Incense

Miscellaneous Discussion. Any topics that don't fit in other areas of the forum.


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Dec 5th, '10, 21:03
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Incense

by the_skua » Dec 5th, '10, 21:03

I know that some tea drinkers are also big aficionados of japenese incense. I'd like to get my father some special incense for Christmas. He's a big fan of the smelly stuff...he likes Arabian aoud, agarwood, palo santo, and things that are mostly natural. He has some concern about using sustainably harvested sources.

Do any tea drinkers have any sources they could share? It would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

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Dec 6th, '10, 22:07
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Re: Incense

by chingwa » Dec 6th, '10, 22:07

For convenience, I find Tom's Incense to be a great place to get a whole range of quality incense... I've ordered from him a number of times and it's always been a good experience. It looks like recently he put his store onto Amazon...

Also a good resource for learning about new incense is http://olfactoryrescueservice.wordpress.com/

As for my own recommendations, I am by no means educated in the world of incense, but I do have two perennial favorites:

the first is a lower quality sandalwood based stick from Shoyeido... Kyoto Autumn Leaves (in their 'daily incense' series)... is nice and cheap and should have little in it to worry those opposed to burning pieces of endangered trees... it has a delicate and understated earthy sweetness, a curiously japanese scent.

The second is an aloeswood from Baiedo... kaiunkoh. It's relatively affordable for a finer quality incense... it has a very elegant and dry scent.

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There is a previous thread on incense recommendations here:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=12305

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Dec 6th, '10, 22:14
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Re: Incense

by chingwa » Dec 6th, '10, 22:14

Also... one of my current favorites is Fu-in kyara rugen from Minorien. this is a premium quality incense for sure, both in price and scent. it has a very rich and complex scent but not overpoweringly so...

because of the kyara/aloeswood base it maybe shouldn't be recommended to those concerned with sustainability. however it is an excellent incense (to my mind) and you can purchase their mini box which gives you 20 half-sized sticks for around $40... a great way to sample some "high quality" incense without breaking the bank. ^_^

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Dec 7th, '10, 10:01
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Re: Incense

by the_skua » Dec 7th, '10, 10:01

Thanks for the tips. I checked out the brands you mentioned and decided on a sampler pack from Shoyeido, because I didn't want to buy him a whole pack of one thing he may not like. This way he can try them out and get more if there's one he really likes. And in small quantity the impact is less, if unsustainable woods are used.

Thanks again!

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