What is Incense?

Direct-burning incense is usually found in the form of incense sticks and incense cones, but you can also make it at home using aromatic herbs and a sticky binding agent.

The most prevalent way to make direct-burning incense commercially involves distilling the aromatic materials into essential oils and blending with perfume industry synthetics to create fragrance oils.

Incense sticks are made with a wooden core, which is typically made of bamboo as it’s strong, fast growing and relatively odorless.

Finely ground bamboo or charcoal is mixed with a binding agent, and then pressed onto a bamboo stick or molded into an incense cone, then fragrance oils are applied.

The odorless incense stick or cone is dipped in fragrance oils, absorbs some, and then is placed aside to cure, which essentially means dry. If there is too much moisture in the incense it will not burn effectively.

After the incense has cured, flame is applied directly to the incense stick or cone, and then blown out, leaving a smoldering ember that releases the fragrant smoke. Direct-burning incense made this way is fairly durable and transportable.

Backflow incense cones are a novel form of direct-burning incense. The cones vary in size and shape, but always have a hole drilled into the bottom. This is essential for creating the waterfall smoke effect. Smoke will both rise from the top of the cone, and cascade from the bottom if placed on a backflow cone burner.

The cascading waterfall smoke effect will only be achieved if the backflow incense cone is placed on a backflow burner. These incense burners have a hole in the base where the cone is set and a design that encourages the pooling and cascading of the incense smoke.

One of the most frequently heard complaints about backflow incense cones is related to their smell. While all incense cones produce a certain amount of smoke, the incense quality can significantly impact the fragrance. If the cones are inexpensive the fragrance may not be enjoyable but they will still produce the waterfall effect.

Additionally, backflow incense cones leave an oily residue on the burner. This residue accumulates while the cone burns, which can cause an acrid burnt oil odour toward the end of the burn. This smell will linger if the incense burner is not cleaned regularly.

The oily residue is a natural byproduct of the incense cone burning process, but it can be more pronounced with backflow cones due to how the smoke flows and settles. Remember, quality matters when it comes to incense, so choose your backflow cones wisely and maintain your burner regularly to enjoy the best possible experience.

Another method for making direct-burning incense is to take the dried aromatic incense materials and mix them with a plant based binding agent or honey.

The sticky fragrant paste is then rolled around a bamboo incense stick or pressed into an incense cone. Incense made by this method needs to be handled gently and moved minimally as it tends to crumble easily.

Flame is applied directly and then blown out, allowing the incense to smolder and release fragrant smoke. Be cautious with incense made this way as it can easily crumble while burning and loose embers can pose a fire hazard.

Binding agents involving sugar may produce a burning smell that overpowers the aromatics, and keep in mind not all plants that have a lovely aromatic oil maintain their fragrance quality when burned.

Indirect-burning incense refers mostly to fragrant resins and mixtures of aromatic materials that do not ignite. They release fragrance when next to a heat source, such as a smoldering coal.

For example, benzoin is a traditional resin used as indirect-burning incense. Heated coals are placed in a heat resistant vessel, and pieces of the incense resin or resin mixture are placed directly next to the coals. As the resin heats up it releases fragrance.

Incense fragrances are first and foremost based on the natural world, and include a variety of common woods, flowers and spices that are very well known to most noses. Rose, cinnamon, cedar, lavender, sage, lemongrass, jasmine  - these are all familiar and popular incense fragrances.

While these scents vary from brand to brand of incense, you have a good idea of the realm of scent you are going to experience with say a lilac incense, or a familiar wood like pine.

When it comes to incense fragrance blends, often named for states of mind or being, like Protection or Meditation, those are extremely open to interpretation and every brand will have a different take.

There are also some fragrances that are very common in the incense world, but their names may leave you stumped as to what fragrance they are actually referring to. Prime examples are Dragon’s Blood and Amber incense, both very common, but far less universal in terms of knowing what they actually smell like.

Dragon’s Blood is a resin that has been used for centuries in medicine, pigments and incense. It is derived from two sources, the most prevalent being different species within the plant genera: Calamus (previously Daemonorops), which are in the palm family.

The other less common source is from the Socotra dragon tree, Dracaena Cinnabari, which also produces a dark red sap and is native to the Socotra archipelago in the Arabian Sea.

Dragon’s Blood incense has a very distinct fragrance that is powdery, slightly floral and spicy. We like to think of it as the incense you would encounter in a fortune teller’s den. It has a hauntingly familiar scent, very old world and mystical.  

Amber can refer to fossilized tree resin, a warm powdery perfume component derived from varieties of rockrose shrubs, or be mistaken with Ambergris, which comes from the intestines of whales and is also used in perfumery.

Fossilized amber makes for beautiful jewelry, and can contain the remains of ancient insects. This fact was made widely known by Jurassic Park.

Amber in perfumery is often a blend of resins and other warm, deep fragrances like vanilla. Labdanum is the primary component, which is the name of the sticky resin of the rockrose or cistus shrub. Amber is a basenote in Chanel No5.

Ambergris, also used in perfumery, is animal derived. It appears as a floating lump on the ocean, a dark waxy mass that has a marine, fecal aroma, which sounds absolutely appalling. When this gross mass ages, the fragrance becomes sweet and earthy, apparently pleasant enough to be distilled and used for perfume.

Ambergris is produced within the digestive tracts of sperm whales, but there is debate as to which end it is expelled from. It is also speculated that perhaps it actually forms an intestinal blockage and kills the whale by rupturing its guts. Grim stuff, but that is nature. While the purpose of ambergris is not certain, squid beaks are often found within the mass, suggesting it is created to encase them and ease passage through the digestive system.

Let's face it: "incense" isn't the easiest word to spell. Whether you're a seasoned incense enthusiast or a newbie just dipping your nose into the aromatic offerings, you've probably stumbled over its spelling at least once.

First up, we have "insense." It looks almost right, but nope, it's not quite there. Imagine typing "insense" into your search bar and wondering why you aren't getting the results you expected.

Next, there's "incence." This one is a real sneaky misspelling. Just one tiny letter off, but it makes a big difference. You might think it looks right, but unfortunately, even though it's not lighting up our spell-check radar, it’s still not spelled correctly.

Then we have "inscense." Adding an extra 's' doesn't make it more special; it just makes it more wrong! This version sounds like a fancy new fragrance brand, but it’s just a common misspelling.

“Inscence" is yet another twist in the tale of misspellings. It’s like a blend of all the previous errors rolled into one. It almost feels like an adventure trying to figure out the correct spelling of this!

Written by Flore