Incense Consistency

Over the years I have gotten a good number of inquiries about the consistency of various products.

It is good to remember that when you are dealing with what we call Whole Herb Incense that the materials used in this type of incense are aromatically variable. None of these ingredients is 100% constant, although a few are less variable than others.

The only way to get absolute consistency is to use 100% synthetic fragrances.

Experienced Blenders can make adjustments to help keep an incense product consistent, but only so much can be done. For example, the range of available benzoin can vary from Tears to Almonds, and from Sumatran to Siam. Going from a Siam Tear to a Sumatran Almond is a big jump.

Sandalwood Tree

Young Aloeswood Seedlings

Cinnamon and Clove are more stable, but Agarwoods and Sandalwoods are increasingly difficult to obtain and even more difficult for some agarwood subtypes.

So if you notice some changes in your favorite incense, remember it is very much a living thing and subject to all the forces other living things experience.

David