsumadai, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Tibet Autonomous Region)
So I was just talking about the similarity of certain nunnery incenses and how a few of them have an almost amber-ish/balsamic quality to them when one comes up that isn’t quite like that at all. In fact I had to read the fine print at incense-traditions.ca to realize Snow Mountain Gathers Incense was a nunnery-sourced incense, and it sure is a fine one. And hey how wonderful it is to get a rather large ingredients list to look at: black myrobalan, white sandalwood, red sandalwood, clove, nutmeg, saffron, alpiniae katsumadai seed, fructus amomi and herb of tabasheer. I had to look up what half that stuff is, but some of the less seen ingredients seem to impart a number of really interesting new notes for this nose, herbal qualities that mix the fresh and familiar with some neat differences. One of the things I love about these deep Tibetan picks is the aromatic variation and newness, the hope that the monks and nuns are bringing forth some ancient recipe in all of its wonderful, healing glory. And honestly this is one that will keep your sensory apparati busy, it’s rich, full bodied, has both friendly and funkier notes weaving a dance together, and it has that quintessential freshness that is the hallmark of all the best Tibetans. Make no mistake, if the more dangerous Tibetan sticks aren’t to your style, this one may be a bit challenging, but for me it’s just the right amount of balance of sour/dense to high altitude/invigorating and it has a bit of brown sugar spice and sweetness on top that gives you so many places to sense the interactions. Another Hart-curated wonder scent.
Sangdanli Temple Nunnery Incense
November 2, 2022 at 4:20 am (Author, Mike, Red Sandalwood, Sandalwood, Sangdanli Temple Nunnery, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Tibet Autonomous Region)
We talk a lot about monastery incenses at ORS, but there aren’t quite as many nunnery incenses so to speak, but the ratio of really good nunnery incenses tends to be a lot higher simply because nearly all the ones I’ve had the pleasure of trying are usually quite rich and really good, even if I can probably count them all on one hand. Sangdanli Temple Nunnery Incense is one of incense-traditions most recent new finds (or well it was when I originally bought it, but it took me a lot longer to bring it up for review) and it’s a really nice blend, well worth picking up for lovers of deep Tibetan picks.
This is a very dank and intense blend that lands somewhere between the older Samye Monastery blend, before it got a bit lighter and more evergreen, and the smaller Gang-zi Mani Nunnery Incense sticks. This is something I think internally of as red and likely shares some aspects in common with other more brick reddish Tibetan sticks. The ingredients description includes “a blend of white and red sandalwood, clove and 10 other ingredients.” There is no small musk hit on these sticks, but they also have that sort of amber-ish, clay-like middle that I really find enjoyable in Tibetan incenses, there’s no feeling that this is based on filler wood. This base gives it a certain balsamic aroma to it that tends to subsume the woodiest of notes. So that it is supposed to have white and red sandalwood in it is something you might have to be told, as the blend seems to cover up most of the notes associated with those woods, except, perhaps, the element of the aroma specific to the red wood where it’s a bit sweeter in a different way. It has a lovely polish to it overall and the more you burn it, the more you will notice the varying notes of its constituency. A definite keeper (and it was out of stock when I finished writing this and am hoping a restock is coming soon!) and undoubtedly a classic of the nunnery style.
Nado Poizokhang / Happiness Incense, Jaju Grade 1, Jaju Grade 2, Cinnamon
November 24, 2021 at 1:37 pm (Bhutan, Incense, Nado Poizokhang, Red Sandalwood, Safflower, Saffron, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Spikenard / Jatamansi, Stephen)
I like to think of Nado as something like the Nippon Kodo of Bhutan. They definitely seem to be the largest and most widely exported, but surprisingly, in the West, they are also sold by disreputable sellers who are selling fake Nado. This has led to Nado, to me, being very inconsistent. Sellers like “Incense Guru” sell fakes that come with names like “Bhutanese A” or similar, and when you get them, they have Nado Poizokhang labels with little stickers over ‘made in Bhutan’ and replaced with ‘Made in Nepal’.
I bring this up because, at this time, only Incense-Traditions sells non-counterfeit, authentic Nado incense in the west. All others I have purchased from have unabashedly sold me counterfeits and when I bring it up to them, I either get ignored, ghosted, or have my account deleted from their site.
Starting off with Happiness Incense. The bamboo case it arrives in proclaims that it is a product of Bhutan, the country of Gross National Happiness. I’ve always appreciated that in the 70s and 80s, the leadership of Bhutan was so turned off by crass capitalism that when they showed up to a world summit, other leaders were asking what their GDP was and the king answered, “We don’t measure out output in money, we measure it in the happiness of the citizens”. I am familiar with this and have bought this many times from multiple vendors. Of all the recipe changes, this one surprised me because I had imagined these were ancient family recipes that you only change at your peril. Compared to my notes in my incense journal from 2015, this stick has changed a bit. I find it is less sweet and more on the ashy/bitter end of the spectrum, which feels like a misfire because my 2015 notes say that this is a spicy and sweet stick.
What I’m getting from this is a more muted sweetness, covered under a smell similar to burning slightly dirty charcoal as the base scent and then adding the spices and a touch of sweetness to it. If I had one complaint about Bhutanese incense is that it all tends to smell very similar to each other, so with this change in the recipe, you actually have something that comes across as more unique in the Bhutanese incense because I feel like the bitter/ashy component brings more gravitas and presence to the incense. However, as “Happiness Incense” I feel like this reformulation misses the mark because to me, I feel like the sweetness and spices of the original was more ‘happiness’ than this profile, but that could just be me.
Cinnamon is a really interesting creature. The bamboo case it arrives in proclaims it as “Cinnamom” (see top pic for this) which leads me to jokingly call it the “Mother of all Cinnamon Incense”. This incense lists only one ingredient, the bark of a cinnamon tree. This produces a very delightful cinnamon scent that is surprisingly complicated for one ingredient. This makes me feel like other incenses that use it are using only a bit to get a hint but since this is 100% cinnamon, you get all the notes, from sweet to spicy and the interplay keeps it from falling into a boring one-note drone of an incense.
Unlit, the stick smells like a freshly opened bottle of cinnamon sticks. But when you light it, you’re treated to a whole spectrum of cinnamon-based smells, from the candy-smell of the cinnamon oil to the bitterness of the wood, to the overwhelming denseness of the central cinnamon scent, this smell is concentrated up close, but if you get into the next room, it does smell like someone might be baking cinnamon cookies.
Jaju Grade 1 sticks come in a paper wrapper, which is completely green compared to Grade 2 which comes in cellophane. These tan sticks are about 50% thicker than the Grade 2 sticks, making the 2 sticks for daily use and the 1 sticks for special occasions. Lighting one of these up is easy thanks to the nicely ‘fluted’ edges. Immediately, the smoke comes off this with sweetness like opening a box of raisins. My understanding of Bhutanese incense is that all the ingredients are macerated into the wood powder in a special vessel and left to age together in these cold mountain monasteries. At least, the traditional incense came like that, since Nado is a factory, I’m uncertain if this is still produced traditionally like in the videos.
As I dive into this, you get a chance to feel a bit of each of the ingredients here, and I’m going to guess there is milk, honey, wine, along with aloeswood and sandalwood of different grades, as this has notes that shows off a bit of each, but the notes are definitely married together notes and not single notes that define exemplar scents. So no salty sandalwood, just a woody presence that mutes the milk and honey into something less food-like so I’m not thinking about eating while smelling them.
Spending more time with this, I have found that there is a spicier, saltier tail to this scent that gets picked up by me after I’ve spent time with the sweeter part and start looking for something more. I can sense some of the cinnamon, clove and saffron in here now, hiding behind the sweeter front scents. Definitely a good incense for those who love the Bhutanese style.
Jaju Grade 2 sticks are exactly the same length, but thinner than the Grade 1. While they look like they are made from the same dough because they are the same color, lighting this up shows off that they share different formulas. I’d say this comes across more with an opening like a spicy raisin. Like a raisin rolled in li hing mui, sugar and cinnamon. This definitely has a bit of a ‘rough around the edges’ like maybe it has lesser quality ingredients or perhaps they don’t age it as long. However, it does come across a few dollars less per roll and with it being thinner, there are more so this seems to be made for economical daily use.
Overall, the two scents are close to each other, and doing them back-to-back has helped me spot a few of the differences. I think because this one is a bit smokier in its undercurrent(I notice my clothes smelled like smoke after sitting next to it for a bit) that this one definitely has the cheaper ingredients.
Bhutan Jewel Incense of Bhutan A Traders/Tara Vegetarian Incense
November 12, 2021 at 10:24 am (Bhutan, Bhutan Jewel Incense of Bhutan A Traders, Incense, Juniper, Mike, Red Sandalwood, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.))
One may remember some months ago our review of the Drichog Chotrin Incense. I will say it is not always easy to figure out what the company or organization behind a Bhutanese incense is actually called, even looking at box, if there’s no Poizokhang involved. The boxes of both this Tara Vegetarian Incense and the Drichog Chotrin say the incense is distributed by Bhutan Jewel Incense of Bhutan A Traders and so this will suffice for now. It should also be noted that like the Drichog Chotrin, the box is designed completely in English as for import purposes. Tara Vegetarian Incense is also indicated as vegan friendly and there seems to be some marketing application involved here, as it often seems like the very existence of a vegetarian incense seems to imply that some range of unnamed incenses actually isn’t. I am not sure if there is the same cultural level magnifying glass on this issue in Bhutan as there is in the US and the west, but there you have it. The ingredients listed on this one are cinnamon, juniper powder, and white and red sandalwood powder and what is perhaps very clear about it is these ingredients are all indeed the main ones you can glean from a burn of this incense. It’s actually quite simple overall with the spice on woods mix and although it’s woody enough to approach the usual high altitude sort of campfire vibe of the juniper, the sandalwood mellows it out a great deal. So in a lot of ways it’s an almost definitive baseline sort of Tibetan stick without a lot of regional herbs and ingredients to complicate it. However, the resolution of the ingredients that are involved make this just a little better than calling it an average Tibetan incense.
Lopen Tandin Dorji Poizo Khang / Tara Puja Incense
October 27, 2021 at 6:01 am (Bhutan, Camphor, Borneol, Food, Honey, Incense, Juniper, Lopen Tandin Dorji Poizo Khang, Mike, Red Sandalwood, Saffron, Sal Tree (Shorea Robusta), Sandalwood, Sugar)
I might have this a bit off but in Bhutan a Poizo Khang/Poi Zokhang translates to something like a house of incense. Nado Poizokhang appears to be the largest of these incense houses, but there’s quite a few small ones as well and most seem to include the creators in their name (Mr. Nado is considered the father of Bhutan’s commercial incense industry), in this case one Lopen Tandin Dorji. While you will see what looks like two incenses in the pictures, about the only thing that seems different to me from the two packages is the color. The ingredients listed on both wrappers include red and white sandalwoods, juniper, species of fragrant plant, camphor, the resin of the Sal Tree, saffron, three sweets of sugar, honey and molasses, and three with milk, curd and butter. You may be happy to know there is no meat, alcohol or onion in this incense. Tara incenses relate to the meditation deity Tara in Vajrayana Buddhism and the colors relate to different forms of Tara, so it is assumed the incenses are intended for the specific forms. However, for Western noses, both of these incenses (green and yellow wrapper) seem aromatically identical and if there are any differences in recipe they are beyond my threshold to be able to tell. I lit both sequentially and at the same time to compare.
Tara Puja is actually a very friendly incense overall and the ingredients all seem high quality. I find that it reminds me a little of the long disappeared Lung Ta line which also claimed to list foods like honey or milk in the ingredients and however they formulate these (because imagine burning either on their own), they impart a bit of their own richness to the mix. But outside of these you’re essentially getting something of a woody and spicy blend. They actually seem a bit more akin to Nepalese incenses more than say the red/purple or Jaju styles normally found in Bhutanese incense houses, but there are still some similarities. The sandalwoods, juniper and the saffron seem well up in the mix, and the spice accentuates the sort of high altitude, evergreen feel without leaning into campfire directions. Whichever wrapper you choose, this isn’t a bad choice for an entry point into Bhutanese incense, and if you are stocked up on the traditionals you may still find this to be a different take, not to mention nice and friendly.
Sanbodhi / Incense Coils: Cold-Dissipation, Heat-Dispelling, Mind Soothing, Spirit Stimulation, Yoga
October 9, 2021 at 7:30 am (Cedar, China, Coils, Incense, Juniper, Red Sandalwood, Sanbodhi, Sandalwood, Stephen)
I have been trying to find other providers of this incense other than Amazon but Amazon seems to be the one bringing this Chinese/Tibetan company to the West. I have known of Sanbodhi for several years, as I keep trying to find more quality Chinese incense makers to showcase and discuss. Initially, I only had access to the Cold-Dispelling coils, which are among some of my favorite Tibetan Style smells. Currently, only a handful of these are left on Amazon but they tend to restock all five flavors so if you don’t see one, definitely check back. If I find a better source that keeps them in stock, I’ll edit this post. Also, as I find more information or even a website for them, I’ll update this post, but for now, Amazon lists them as operating out of China.
The can for Cold-Dissipation (no link due to out of stock) changes color as the first one was blue and the second was red. The incense inside has been the same. This is a formula I’ve encountered in different incense producers, and it often shows up as ‘Medicine Buddha’ or ‘Healing Incense’. It has a salty, woody front that reminds me a bit of a cheap aloeswood or a lower resin content aloeswood. There is a bitter-sweet follow-up of something medicinal, a smell that I recognize from multiple Tibetans, and I have always associated this scent with the ‘Medicine Nectars’ that Bosen lists in their ingredients. The marketing copy suggests that his is good for winter time, reducing the amount of dampness that cold causes (runny noses and phlegm). However that works out, I have always found this a nice cool temperature incense in that it tends to smell better when the temperature is cooler and more ashy and smoky when it’s warmer. As a result, I haven’t burned this as much in Hawaii but I used to burn it year-round in SF.
Heat-Dispelling seems very similar in scent to the Cold-Dissipation coil, but it seems saltier, less sweet with a slight juniper note. This claims to be good for dissipating the heat from summer, for preventing heat stroke and similar overheating types of conditions. As such, I imagined it was better to burn this when it was hot in the middle of the afternoon rather than a cool evening or morning. While I can’t speak much to the medicinal aspect, the smoke does seem ‘cooling’ in the same way mint or menthol can give off that cooling/refreshing feeling. This doesn’t have the same bitter-sweet center and instead it is more woody, reminding me of cedar/juniper blends.
I decided to hold off on reviewing Mind Soothing (no link due to out of stock) because I wanted to try it when things were getting rough. Well, it’s Monday afternoon and this was a particularly rough day with a lot of things breaking. So here I am lighting up the Mind Soothing coil and noting it’s a lot milder than the first two. It has a much more bitter presence, like more of the evergreen/juniper than the previous two and less of whatever the sweeter cedar wood used for the first two. I will say that it is kind of calming, just listening to the coil. I’m not sure if this is a cure-all for the worst day of your life but definitely more like a beer after work. As the wood scent builds up after it is about 20% into it, there is a note that wasn’t there at the start, and it is sort of like a breakfast cereal note. This is more like the smell of the inside of a box of breakfast cereal after you’ve removed the packaging. It’s part cardboard, part something sweet. It isn’t unpleasant, it’s just the closest parallel I could draw to what I’m getting off this note. While this isn’t going to be a strong room-scenting coil, it is definitely a relaxing companion and makes my recommendation list.
I decided to try Spirit Stimulation as a “first cup of the day”, before I have my normal tea. I wanted to see if it indeed stimulated me and got me going. I’m normally a morning person so perhaps this isn’t the best test but I do feel alert and focused. How does it smell? Well, I would say this scent is even milder than the Mind Soothing, so mild that I kept having to leave the room and come back in to really notice the difference because it’s subtle enough to just sort of ‘creep up on you’ and you don’t notice the smell as much because you’re in it. It is less salty and has more of a subtle wooden note with a few herbs. Almost like someone took a piece of pine and set a few aromatics on top of the pine and then it got set next to a old-fashioned steam radiator and the aromatics and wood smell subtly increase. Now I say pine but it is a kind of generic ‘warm wood’ smell as it smells like a sheet of plywood that is sitting in the sun, it doesn’t smell like combusting wood even though it is burning.
Yoga starts out with a much less mild and more spicy scent. I’m reviewing this almost immediately after Spirit Stimulation so compared to the previous, this has far more going for it. There is something like a hint of frankincense like you’d get with a good Lotus Ground. The salty woods are here but they take a back seat to the medicinal-frankincense type note that is in the foreground. The marketing copy on the side of the can says “This incense is prepared according to the Tibetan ancient incense formula to help the concentration in yoga practice. It is also used to relieve fatigue.” I feel like I agree with this statement and that while subtle, it is doing what it is supposed to all while smelling great.
Zurkhar Herbal Incense
September 29, 2021 at 5:42 am (Incense, Mike, Red Sandalwood, Saffron, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Tibet Autonomous Region)
Zurkhar Herbal Incense includes “37 types of herbal and therapeutic ingredients which include red and white sandalwoods, saffron and nutmeg.” So basically a fairly in the pocket Tibetan for sure. It’s interesting because the most central scent I notice isn’t really any of these things, it’s really the concentration of the other woods in the blend, probably the juniper, cedar and mild evergreen qualities. Around these I notice the sandalwoods a bit more and then outside of this the spices. Strangely the saffron doesn’t seem quite as heavy or noticeable as it usually is in incenses that list it. So although this is the mild and woody incense it’s advertised as, it’s also a little bit on the campfire side, just not harsh enough to make that a pejorative. I will say though that this is different to the salty-tangy Tun-Da blends and the more evergreen Aba Prefecture incenses, it’s much closer to Nepali incenses except the commonly imported Nepalis will not wow you with distinct and quality incense notes like this one will. I find Zurkhar mostly fascinating because it’s a bit of a chameleon and has a few other notes it likes to surprise you with. This one’s a bit of a work of art, I’m not sure it’s herbal in the sense I usually think of it, but it’s certainly quite pleasant. And under $10 it’s nicely priced too.
Ba’er Qude Si / Incense Cones
September 18, 2021 at 7:11 am (Ba'er Qude Si, Incense, Mike, Red Sandalwood, Safflower, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Tibet Autonomous Region)
Like the Ganden Monastery cones, Ba’er Qude Si Cones seem very similar to the monastery’s flagship stick incense. However, the ingredients list is a bit different and includes white and red sandalwood, safflower, clove and other ‘natural, medical ingredients’ (the jar itself also adds three kinds of aloes). We can assume that the safflower subsitutes for the the saffron, but there isnt anly lilac, musk or cardamom listed and instead there’s the clove, which you might not pick up much of at all if it wasn’t listed. It all adds up to a lot of things you’d expect from a red color scent except that the aloeswood that is weaved in here is fairly typically Tibetan and you can tell that part of its intent is to be relaxing as it’s supposed to help with insomnia. The other difference from the Ganden cone is these don’t have the drillhole that marks them as backflow cones so you can’t use these cones on those types of burners, but frankly that works for me a little better as backflow cones don’t work as well on a bed of ash either (well I might get one of those cool holders one of these days!). The aroma still falls in a roughly autumnal area, although some of this may come from the safflower in the mix, but it also feels something like an Agar 31 incense in discguise. It’s a bit milder and less complex as a bouquet than the stick and as always the issue with many a cone is that the mix tends to be a bit harsher to my taste, especially when the cone reaches the base and the end of the burn. But earlier on, it’s still pleasant, quite comparable to the Ganden cone which I might tell apart from the backflow holes only. Incense Traditions also mentions a yellow jar of these that originates from a different temple as well, so there might be some mild variation.
Ze Li Monastery Incense
September 12, 2021 at 5:05 am (Agarwood / Aloeswood / Eaglewood, Cardamom, Lilac, Mike, Red Sandalwood, Saffron, Sandalwood, Spice (Cinnamon Clove Nutmeg etc.), Ze Li Monastery)
It is great to see that incense-traditions.ca continues to expand their inventory to include the incenses from newly found monasteries as with every new monastery in the line up there’s a new treasure to check out. Ze Li Monastery incense is one of these new additions to the catalog, it contains white and red sandalwoods, cardamom, lilac, cloves, saffron and agarwood. It’s described as a milder incense, which is definitely fair in my book as it seems to have a very light wood base to it that I tend to find more in common with Nepali incenses. There’s a little bit of musk in it which I mostly notice due to the way it interacts with the cardamom and cloves mix. The agarwood is mixed in in a similar proportion to how you might find it in a relaxing or soothing blend (like Agar 31), which I often think is the point, it feels whether its low or high grade wood there is something that really kind of plugs into the calming side. There’s a light saltiness that you tend to find in a lot of monastery incenses and although not listed, it feels like there’s some cedar and juniper in the mix too. Maybe the closest scent I can think of might be Ganden Monastery’s main line incense since both have a similar level of strength, although Ganden might be a bit more deluxe than Ze Li. But what they both have in common is the way they can take a large ingredient profile and make that consonant as one incense. And like Ganden this incense has the ability to surprise you with the occasional subnote you may have missed. I keep noticing something subtle like licorice pop out at times even if I don’t always notice it.
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