Incense: sticks, cones, backflow and safe use

Incense comes in sticks, cones, backflow cones and resin, and each shape has its own way of burning. A stick has a bamboo core, while a dhoop cone has no core and is moulded from paste alone.

Sticks, cones and resin

A stick has a bamboo core. Masala incense is made from ground herbs, resins and spices worked into a paste, rolled onto a bamboo stick and dried, rather than a plain stick dipped in perfume.

A dhoop stick or cone has no core and is moulded from the paste alone. A cone burns faster than a stick of the same weight.

Resin is burned on a charcoal disc. For resin on charcoal, the usual method is to light a self-igniting charcoal disc, wait one to three minutes until it is grey and glowing, then place pea-sized pieces of resin on top.

How a backflow burner works

A backflow cone is hollow, with a hole at the tip. The smoke cools as it travels down the hollow inside the cone.

Cool smoke is denser than the warm air around it. Instead of rising, it sinks out of the hole at the bottom and pours down the burner's carved slope.

That is why a Pebbles Backflow Incense Cone Burner has a different little performance from a straight stick holder.

Scents, described as scents

Satya was founded in 1964 in Mumbai by K. N. Satyam Setty, and the company today is Shrinivas Sugandhalaya. Nag Champa is Satya's best-known blend. Nag champa is described as sandalwood and champaca flower, sweet, woody and floral.

Sandalwood when burned is described as warm, soft, creamy and woody. Dragon's blood is a red tree resin with a sweet, spicy smell. White sage is Salvia apiana, and when burned it is described as herbal and resinous, with a crisp camphor-and-pine sharpness.

Palo santo is Bursera graveolens, a South American wood burned like incense. When burned, palo santo is described as woody with hints of citrus and mint, a little like pine.

Holders and burners

Nag Champa Incense Sticks by Satya and White Sage Incense Sticks by Satya are stick incense. Dragon's Blood Dhoop Cones by Satya and Palo Santo Dhoop Cones by Satya are cones.

Triple Moon Incense Stick Holder holds the straight-stick side of the shelf, while Pebbles Backflow Incense Cone Burner belongs with backflow cones. The Ferryman Grim Reaper River Styx Skeleton Incense Stick Holder gives the incense shelf a small dark boatman, just by being exactly what its name says.

White Sage Goloka Resin Incense and Egyptian Goddess Goloka Resin Incense belong with the charcoal-disc method used for resin.

Using incense safely

Incense needs a heatproof, stable holder with an ash catcher. It should never be left burning unattended.

The safety advice is to open a window and keep burning incense away from curtains, paper, children and pets. A stick burns for roughly 30 to 60 minutes, depending on its length and thickness.

Incense is a tiny flame with a trail of smoke, so it belongs somewhere steady and watched. Incense is on the site here: https://goldenhands.co.uk/collections/incense