Behind the Scenes
What Actually Goes Into an Incense Stick
Four ingredients, and a long list of things we leave out. Here is what is actually in the pack.
Incense is one of those products where the label rarely tells you much. Ours is short enough to print in full, so here it is.
What is in it
- Temple flowers. Collected the evening they are offered, sorted by hand, sun-dried and ground. This is the bulk of the stick.
- Natural gum binder. Tree gum, which holds the paste together on the bamboo and lets it dry hard without cracking.
- Essential and aroma oils. Food-grade, added at the blending stage rather than sprayed on afterwards.
- A bamboo stick. Split and sized by hand.
What is not in it
Charcoal. The most common ingredient in commercial incense and the reason most of it smells of smoke rather than of anything in particular. Leaving it out makes the paste harder to work with and the drying slower, which is the trade we accept.
Synthetic fragrance oil. Cheaper, far stronger, and it survives a hot burn better than a natural oil does. It also smells the same from the first minute to the last, which is the giveaway.
Dye. Our sticks are the colour the flowers make them. Batches vary a little through the year because what the temples receive varies with the season.
Why the smell changes as it burns
Natural oils are made of compounds that evaporate at different temperatures, so the lighter, brighter notes come off first and the heavier woody ones last. A stick that smells identical from end to end is telling you something about how it was made.
