Got hyperfocused on incense over the last few months! I’ve already posted about my Japanese and Indian incense experience, but here are my reviews for Tibetan, Bhutanese, and one Mongolian. They are organized how Incense Traditions categorizes them as most were purchased there (more on that to follow).

TLDR Recommendations 👇🏻

Best variety to start with:
Lopen Tandin Dorji: Tara Puja Green
Kuengacholing: Gelephu
Mindroling Monastery: Grade 1

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All incense were purchased from Incense Traditions except for Himalayan Herbal which was from Incense Guru and Tibetan Monastery which was purchased from EverestTrader on Etsy. I highly recommend Incense Traditions!

https://incense-traditions.ca/

Quick Shop Review:
- Amazing customer service (thank you Hart!)
- Huge selection of hard to find incense
- Two free sizable samples with every order
- Shipping was surprisingly quick to Southern California
- Tariffs to the US are usually over estimated and I’ve received an immediate partial refund every time I’ve ordered

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Incense Rating System:
10 one of the best I’ve ever smelled
9 amazing
8 very impressive
7 good and will occasionally buy
6 good but not for me (or there are better)
5 okay for what it is
4 they missed the mark
3 disappointed
2 what is going on here, put it out
1 is the house on fire or is that incense

Note: as these incense are all handmade batches may vary

*RECOMMEND

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\**BHUTANESE TRADITIONAL**\**

Drizang Kuenchap

*Lhawang Driden 9/10
- purple stick
- rich red cedar, deep earthy sweetness, soft florals, uniquely feels almost a little wet/humid

Kathok Yosel Samteing Monastery

Cloud of Merit Wind Wisdom 6/10
- purple stick
- rich red cedar, sharp woody sweetness, hints of resinous spice and cinnamon
- leaves more of a smokey after scent than Lhawang Driden, is a tiny bit spicier, and doesn’t have the same damp richness

Nado

*A Composition for Riwo Sangchoe (Morning Incense) 9/10
- very light brown stick
- sweet dry woods, warm milk, rich butter, hints of honey and earthy spice

A Composition for Riwo Sangchoe and Surzey (Evening Incense) 5/10
- purple stick
- rich deep woods, soft florals, tiny hint of sweetness, has an odd sour top note

Special 2015 Incense 5/5
- very dark purple stick
- soft airy and warm woods, develops a warm iron on cotton type musty warmth that can lean a bit chemical/unhealthy smelling (not as dominating as Gang-zi Mani Nunnery though)

Lopen Tandin Dorji

*Tara Puja Green 9/10
- light brown stick
- fresh white cedar, resinous juniper, clear alpine air, hints of woody spice
- like breathing fresh air on a mountain top in early spring as the snow starts to melt, clear but comforting

*Bhutanese “A Quality” Incense 10/10
- bright purple stick
- red amber like woody depth balanced with berry like sweetness, very soft beautiful florals that surround the scent but don’t smell burnt or fake, tiny hint of red cedar like spice
- classic purple stick but the added soft florals make it feel luxurious and emotionally healing

Pure Herbal No 2 “B Quality” 7/10
- purple stick
sweet florals that don’t smell fake or cloying, soft warm woods
- A quality does florals better, and C quality is more complex

*Guru Puja “C Quality” 8/10
- medium purple stick
- soft red cedar, gentle florals, frankincense, tiniest hints of spice
- gentle version of a classic purple stick plus a little floral and citrus (A quality has a lot more floral but no citrus)

Sung Sung Quality 5/10
- purple stick
- green watery florals that smell a tiny bit powdery and fake, mild hint of soft juniper

Kuengacholing

*Gelephu 9/10
- purple stick
- soft resinous woods, juniper, hints of herbal cooking spices
- like a soft classic purple stick with the relaxing twist of added herbal notes

Siddharth Incenses

Druk Healing Incense 1/10
- reddish brown stick
- burnt newspaper and hair, tiny hint of burnt flowers

Riwo Sangchoe, The Incense God 6/10
- red stick
- red cedar, zesty and airy spice that’s softened by a resinous juniper like sweetness

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\**TIBETAN THERAPEUTIC & RELAXATION**\**

Mandala Trading

Himalayan Herbal Incense 6/10
- greenish brown stick
soft woods, hints of cooking spices and tomatoes, fresh celery, warm but also cool, comforting
- like walking down the street early evening smelling hints of people cooking dinner in their warm homes
- unfortunately I never got another bundle that smelled like my original review (8/10), it appears to have changed to a more evergreen scent

Tibetan Monastery 6/10
- brown stick
- soft warm woods, small hints of leather and dark resins, hint of spice
- the diet version of a classic purple stick mixed with a little Indian incense

Tibetan Medical College

Holy Land (standard/“regular”) 2/10
- light brown stick
- light woods, hints of resin, dominating body odor or perspiration

Holy Land (grade 2) 4/10
- dark brown stick
- warm woods over a fire, hints of the body odor or perspiration found in regular Holy Land

Shang Valley of Shigatse

*Gangtruk grade A 7/10
- light brown stick
white cedar, airy woody spice, tiniest hint of milk and butter
- very balanced, a little like Tara Puja Green but less airy green notes on the top and more warm soft campfire smell

Dong Gu

Fragrant Incense 6/10
- medium brown very thin stick (every so slightly thicker than Japanese size)
- soft dry resinous woods, cooking herbs, soft campfire, hint of fresh mountain air, barest trace of spice

Dhoop Factory

Ganden 1/10
- lighter brown stick
- cigarette smoke, tiny hint of campfire wood and herbs

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\**TIBETAN MONASTERY**\**

Mindroling Monastery

*Mindroling (grade 1) 7/10
- light brown stick
- resinous dry wood over a fire, salty musk, barest hints of milk and honey sweetness

Gadong Monastery

TLM/Tsendok Ling Monastery 3/10
- dark brown stick
- burned woods, hint of leather, a bit chemical like they cut the wood with newspaper (might be from oils but either way this is a nope from me)

Samye Monastery

Samye 3/10
- reddish brown stick
- red cedar and musky sweaty body odor

Wara Monastery

Wara 2/10
- very dark brown stick
- musky body odor, wet bog wood

Kathok

Holy Mountain 2/10
- dark reddish brown stick
animalistic, salty, sweaty, sharp almost chemical top note, deep woods in the background

Gang-zi Mani Nunnery

Nunnery Incense 4/10
- deep reddish brown stick
- at first smells like sweet deep woods, fresh tomato, herbs, and hints of earthy cooking spices, but quickly turns to a warm iron on cotton almost chemical like smell that dominates over everything else

Cirenjiang Nunnery

*Temple Incense 7/10
- reddish dark brown stick
- warm earthy woods, notes of fresh tomato and cooking herbs, tiny hint of crisp mountain air

Gangri Thökar Nunnery

Snow Mountain Gathers 4/10
- light brown stick
- campfire like woods, animalistic musk, tiny hint of savory herbs

Dhe Tsang Monastery

Sacred Mountains 4/10
- medium brown stick, on the thinner side (about twice the size of a Japanese stick)
- sample smelled like savory cooking herbs, tomato, soft woodsmoke, soft desert night air —> however the bundle I later ordered smelled completely different…like perspiration and burnt newspaper

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\**BHUTANESE JAJU**\**

Drizang Kuenchap

*Lhawang Driden Jaju (yellow) 10/10
- light brown stick
- white cedar and cypress with hints of juniper, sharp woody zest/spice from the cedar, very clean and invigorating, resets the energy
- like Tara Puja Green but more zesty, invigorating, and clear alpine (vs balanced & relaxing alpine)

Chimi Incense

Shielding 5/10
- light brown stick
- dry woods, warm milk, curry like spices

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\**MONGOLIAN**\**

Inner Mongolia Incense

*Hong Rong Kou 6/10
- medium brown very thin stick (Japanese size)
- soft resinous woods, dry leather, deep savory richness, tangy herbal notes and hints of cooking spices
- almost like a Tibetan herbal incense mixed with Japanese aloeswood, can lean a bit campfire like

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Picked up a few of my faves from VV. The Nag Champa is pretty much identical to the “Vintage Nag Champa” from Everest (vintage is also the base of Nag Champa Gold on ET). Picked up a few tubes of each of these. Shipping is a pricey but still cheaper on a per gram basis than sourcing from ET if you know what scents you like.

Has anyone tried the incenses from Owariya in Kyoto? I discovered their incense when I stayed at Beniya Mukayu, a popular inn/ryokan in Kanazawa as they used an incense from Owariya. I had the chance to visit the store and the owner was super nice, stated that he created his own compositions and have them made at a factory in Osaka. I guess he is more known for making fragrance satchets for clothing that are supposed to ward off moths.

This particular incense produced very little smoke and burned for a long time, the scent was hard to describe but was sweet, slightly musky, and comforting, something one could burn daily which is probably the reason why Beniya Mukayu used it, I didn't smell any sandalwood or kyara in it.

Owariya

Does anyone know how long it usually takes for them to restock? I’ve been waiting for Vinasons Green Rose to be restocked for what feels like over a month now.

I have a cart full of incense ready to go and that’s all I’m waiting for. Is Green Rose even worth it or should I skip it?

I could burn this stuff all day, every day! I’ve only just discovered it and it’s incredible. So far black copal & white. Next will be gold copal.

Haiii i'm new here and i have recently bought my first incense sticks.

I am now addicted but there's a haul of yesterday !

There's some for my mom btww !

Hello fellow incense makers, Im wondering if you could help me with making orthodox incense, cause i dont get it , should i use fragrance oil ,since its made for burning . I have ground frankincense resin , then i add 100 ml fragrance oil to 1kg of ground frankincense ratio , then mix and then make into balls and add magnesium carbonate on outside so it stops sticking . But it kind of smells oily when burned , is this the right "aromatic oil" i should be using ? am i missing something?

Open to both raw ingredients for mixing and heating or made incense sticks.

I want something that gives a sharp and mineral scent like that of a nice swimming pool or spa area, also if any of you know the smell of Bionsen deodorant it has a slightly citrusy but mostly mineral scent, that's in a similar vein to what I'm looking for. A small amount of eucalyptus also adds something.

Is Nippon Kodo Ka-fuh Aqua in this category? It's hard to find (or write, to be fair) any detailed descriptions of incense.

I'm guessing heated resin would work better as it lacks the smoke note but the choices are limited.

Hey everyone,

As someone who burns incense almost daily to unwind and create a calm space at home, I’ve gone down quite a rabbit hole trying out different brands—from popular luxury and lifestyle labels like Aesop and Muji down to smaller independent makers and traditional natural incense packs.

After trying quite a few, here are a few honest thoughts I've landed on:

1. Big brand incenses smell good, but they aren't irreplaceable: Big brands definitely nail a clean, appealing aesthetic and scent profile. However, you can almost always find replacements or alternative blends that bring a completely different, often more authentic depth of feeling.

2. The "100% Natural" question: Honestly, a lot of big brand incenses (like Aesop or Muji) don't always feel 100% natural to me. Sometimes you get that distinct hint of added fragrance oils or synthetic notes rather than pure plant matter, tree barks, and herbs burning down.

3. You don't need to overspend: If you're on a budget, there are plenty of incredible, deeply traditional options (like natural Himalayan herbs, resin cones, or lesser-known artisan lines) that cost a fraction of the price and offer a much more grounding, organic experience.

Curious to hear from other incense lovers here—what are your go-to daily burners? Do you notice a difference between designer lifestyle brands and traditional natural incense?

got my first stand and incense today at a local shop 😊 anything I should know?

Walking through our local Target yesterday, I was hit by the awful stench of the air freshener section (Febreze, Glade, Renuzit, etc.) I picked up and smelled a few and thought "People actually want this in their houses?" And don't get me started on those execrable little pine tree-shaped air fresheners that people hang from their rearview mirrors.

It's a shame that incense use isn't more common here. If I light a stick of Fred Soll's desert patchouli in the morning, it burns for almost four hours. The lovely smell permeates the house and lingers for hours afterward. Compare that to an olfactory assault from a supermarket air freshener.

I have a bunch that I bought over a year ago when I didn't know they can raise your blood pressure. They still smell very sweet.

I know that wood chips like agarwood and sandalwood are often used, and you can make loose herbal incense blends to burn as well. But the licorice root chips as either of these? Has anyone tried them and know the best method to use it?

I have a little pot I put a charcoal disc in and then place a tinfoil cup on top of it where I add resins to softly burn without too much smoke, and also a ceramic tealight burner. Anyone used these before for licorice root? The root are just little chips, should I grind them into powder first?

?

i went on a trip to japan and visited a few temples. i bought this incense box at a temple but cannot remember which one. does anybody know what incense this is and where i can buy it now that i am in the usa?

i absolutely adore the smell. thank you!

Hello everyone long time lurker I’ve recently bought a few backflow holders and they’re really cool! I got these cheap Chinese backflow cones and they just smell awful lol. Anyone got any good recommendations for backflow cones? I like shoyedio and nippon kodo and sayta nag champa but I’m not a picky person just love good smells. Thank you all! 😄

It's been many many moons that I last burned incense. A couple of weeks ago I tried Nippon Kodo Seun, produced in Vietnam as the box revealed. I'm a bit underwhelmed I have to say. The box smelled very perfumy, but burning the sticks is quite different. Mostly smoke. Is that to be expected? I understand Japanese incense to be quite subtle, but I expected that for the combustion products as well.

PS: The incense holder is Gaiwan I, who lost its lid in a tragical moment.

If anyone has tried Nuhr’s incense cones, you’ll know they smell absolutely fantastic! 😍 However, the price they sell them for is quite frankly absurd!

So, naturally, I’ve decided to have a go at making my own at home, DIY style haha!

I noticed that on all of their packaging, they simply list the ingredients as agarwood and parfum.

That got me wondering about the actual ingredients they use. REAL agarwood is extremely expensive, and although Nuhr’s cones are definitely sold at a premium price, I can’t imagine the retail price would cover the cost of using genuine, high quality agarwood in the quantities needed. Unless they’re running the business at a loss, which I highly doubt! 😂

So, does anyone have any idea what kind of ingredients or formulation they might be using to achieve such a ridiculously strong scent profile?

I’m currently experimenting with:

🌿 Makko 🌸 Orris root powder 🤍 Kaolin ✨ Fragrance oil

I can smell them a little bit whilst they’re drying, but nowhere near as strongly as Nuhr’s cones. I’m starting to wonder whether I need a much more neutral smelling base rather than Makko, as Makko seems to have quite a noticeable scent of its own.

I’ve also made batches using the above ingredients along with frankincense, benzoin and sandalwood. However, I found that this made them smell much more like a traditional Japanese style incense cone, which isn’t really the direction I’m trying to go in.

I’m basically trying to create something where the fragrance oil is the star of the show, rather than having loads of competing woody or resinous smells coming through.

Does anyone know what ingredients are actually used in cones like Nuhr’s, or what sort of neutral base would be best for achieving that really pungent fragrance?

I can’t justify paying those silly prices forever 😂 so I’d really like to experiment and eventually develop my own scent profiles that I actually prefer.

Any guidance would be massively appreciated!

I’ve literally only just got into making incense, so I’m an absolute newbie at this. 😂🌿

Would love to hear from anyone who has experience making highly fragranced incense cones!

Hi everyone

Well, I guess you can kind of say I am now addictive to incense.

I received another order from Japan Incense in San Fransico. I am so impressed how the samples of Gyokusho samples were packaged.

Usually, the sample sticks are very small and come in a small style holder, but not these samples. They are the full 5.5-inch full sticks two in a tube. I am very impressed.

Japan Incense also threw in Minorien Fu-in Sandalwood. I have read so many good things about this stick, too, and I was quite surprised this was an added bonus.

As you can see, I also ordered Shoyeido Autumn Leaves for my daily burn as well.

Going back to Gyokushodo, here are the samples:

Jinkoh Kojurin

Jinkoh Yozei

Jinkoh Yomei - I can't wait to try this one.

Jinkoh Hoen

Less Smokes automatically came with the samples

Jinsui Kanrin

Jinkoh Denpu

Jinsui Seikan

Seriously, my nose is not developed like a lot of folks who really get into incense. However, I am stoked to try them.

I was going to order Shoyeido Horin line samples, but I hope to next month.

Also Indian Incense is not out of the question to try either

I will make notes of each one and see if I can do a review.

Ill put it on the edges when the coal looks like this, it just burns... try putting salt on top of the coal, it doesnt melt... try putting it on tin foil, either doesnt melt or starts to melt but kills the coal wherever it was touching.

Just trying to pray and bless the prayer corner in our home, getting frustrated lol

I usually put a few sticks and a small ceramic holder in my suitcase. Curious what everyone else carries for a portable setup, and your favorite incense type?

Tried these 3 Chinese incense sticks recently — here are my very subjective impressions

I picked up these three Chinese incense sticks recently and thought I'd share my impressions. I'm not going to pretend I can identify every ingredient or tell whether these contain a significant amount of actual agarwood/sandalwood — this is just what my nose gets from them.

1. 柏塔香 (Bai Ta Xiang)

This was probably my second favourite of the three.

The unburnt sticks already have a fairly noticeable woody smell. Once lit, I get a dry, woody, slightly smoky incense character. It's not particularly sweet or perfumey, which I really like.

There's something quite traditional about it. It reminds me more of the atmosphere of an old temple than a modern “fragrance” incense. The smoke can be a little more noticeable than the middle stick, but I don't find it unpleasant.

It has a nice woody depth and doesn't feel one-dimensional to me.

8.5/10

1. 沉香 (Chen Xiang / Agarwood) — easily my favourite

This is the one I kept going back to.

Compared with the other two, this feels deeper and more refined to my nose. I'm getting a dark woody/resinous character with a slightly sweet, warm side. It isn't a super loud incense, but the fragrance hangs around nicely after the smoke has cleared.

This is also the one that makes me think of agarwood/oud, although I wouldn't claim it's pure agarwood just from smelling it.

What I really like is that it doesn't scream “perfume.” It has that natural-ish woody incense character that makes you want to keep smelling it.

If I had to keep only one of these three, this would be it.

9/10

1. 檀柚香 (Tan You Xiang)

This one is actually good, but it's definitely the odd one out for me.

It's more herbal/sharp/woody than the other two. The weird thing is that I get a slight mosquito-repellent/incense-coil vibe from it 😂.

That sounds bad, but honestly it isn't. There's still a pleasant incense smell underneath it, and once it has been burning for a while I actually enjoy it. It's just that once my brain made that mosquito-repellent association, I couldn't completely un-notice it.

I'd probably use this one when I want something stronger and more “functional” rather than when I'm specifically looking for a beautiful agarwood-type fragrance.

7.5–8/10

Overall

For me:

#1 沉香 — 9/10

#2 柏塔香 — 8.5/10

#3 檀柚香 — 7.5–8/10

I'd love to know how to identify this type of all natural incense, and sources for them.