These are a blend of timeless and nurtured secrets of herbs with medicinal values and hand rolled on each stick. This approach is steeped in spirituality and a recognition of quality. But what is masala incense and why is it so special?

In recognition of the cleansing and spiritual power inherent in smoke, dhop was invented  possibly as early as 5000BC . Dhoop is a thick paste formed by mixing eight or ten (these measures were of importance) fragrant herbs with sandalwood, a wood powder called jigat , charcoal powder and soft resin. These ingredients are usually dry and contain very little water content. The paste so formed was shaped into cones and then lit to produce smoke. Today, this form of manufacturing incense is known as the ‘masala’ technique and the dry nature of the ingredient paste explains its longevity. Masala incense ages like wine and its potency does not diminish with time.

In the early days, the authority to produce incense lay largely with the priesthood and Ayurvedic doctors and was produced primarily for temples and royalty. With time and wholehearted embrace of incense culture, incense became commonplace journeying with monks. Some attribute the invention of masala incense sticks to Buddhist monks while others believe it wasn’t until the 1700s that the Maharaja of Mysore experimented with making incense sticks using the aforementioned masala paste. Since his time, the manufacture of masala incense sticks is an important cottage industry in India supporting women artisans.

In a sense, dhoop and masala incense are synonymous given that the earliest masala incense took on the shape of a cone. However, with the invention of the masala incense stick, two new variants have emerged: darbar and champa masala. Darbar masala refers to a wet paste of ingredients rolled onto a stick for immediate use. The champa masala, by contrast, refers to a dry paste of ingredients incorporated into a special resin collected from the Ailinathus Malabarica, a tree indigenous to India, then hand-rolled onto a bamboo stick. The champa preserves and lasts for many years.