Incense has been with mankind since the beginning of time. Among the many delights and surprises of nature is fragrance. Whether entering a forest, or coming upon a fragrant flower, one is often amazed at the subtlety and joy of scent. With this in mind, this is truly what incense can create. Incense artifacts, thousands of years old, have been found throughout the world, and appear to be part of virtually every culture and religion. IncenseHQ has carefully selected the finest incense from India, Japan and the U.S. Here are some of the differences in them.

India:

Indian incense is usually made on bamboo sticks. The most common types are scented sticks and masala sticks. Scented sticks are hand made first out of charcoal. These sticks may contain other natural ingredients such as wood, spices and resin to create a base note scent. From here these sticks can be dipped in many different blends of perfumes and or essential oils. Charcoal incenses are black or near black in color, and are distinctive because they are rich in aromatic perfumes. These differ greatly from most “punks” that are made in North American. See North America below for the story on punks.

Masala’s are a blend of herbs and or spices, such as those used in making curries or other food dishes. Masala incenses are made by blending a number of solid ingredients into a paste which is then hand rolled onto a bamboo core stick. These sticks may seem to never dry because of the paste and may be moist. Others do dry, but these sticks are very fragrance and unique in their bouquet. These sticks are usually more costly then the charcoal type because of how they are made and what they are made out of.

There are of course the dhoops and cones. Cones can be made like a masala or dipped as well. Dhoops are more like Japanese incense but are still very Indian in their aroma.

Japan:

Japanese incense is different from Indian incense in that in contains no bamboo core or stick. Natural gums, resins, precious woods, spices, and floral ingredients are loaded into vats where they are mixed with other organic raw materials. This mix is then loaded into machines, which extrude the long strings of incense, resembling spaghetti through a cluster of tiny orifices. From here they are cut evenly and laid out neatly and meticulously in wooden forms where they are left to dry. The mix may also be used to make cones or coils by placing them into molds. Once dry, they may be packed or continued to age or dry in temperature controlled rooms with just the right amount of air and light.

Many varieties of natural ingredients (sometimes 50 or more) are combined to make just the right scent. Most Japanese incense uses a base of either aloeswood or sandalwood and then builds upon that. Japanese incense is clean and never overwhelming.

North America:

Unfortunately, the U.S. and Canada is not known for it’s quality incense (except for it’s Native American). The main problem in North America is that there are many cheaply produced sticks and cones. The most commonly found incense is made from firecracker punks. These “blanks” or “punks” are imported from the far east and made from unprocessed wood, scraps or sawdust and were really never intended for incense. They may then be dipped into solutions containing synthetic aromatic chemicals and then sold at a high profit. These sticks are known for leaving people with headaches and leaving a poor after aroma. The after aroma is always the same burnt wood smell regardless of the scent during the burn, the end result is the same shortly after the oils have diminished.

Now with that out of the way, not all products in North America are this way. There are few dippers and manufactures here that do make quality products. The best we have found is Gonesh. Their product is based on using the finest charcoals and oils and they have become one of the best selling incense brands in the U.S. For this reason, we have elected to make this our only U.S. manufactured product featured here at IncenseHQ. Other U.S. companies such as Primo and Maui Lani use Indian based sticks for their incense.

Native American: