Our Incense Base

There's more to an incense stick than the fragrance you smell. Before the oils and resins are added, each stick starts with a carefully balanced base that helps determine how it burns, how it carries the fragrance and how the scent develops.

We use a combination of natural materials, each chosen for a reason. Some help create the right texture, some help the incense burn steadily, while others add depth and character to the final fragrance.

Not every ingredient is used in every blend, but each has a role in creating the finished incense.

Water

Spring water is used to bring the dry ingredients together and create a workable paste. It gives the mixture the right consistency so each stick can be rolled evenly by hand before being left to dry.

Bamboo Charcoal

Made from bamboo, this fine charcoal helps the incense smoulder at a controlled rate. It provides the heat needed to carry the fragrance while helping the stick burn steadily from beginning to end.

Sandalwood Powder

(Santalum album)

Sandalwood forms an important part of our base. Sourced from India, Southeast Asia and now Australia, we only use sustainably cultivated sandalwood powder in our incense. It has a naturally warm and creamy woody scent that adds depth and structure to the blend, while also helping create the distinctive character that makes incense what it is.

Vanilla Powder

Vanilla spp.

Grown in tropical regions such as Madagascar and Mexico, vanilla adds a soft warmth to the base. It helps round out the sharper qualities of wood and resin without making the incense overly sweet.

Makko Powder

Machilus thunbergii

traditional binder

Makko powder is made from tree bark and has been traditionally used in incense making. It helps bind the ingredients together, allowing the stick to hold its shape and burn evenly.

Plant Resins & Gums

Depending on the blend, we may use a variety of natural resins and gums, including elemi, copal, labdanum, mastic, dammar, myrrh, frankincense, opoponax, gum arabic and tragacanth.

Resins can add body and complexity to a fragrance. Some are bright and fresh, while others are warm, balsamic or earthy. They help the scent develop gradually as the incense burns, adding depth to the finished blend.

How the Base Works

The wood powders, charcoal, natural binders and resins are carefully combined with water to create the incense paste. The mixture is then rolled into sticks by hand and left to dry.

Once dried, each stick is finished with the essential oils specific to the blend. The base provides the structure, burn and smooth base notes, while the oils and other aromatic ingredients give each incense its individual character.

As the stick burns, the fragrance is released gradually rather than all at once. This allows different parts of the scent to develop and become more noticeable throughout the burn.

A Note on Oils

After rolling and drying, each stick is finished with fragrance or essential oils chosen for the individual blend. These oils help shape the final scent and give each incense its own character.

Not every blend contains every resin or ingredient listed above. The ingredients are adjusted depending on the fragrance we are creating, while the base is designed to provide a balanced burn and a consistent way for the scent to develop.

The result is an incense stick made from a considered combination of natural materials, with each part playing its own role from the first light to the final moments of the burn.